living our best life – in the kitchen

/ simplywendi
yellow kitchenaid stand mixer

Photo by david yohanes on Pexels.com

 

As we are spending a little more time in the kitchen or thinking of holiday foods that we enjoy, I decided to write about the object in my kitchen that make my life easier.

I have to admit that I do not find much enjoyment from cooking.  I am thankful that on my good days I am able to feed my family healthy, mostly well balanced meals, but the smells and bending over and reaching makes me feel worse.  Even though I keep all of my frequently used items on the counters, I still feel poorly after preparing food.

To help me get through the whole, preparing a meal ordeal, I daily use my favorite kitchen appliance, putting it to good use.  It is my combination DVD/CD/radio that hangs under a kitchen cabinet next to the sink.  I received this from my parents who were getting rid of it and it has been one of my favorite gifts ever!

I turn it on every single time I am in the kitchen for more than a couple minutes.  I usually have a DVD playing as it does a wonderful job distracting me from pain and discomfort allowing me to stay in the kitchen longer.  Today there is a stack of my favorite Christmas DVDs waiting to be watched over the next month.

So, what about you?  What is your favorite kitchen appliance and how does it make your life easier?  

Thank you for taking the time to share!

 

Advertisement

127 thoughts on “living our best life – in the kitchen”

  2. That’s a great idea, Wendi.
    I always say that I used to be a good cook. Although I’m not any more. I admire people who enjoy cooking. My favorite thing in the kitchen tends to be the doorway to the living room! Actually I did splurge on something that I’d had my eye on for a year before I relocated — a Costco chair/stool. I get terrible back pain when I have to stand in one place for even a short time. I had never owned a tall stool or chair for the kitchen. It helps tremendously! Even when I only perch there for half a minute. It makes chopping vegetables or similar tasks bearable too.
    Happy weekend hugs!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  3. I use the teakettle every day, if that’s considered an appliance😂I have a hard time reaching anything but I do have a mixer on the shelf. A cuisinart appliance is heavy but makes it easy to grate cheese, chop up things, slice, etc. I used to love to cook but now it’s just a pita!😄

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • 🙂 Yes! I use to cook and it wasn’t so bad but now, not at all.
      I love my teakettle too! Is your electric or on the stove top?
      I also love how you have appliances that help you do the things you like to do such as a cuisinart and mixer.
      Thank you so very much for sharing, I appreciate your visit. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

    • thank you so very much for your kind words. if i was rich i would hire and cook and a driver so i could get to places 🙂 we can always dream.
      what a blessing it is that you don’t mind cooking…….it is nice to share the chores.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  9. I don’t have a favorite, probably because I’m not passionate about cooking. I have numerous kitchen appliances that are tucked away, but within easy reach. The one I use the most is a large electric griddle that I like to use for breakfast, making extra sausage or bacon, and sometimes french toast, pancakes or quesadillas to use for breakfast the next day or two.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Hi Robin, I love that you make extra food for later, I know I am always happy that I put in the extra work.
      I feel your non-passion towards cooking, but man, I sure wish I liked it.
      I also have an electric skillet tucked away somewhere, and now that I read your comments, maybe that is something I need to dig out!
      Thank you Robin for stopping by and commenting, I appreciate your visits.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. If I ever get my own place I’d have a music player in the kitchen, too. I find that I’m too exhausted and miserable in pain to cook anymore and music has a way of distracting as you say, as well as energising us a little when we need it. Great choice, I was expecting you to say a food mixer when I saw the pic at the top! 😂I’m not sure what I’d go for. Maybe the cheese toastie machine (for making toasted cheese sandwiches). It’s quick, no-fuss (apart from having to clean it afterwards) and great for the times when food is needed but my body isn’t capable of doing that much.
    PS. Just wanted to let you know I included your book in my latest Frugal Friday post 😊
    https://invisiblyme.com/2019/11/27/frugalfriday-blackfriday2019/
    Have a restful weekend lovely.
    Caz xx

