I thought moving from our townhouse to our new house would impact what items we regularly use in the kitchen. Our new place is bigger than our last. So, I figured more counter-space would mean more new, easily accessible kitchen gadgets at our disposal. 

But actually, having a kid in the house is what impacted what items we use most in our kitchen. 

First up, the Cuisinart toaster oven.

How did we LIVE before we had this thing?! Seriously I will never go back to a regular toaster again. You don’t even know how fast it can cook dinosaur chicken nuggets on a Tuesday night when you’re running late and you’ve GOT to get your toddler fed and in bed before  the waterworks start. 

My second “kitchen must-haves” item are these storage containers from Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Adding another human to the evening routine means everything has to happen fast. Having the staples (whole grain pasta, brown rice and salt) for 20-minute meals on the counter and easily accessible makes everything that much quicker. Plus, H likes to help by taking the tops off.

My final kitchen favorite is this cookbook, Fun Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow, by olympic athlete, Shalane Flanagan.

My cousin bought it for me as a Christmas present and it has the best healthy (and quick recipes). Because you can’t eat chicken nuggets every night for dinner…even if they are organic.

So, I want to know, what are you favorite kitchen must-haves? What do you use every day? Or what did you think you would use all the time but haven’t even taken out of the box? Sorry Instapot, maybe one day it’ll be your time to shine!