The first in the LowCarbKitty Holiday shopping list will focus on kitchen tool gifts that (in my opinion) are pretty much critical for any home cook, not just a low carb and/or gluten free cook!
Also check out our recommended kitchen appliance gift list (will open in a separate window)
I define kitchen gifts tools as implements and non-motorized tools that help with your cooking tasks but aren’t full on appliances.
Fishy Flipper I know what you are thinking. “I already have a spatula”. That is what I originally thought as well. But after having fish fillets break on me when trying to transfer them from the baking sheet to the dish, I finally broke down and bought a fish spatula (or fish turner or fillet flipper haha). I used a Williams Sonoma gift certificate from my amazing dad to buy it, so this was a kitchen tool gift I got last year. And I feel it really has made the difference. Keeps my fish fillets whole and is genuinely easier to work with fish either via a frying pan or baking sheet.>
Masher I actually don’t have one of these and it’s on my list because I know my family reads my blog, so this is in hopes that someone gets me a masher for the holidays. Every time I go to mash something and don’t feel like shoving everything in my beloved food processor or trying to mush it with a hand emulsifier, I wish I just had a plain, simple masher. This is perfect for mashing up rutabagas and turnips, our low carb substitute for potatoes. There you go, family. I dream big, as you can see.
Baking Sheets Another gift I was blessed with last year was a second baking sheet. I only had one, and honestly it was getting fairly inconvenient. Many bacon packages require two baking sheets to bake all at once. I use baking sheets several times a week, easy. Whether it’s roasting beets, bakin’ bacon, or baking fish, they are indispensable to a low carber kitchen. Here is my detailed post about baking pans.
Mini Cupcake Pan I’ve had a lot of fun making mini cupcakes, whether they are brownie bites or maple pumpkin cheesecake cupcakes. As whole food ingredients such as almond flour are a little pricier than the unhealthy alternatives, you can really stretch a recipe by making a ‘mini’ version, especially if taking them to parties. It also helps non-low carb friends have a small ‘sample size’ of your cooking to see if they like it or not. I have a 12 muffin size pan and it’s just NOT big enough. Get 24 serving one, or two 12-muffin pans so you can bake everything at the same time.
METAL tongs There is a reason I made metal in all caps; I’ve had plastic tongs melt on me while cooking. Whether it is sauteeing some greens, flipping bacon or frying something tasty, metal tongs are critical. Do not make the same mistake I did and only use plastic tongs. Keep those for cold salads.
Good set of knives – You need at least one good knife to cut veggies and meat. This was my first purchase and I use it almost daily. You hear it all the time about having a good knife/knife set. It’s true.
Cutting board – Get at least two – one for meat, one for veggies. I didn’t figure this out until later and I only had a cheap small one for over a year. I kept cutting veggies on it and running out of room and getting annoyed, and thinking “I really need to get a bigger cutting board”. Dad ALSO gave me a Macy’s gift card for Christmas last year (can you tell I’m a lucky girl?) so I went and bought a larger cutting board.
Also, you can get Amazon Prime membership for free for the next month if you click here. Use it long enough to get free shipping for all your holiday shopping, watch lots of videos for free and check out lots of recipe books for free. I love Amazon Prime sooo much!
Here are some links to other kitchen tools I’ve done reviews on that I adore:
Heather says
I saw a fun cutting board at Costco. It was wooden and had colored plastic cutting boards that fit inside of it. Ikea also has a big and inexpensive wood cutting board. I use it to cover the countertops. I have a great mandolin too but it hardly ever gets used. Sometimes I think it would have been better to get a cheap plastic one.