10 Must-Have Kitchen Appliance for Busy Moms

Any mom who prepares breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner from scratch knows that it takes a village to feed growing kids. And if you don’t have a town as a support system for all your meal preps, your next best bet are these 10 must-have kitchen appliances for busy moms:

1. Air fryer

Get the crispness of food as though you cooked it in a deep-fryer, but without the greasy bowl of oil. With an air fryer, you can cook any of your favourite fried meat, fish or vegetable meals while cutting about 70 to 80% calories.

It’s a perfect partner if you’re planning to switch to a healthier diet. Plus, it also works as a dehydrator, so if you’re a fan of dried fruits, you’ll love how easy it is to make some at home.

2. Slow cooker or multi-cooker

If you find yourself juggling chores, taking care of a baby or toddler, or working from home, the modern, programmable slow cooker can be heaven-sent. Here are a few reasons why:

• Cook perfectly steamed rice
• Make slow-cooked recipes to perfection (I use this for awesome curries)
• Use it as a pressure cooker, yoghurt maker, and slow cooker alternatingly
• A space-saving design ideal for small kitchens

Because you can program cooking times, temperatures, and other built-in settings, there is a lesser chance of accidentally burning your food.

3. Toaster oven

Reheating food in the oven is possible without setting up, powering up and cleaning your full-sized convection oven.
A toaster oven is handy for quick reheating, toasting, and baking. Some models even have broil settings.
Here are 2 reasons why you might go with a toaster oven if you already have a microwave oven traditional gas range, or wall oven:

• Affordability—It’s way cheaper than a real oven, but it works like the real thing. You can still bake, broil, toast, and heat food with a toaster oven.
• Multi-purpose—Any multi-purpose kitchen appliance is welcome in my book since it guarantees to save time and space.

4. Sandwich maker

Do you have sandwich-loving kids? With this handy kitchen appliance, you can pop in pieces of bread with ham, cheese, and other ingredients in one go, leave it on for extra crunch, and serve your kids their favourite sandwich in under five minutes.

5. Electric griddles

You're missing out if you don't have an electric griddle yet! You can cook pancakes and eggs, fry bacon, heat burger buns, and grill any food you want all in one go. Buy a bigger model if you're feeding a family of 5 or more, and you won't cram meals ever again.

6. Hand blender

Known as an immersion blender, portable blender, or hand blender, this must-have kitchen tool lets you puree food, create pesto, salsa, soup, smoothies, or a wide range of homemade sauces like a pro. Plus, it's super affordable, easy to clean, and, because of its space-saving size, easy to store, too!

7. Electric kettle

An electric kettle is perfect for small kitchens. It frees up space on your stove, so you can cook while boiling water in a flash!

You have two choices: a wired and a cordless electric kettle. Both are just as helpful for busy moms who need a fresh cup of coffee or tea quickly.

8. Food processor

You don’t need the biggest food processor or chopper on the market. Even a small one can cut your prep time in half.

Pick an all-in-one food processor for grating carrots, cutting onions, shredding cabbage, mincing, and slicing veggies. A model with a kneading feature can also be handy for bread making.

9. Stand Mixer

If you’re a household that bakes its own cookies, cakes, bread, and other goodies, then a stand mixer is a MUST-buy. I dream of the retro KitchenAid mixers, but any multi-use mixer from known brands should do the trick.

Make sure you get a stand mixer with multiple attachments to make ice cream, homemade grains, sausages, and more.

10. Vacuum sealer

A vacuum sealer may be the last on this list, but it is a high priority for most households.

Aftermarket or grocery day, vacuum sealers help you organize your pantry, ref or freezer. You'll be able to:

• Portion vegetables before freezing
• Preserving already-cooked meals
• Extend the life of homemade sauces
• Save cookie dough for the next batch of baking
• Store make-ahead meals properly
• Vacuum-seal leafy greens and other produce that's known to go bad quickly.

We use our vacuum sealer most when packing for our annual camping, backpacking, or outdoor trip. It waterproofs our food and reduces the bulk in the cooler.

If you’re always rushing to cook breakfast in the mornings or squeezing meal preps between working at home, these kitchen appliances will be life savers.

You don’t need to buy them all at once. Choose the ones that will save you the most time, and then invest in the rest when possible.