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  13. My husband! He loves to cook and I do the cleanup. I am very very lucky. My favorite housecleaning appliance is my less than $100 simple floor robot vacuum!! No pushing and pulling!! It does a decent job. It has been worth every penny spent.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  14. How you made me smile, Wendi, as I read this. I listen to music while I’m in the kitchen and it is just so relaxing. I do like cooking but every day gets to be a bit much. Hubby does the cooking mostly and cleanup but he’s not an ace in the cleaning department so I end up cleaning up after him. LOL He claims when I cook I make everything look so easy. I just pace myself and have an attitude where I smile while I cook.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I am so happy to read that you enjoy cooking………i really wish i felt the same, but i just dislike it so very much. What a gift that you husband will help share the task and is willing to do cleanup too! 🙂 even if you need to tidy up behind him.
      I am sure you are a very impressive cook! Thank you so very much for stopping by – I hope today is treating you well and you are feeling the prayers for your peace.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • God bless you, Wendi, for the prayers. The intensity of last week has caught up to me this week, so now exhaustion is coming into play. I still feel so near panic at times and “just letting this go” as someone advised me to do, is not going to happen. Getting back to my normal schedule and making time with my camera, is what will eventually smooth things out. Thank you for caring! I mean it!!
        As for the cooking …. years ago I approached Hubby telling him my cat care is getting so challenging and so time consuming, he just has to help out. So, he decided to do the shopping and cook dinners. I have to admit, when I do cook my food tastes so much better …. Hubby says so too. That’s OK. To be able to sit down after a long day’s work to a dinner someone else cooked, is so so appreciated. Hope you had a good day. And I hope your thyroid levels came back within normal. (((HUGS))) xo

        Liked by 1 person

      • I am praying for you……….I know that panic feeling all too well and it is unnerving – to say the least. Do what you have to do to start moving forward again, but I know it will be difficult……..

        Liked by 1 person

  15. I love the oven in the Winter because I love baking cookies and it warms the house up. We have a heater but extra warmth is always good. Also, love the microwave and the conveniences of it, my husband on the other hand does not like it. Our neighbor gave us their brand new bullet because they didn’t like it and now I make banana smoothies all the time, love that too. Mostly I leave the kitchen for my husband , and daughter. Those two love cooking. My son just started making muffins so he is joining their little chef club.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • oh my goodness, I so appreciate that your husband and children love to cook……..I dream about this! 🙂
      I do enjoy more baking in the winter for the same reason, to help warm up the house.
      Question, do you find the bullet to be easy to use and clean? I love making smoothies but I am finding that the blender is hard for me to clean and when feeling poorly, too heavy to lift when I am cleaning it.
      Thank you for your visit………I always appreciate it.

      Like

      Reply

  16. My favourite kitchen appliance is my digital scales. It doesn’t do that much to contribute towards myself, but I use it to weigh out the dog food so they don’t get fat! 😀
    I enjoy music while working too.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  17. I put on songs on my app on the phone. But my favorite gadget has to be the Keurig machine. The coffee maker. And the k- pods of which I have a supply of regular, flavored in both decaf and caffeinated variety.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  18. Listening to music is so good for the soul. I don’t allow myself Christmas music until after Thanksgiving; today we had some nice holiday music playing.
    My oft-used appliances are: VitaMix, KitchenAid, and Instant Pot, although I mostly use my stove for cooking (I have electric, but wish I had gas).

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Yes, music is very good for the soul and I also try not to listen to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving but this year I failed. On my bad days I can’t handle music at all so I usually put on a DVD so today in the kitchen I brought down all my Christmas movies.
      I do not have any of those appliances but they sound very helpful! I hear a lot of good things about an instapot – that it make your life easier in the kitchen.
      And I agree, cooking with gas is better. We had that in our last house and I miss it.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • I agree with you – I also love my crockpot. It is such a blessing to be able to put food in and a few hours later you have a meal!
      Thank you Kristie for stopping by and joining in, I hope today has treated you well.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  21. lol and I thought you were going to talk about a mix-master 🙂

    Music, Devo in particular, is good to get housework done … as in motivation.

