Gifts Under $20 For Healthy Eaters

December 9, 2014   3 Comments

Do you have a family member or friend that is getting on the healthy train? Well, it is super easy to give them a practical gift to support them on the ride.

Healthy cooking can be totally simple and you can use whatever you can find. In graduate school, I would go to Good Will to hunt down cheapo spatulas.

But, I will say that new spatulas are better. Most of these gifts are under $10 and your pals will love them. If you enjoy the feel of a spoon or a peeler in your hand, you are going to look forward to cooking much more. These tools are useful but not NECESSARY for healthy cooking. Call these fun to have - hey, its the holidays!

Before I dive in, I do receive a small percentage of sales from links to Amazon.com. I am using Amazon primarily to show you the type of gadget, utensil, or tool that I like. You can find these items in your local cooking store as they are common.

Let us start with spoons. I have some bamboo spoons and they are easy to clean and a joy to use. I don’t put mine in the dishwasher but these spoons below say they are dishwasher safe. They do not scratch non-stick pans.

Rubber or silicone spatulas are so helpful when you want to scrape the last bit out of a bowl. They always seem to be falling apart so I don’t know anyone who is a baker who doesn’t need a new set of these.

If you get tired of cutting parchment paper to fit your baking pans, these silicon mats are amazing. You don’t have to spray them with anything and your cookies or pizza pops right off. They don’t hold flavors either.

My MIL got me a Microplane for a gift and I love it! It is great for zesting lemons and grating Parmesan cheese. I toss it in the dishwasher after I use it. This is one of those tools that is a true pleasure to use.

After you zest your lemon with the above Microplane, you should juice it with a citrus reamer. I got one of these after I watched Martha Stewart use one on her show. You get so much more juice out of your lemon when you use a tool like this.

I didn’t have a kitchen scale for the LONGEST time and then I started working on this website. Now, my recipes have to be accurate (can’t say stuff like “a few potatoes” because that isn’t specific enough). BUT, I have found that I use it all the time for my own cooking and I monitor my portions of meat with it.

Speaking of meat, if you like to roast it or toss it on the grill a meat thermometer is a wonderful tool. Those plastic pop-up things that they put into turkeys can fail you (yes, it happened to me – DRY turkey). Buy one of these and NEVER worry again about you meat being cooked to the correct temperature.

Finally, how about a healthy cookbook? Yep, you are sick of hearing it (I am sure) but this book is supportive, friendly, and filled with great recipes. Also, it is an excellent bargain as I put years of my life into writing it – and you get it for less than $14.

What gifts do you give the healthy eaters in your life?