3 Kitchen Appliances You’ll Wonder How You Ever Survived Without

There’s no denying that modern technology makes life pretty easy for us. Rather than hours spent scrubbing clothes for example, we pop them straight in the washing machine. Instead of searching through endless books, we can find the answers to all of our burning questions in seconds on Google. If we need to get anywhere, we hop in our car and drive there. These things are so integral to daily life that we use them without thinking twice. But there might be appliances (particularly those in the kitchen) that you’ve not taken advantage of yet.

Sure they might not be as crucial as an oven or a microwave, but still they’re incredibly useful and all help to make life that bit easier. Once you get them, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without! Here are three examples.

Espresso Machine

Sure, you could easily boil water and make a fine cup of coffee using your french press, but espresso drinks can be made at home, too. All you need is a barista style machine! These come with things like milk steamers and give you much more flexibility on how you create drinks. Forget your morning Starbucks run, fill up a travel mug from your espresso machine. It will taste just as good and save you cash too; especially if you’re a daily latte or cappuccino drinker.

Blender

The blender can be used for so much more than just making smoothies (although smoothies are great too!) You could experiment with different soups — try boiling some vegetables, adding herbs and stock and blending until smooth for a tasty lunch. You can use it to crush ice for impressive looking cocktails. You can pop stale bread in the blender with some herbs to make seasoned breadcrumbs. Use these by dipping chicken or fish in flour, then into beaten egg and then into the breadcrumbs. 

You can also make your own condiments from tomato ketchup to barbeque sauce to mayonnaise. Whip up some salsa, create your own nut milks and butters and so much more…the list is endless.

A powerful blender from a brand like Vitamix will tackle just about any recipe you have in mind. You could do some research on which Vitamix to buy since there are a range of different options available. It’s such a versatile gadget and can transform your meals from mediocre to excellent. Once you’ve got one, you really will look back and wonder how you ever functioned without!

Slow Cooker

The slow cooker can make anyone into a good cook. There’s no faffing around watching pots or anything else, simply pop in your ingredients and leave it. Six to eight hours later you’re met with a steaming delicious pot of homemade grub. Far healthier than takeout and cheaper too; you can use chunks of inexpensive meat here. These tend to be the tougher cuts, but when they’re slow cooked they become melty in the mouth.

As an added bonus it’s safe to leave your slow cooker on during the day when you’re at work too (unlike a regular oven which should never be left on). A few minutes adding ingredients to the pot in the morning and you can come home each day to a good meal. Perfect when you’re exhausted after work, and standing around cooking is off the agenda. It’s also useful if you’re cooking for one, as things like stews freeze so nicely allowing you to batch cook. You can even adapt just about any recipe for the slow cooker, from soups to roast chicken! Whether you’re busy or just lazy, it’s the kind of appliance that everyone needs in their life.

Do you own any of these three gadgets? What appliances could you not live without in the kitchen? Let us know in the comments below!