Aside from my freezer, I have plenty of cool things in my kitchen.

I don't have a lot of crazy, expensive, specialized gadgets. You won't find a garlic press or an avocado slicer or  plastic containers designed to refrigerate half an orange.

What you will find, instead, is a few smart products that help me keep my budget down and my productivity up. Most of them are good for the environment, too. Here are just a few favorites I've been loving lately and, coincidentally, I received them all initially as gifts over the holidays.

LunchSkins reusable sandwich and snack bags. 

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After using the one I received as a gift for a while, I was hooked. I ended up ordering several more, in both sandwich and snack sizes, and they get a lot of use. They are easily washable by hand or in the dishwasher, they dry quickly, and they are extremely durable. LunchSkins will easily hold anything a zip-top plastic bag will hold, and I'm guessing they'll last roughly forever. The price seems reasonable ($9 for sandwich size, $8 for snack size and $11 for mondo sub size) and they frequently have discounts on certain patterns. Also, they're stinkin' cute.

Tervis Tumbler with travel lid. 

My Tervis with Banana Date Oat Smoothie

This item was another gift, and I wasn't sure how often I'd use it—until I started using it. Tervis Tumblers come in a variety of sizes, colors and designs. You can even get them with your company or college logo. Mine is a 16oz tumbler with a jaunty parrot and the phrase, "It's 5 o'clock somewhere," which is basically my mantra. Because the tumbler is double-walled and heavy duty, I can use it for hot or cold beverages. The travel lid makes it easy to, well, travel, which is great when I need to take along a smoothie or herbal tea while I'm out running around. They sell a handle separately that fits their tumblers, and I may need to acquire one of those soon. The real clincher is that Tervis products have a lifetime guarantee. If this bad boy ever breaks, Tervis will replace it. Cool.




If you choose to cook with olive oil, this is a kitchen must. Misto replaces commercially produced olive oil sprays that contain icky chemical propellants, allows you to use the olive oil of your choice, and will pay for itself in no time flat. It also allows you to control the amount of olive oil you're using, particularly in stove top recipes. Rather than teaspooning out olive oil to cook veggies, fry veg burgers, or coat potatoes before baking, just pump up the sprayer and spritz the minimum amount of oil you need. I still can't believe I had this on my wishlist for so long. If you've been toying with the idea of getting one, do it. (Bonus: I've seen them at places like Marshall's and TJ Maxx for a few dollars cheaper, but they're worth every penny of the retail price.)

So, those are a few of my favorite things. As you can tell, these are all awesome gift ideas for your favorite chef or foodie, even if that person is you! Have you recently discovered a new favorite kitchen gadget that you can't live without? Tell me about it... Maybe I'll add it to my wishlist.