    In a hot dry country my fridge is the most important item! Without it we can’t keep food and other perishables and it keeps the water cold 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you Barbara.
      Yes! a crockpot is a huge blessing to make meal preparation easier and I also appreciate mine. I have used it so much that I am in desperate need of another – waiting for a great deal on cyber monday! 🙂
      Thank you so very much for stopping by and adding to the discussion. Bless you…

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  23. I used to have a Tupperware can opener which after much trial and error was the only one I could use that didn’t hurt my hands/arms. I have a disability in both arms which makes a lot of things difficult. If my arms are sore then I can’t cook. I’m glad that the CD player works for you. Playing music might be good for me too.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  25. Like you, as my physical compromises prevented me from partaking of many former activities, I turned to cooking as a creative outlet. I loved being challenged to create foods that my four family members could eat as over the years as each of us had diets that included being vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, sugar free, on a strict Ketogenic diet, and then back to eating poultry and fish again for more direct protein. We had a large organic garden and sheep on our homestead, and managed to feed ourselves largely on our own harvest for many months of the year for a while. Now I live in a small studio apartment sized room and have available three meals a day served in my senior facility. I still am very careful with what I eat and have a small kitchenette (no hot plate or stove of any kind) in my room to supplement many meals for my own needs. We are issued only a microwave and I have learned I could use that to cook many things I never thought of before. But I finally bought a small Instant Pot and it is so useful. I make my own Bulgarian yogurt, rice, and beans and legumes, tasty sauces for the sometimes bland (sometimes tasty and healthy!) institutional food, and anything else I need right in my own room. It is just the weight that I can handle, and it was the perfect piece of equipment for my very modest needs. Thanks for asking!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Oh Judi, I am so thrilled to read your detailed comments! It was so neat to read about all the diets that your family has been on, it sounds very similar to my family 🙂
      Having a large organic garden has always been a dream of mine and the fact you live on a homestead sounds amazing. I bet you have awesome stories to tell.
      Thank you for sharing all the appliances that you use now. I have read over and over that an InstaPot is vey helpful in food prep but I don’t know anyone who has one to check it out.
      Thank you so very much for sharing! I appreciate you.

      Like

      Reply

  28. Now I thought this post was going to be about the KitchenAid mixer! You got me, Wendi! I think that would be one of my favorites though. And a stereo, of course! Mine is in my living room. But I have to confess I use my KLOVE app more at home these days and YouTube. My slow cooker is number one today.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Hey Renee, thank you for stopping by! 🙂 Yes, I just found a stock photo of a mixer, I don’t even have one in my house but I have read several people really find them useful.
      Love my slow cooker too – so handy for set it and forget it recipes. (those are my favorite!) 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  30. most used: immersion blender for frothy coffee
    most appreciated: warming drawer/crock pot – allows prepared foods to stay server-ready while the main course stuff dominates the oven space

    Robin is the boos in the kitchen and I just do what I’m told. Though, after 38 years, I’ve picked up a few skills.
    Hope you have a good day today Wendi.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • 🙂 I am sure you have picked up a lot more than a few skills after 38 years. 🙂
      I love that you use an immersion blender for frothy coffee………coffee seems to be a very popular drink for most people. I sure do love the smell, but it makes me way too ill to drink.
      Thank you so very much for stopping by Mark and participating in the discussion – I appreciate your visits. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  32. Appliance…I absolutely love having a dishwasher. My ‘new’ to me one is a bit annoying since it doesn’t seem to hold as many dishes as I’d like, but it does work! I use my bread machine fairly often, the crock pots (I have two) are incredibly handy, my pressure cooker is a bonus, and the microwave is more than handy and almost 30 years old!!! I am very thankful for the radio/CD player under the counter I asked for a few years back and I like the ceiling fan.
    But, my absolute favorite things in the kitchen are kind of odd. I really love the counters, I have a lot of counter space and I try to keep them clear for use. However, the very best thing in my whole entire kitchen is a long wooden step stool. I use it mostly as a bench next to a cabinet and the low kitchen window and heater-While cooking, I sit on it with a book and lean on the counter and read. When not cooking, it is a good place to sit and read. The cats jump up in the window or curl up under my legs when the heat is on. I also use it to reach places in the kitchen that my 5’2″ self can’t.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Oh Kris I absolutely LOVE the entire list of things you appreciate in your kitchen – I can almost picture your cozy kitchen as I read your comments. How cool that you have a stool in your kitchen that you enjoy sitting at and reading…..and close to the heater 🙂 Our kitchen is the warmest place in the house and this evening I sat on the floor next to the register to eat dinner – sounds weird but I appreciated the extra warmth and it sounds as if you do too!
      Having a lot of counter space sounds great and I also appreciate my dishwasher too. We have been without one for months/years at a time and I am thankful we have one right now.
      Thank you for taking the time to leave such a wonderful response Kris – it is an awesome read! 🙂 Hope today is being good to you.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  34. Pingback: Favorite Things | Around the Korner

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s