Essential Tools for your Champion Powered Kitchen

Criteria for Choosing Essential Kitchen Tools

If you are like some of my clients, you could spend thousands of dollars on really cool and fun kitchen tools and gadgets. The only thing is… most of them will end up collecting dust in the back of your cabinets.

So, I frequently get asked what gadgets I use in my kitchen. At one point in my career, I was working as a personal chef for elite clients, so I am quite familiar with the kitchen.

The first thing you have to know is that I am a minimalist when it comes to kitchen stuff. I hate wasting money on gadgets that don’t work. So, for a while now, I’ve been collecting a short list of the top 10 items you need in the kitchen to help you with your fast-paced life.

The following items are my criteria for making it onto the Champion Powered Kitchen Tools list:

It has to clean up easily and quickly
It has to increase my productivity in the kitchen and make cooking easier
It can’t be giant and take up a ton of space
It has to be easy to use (if the kids can use it easily, it’s a bonus)

10 Essential Kitchen Tools

#1 Apple Peeler, Corer, & Slicer

I’ve had this gadget for years and it has been so awesome. It’s easy to use, and the kids love it, too. We use this to make quick homemade Crockpot applesauce and apple and nut butter, as well as apple pie.

#2 Santoku Knife

Unless you are super fancy or gourmet, one great knife is all you need when it comes to working in the kitchen, and this is THE ONE to get.

#3 Slow Cooker

I have no special brand recommendation here, but EVERY busy home needs at least one slow cooker. I have two because I use them so much. If you don’t work from home, consider getting one where you can program the cook time. The size of the slow cooker is determined by your family’s size and needs.

#4 Bamboo Cutting Boards

Step away from the plastic!! Plastic harbors bacteria and other germs in the cuts of the plastic. Bamboo wood, on the other hand, repels any bacteria that stick to these boards, fights smells better than other boards and lasts a long time.

#5 Emulsion Blender

I love making soup, and this is an essential tool for soup-making. Plus, it’s super easy to clean and store. Even though I have a Vitamix, which blends foods well for soup, it’s hard to transfer hot liquid from the stove to a blender, so my emulsion blender works beautifully for this.

#6 Vitamix Blender

Ok, I know this is the big SPLURGE item, but it’s totally worth it. We’ve had ours for eight years, and when we recently had a small problem with it, the company fixed it for free – it was still under warranty! Not to mention, it can reduce greens to juice, which is hard to come by in normal blenders (and also a big plus in this household). I love this blender and can’t say enough about it and all that it’s capable of.

#7 Electric Kettle

This is a MUST for all tea drinkers! The ability to have almost instant hot water is such a great thing when you love tea. It’s also helpful for things like instant oatmeal and noodles or soups.

#8 Toaster Oven

A simple toaster oven does wonders for your kitchen. I do not like or use microwaves unless I absolutely have to, so a toaster oven is excellent for reheating leftovers and, of course, toasting anything that needs to be toasted.

#9 Curved Spatula

This is the best simple kitchen tool ever invented. It makes cleaning up so much easier because it scrapes the sides of bowls clean. Just be sure it’s curved, like the one I suggest below. I have a mini one, too, for smaller areas.

#10 Citrus Zester

Lemon zest, in my opinion, makes everything better, and the only way to get good-tasting lemon zest is with a zester. Add it to salads, chicken, fish, quinoa salad, rice, steamed veggies, and more.

Bonus: The Spiralizer

These make it easy to replace your grain-based, high-carbohydrate noodles with vegetables such as zucchini, sweet potatoes, squash, and red beets.

For your shopping ease, I have Amazon links here for all the mentioned products.

These are affiliate links. However, I would not recommend a product I did not love.