Good Monday morning!

This morning’s breakfast was inspired by what I ate while I was cruising around New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia.  Many mornings I would have oats, much like I do now, but another breakfast staple for me was yogurt mixed with cottage cheese topped with fruit.

When eating flavored yogurt (even the light kind), it can sometimes contain a lot of sugar, and while it does contain some protein it could use a little boost in that department as well.  Mixing the yogurt with bit of cottage cheese (this morning I did 3/4 cup of yogurt with 1/2 cup of cottage cheese) gives you more volume without adding in the extra sugar and packs in about 11 grams of additional protein to give this morning meal some extra staying power.

I then topped my yogurt mixture with some chopped strawberries and chopped pair.  It tasted great on the cruise and it tasted great today!

Kitchen Gadgets

Doing all of this cooking at home has had me using my mom’s tools in the kitchen.  My grandma just so happens to be the queen of kitchen gadgets and is always introducing us to new things to use while cooking.

Some of the gadgets she has brought into our kitchen:

Silicone Vegetable Steamer

I used this trinket yesterday, and worked like a charm.  Simply place a small amount of water in the bottom of a pot.  Place your veggies, or whatever you would like to have steamed, into the basket and place the basket into the bottom of the pot.  Cover the entire pot with a lid and turn the burner on to medium high heat.  Allow to steam for about 5-7 minutes or until things are of the desired consistency.

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Krupps Egg Cooker

We have had this egg cooker for a while.  It is great for hard boiling eggs because it simply takes out all of the guess work.  All that you have to do is measure out the correct amount of water for the number of eggs you are cooking and turn on the machine.  A buzzer will sound when your eggs are ready.

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Garlic Roller Peeler

This little tool is pretty  amazing.  Simply place the clove of garlic with the peel on in the little cylinder.  Press on the cylinder and roll it back and forth applying pressure on the garlic.  After a few rolls, remove the garlic from the cylinder and the peel will be removed without leaving any garlic aroma on your fingers or counter 🙂

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Mellita Coffee Maker

Before the single-serve coffee makers came into the scene, my grandparents introduced my family to this little coffee maker.  All that you do is place this little contraption on top of your favorite coffee cup, place a filter inside with a scoop of coffee grounds.  Pour hot water over the grounds, and you instantly have a single cup of coffee.

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Tall Skinny Glasses

My grandpa has a pretty tasty recipe for a bloody mary, and one important ingredient is the tall skinny glass.  Of course, my grandparents supplied my mom with the perfect cups for this tasty drink….virgin or alcoholic 😉

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Wooden Salad Bowl

In my family, we love having a giant salad with dinner, and much like the bloody marys aren’t the same without the special glasses, the salad just isn’t the same without the giant wooden salad bowl.  It is great for mixing all of the ingredients together because of the large size, but it also looks great when putting it on the table to serve.

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Many times, I feel like I see things that look cool but I wouldn’t actually use the item.  I can honestly say that we use all of the gadgets my grandma finds because they are easy to use and extremely practical.  I love seeing the latest gadget my grandma discovers, and I can’t wait to see what she finds next!

Question of the Morning:

• What are some of the kitchen gadgets you have in your kitchen?