A fortnight ago, I presented the crockpot and upright freezer, two of my top personal picks for penny-pinching kitchen gadgets. It’s common knowledge that homemade foods not only augment your health but also keep your wallet fuller. By utilizing the appropriate, cost-efficient kitchen tools, preparing meals at home can signify a simpler and less time-consuming endeavor. Here are three more effective and economical kitchen appliances that everyone should put to use.
1. Counter Top Conventional Oven: Considering heat-intensive cooking during the summer can be bothersome, I’ve discovered an excellent alternative to a large oven – the Breville Compact Smart Oven. Not only is it able to warm up considerable quantities of food swiftly, but it’s also a smaller unit. Despite needing a regular oven for batch cooking, cooking pizza, pies, and chicken in the conventional oven is hassle-free on most occasions.
Saving potential on grocery expenses: Smart ovens heat up incredibly fast, reaching 400-degrees in less than five minutes, and also offer quicker cooking due to their compact size. This attribute aids in reducing long-term energy expenditures. Its rapid heat-up time means I can prepare a quick meal, like a chicken and cheese sandwich melt, in just a few minutes. This eliminates the need for takeaway or fast food.
How to nab a discounted Counter Top Conventional Oven: Watch out for good deals on countertop ovens during the Black Friday sale or check listings on Craigslist. These ovens can replace both your toaster and microwave, making them an economical investment.
2. Bread Machine: About a decade and a half ago, bread machines were all the rage. Even today, people oscillate between favoring them and detesting them. I primarily use my bread machine to take care of the strenuous part of bread-making, without actually baking it. Although many appreciate the outcome of baking in bread machines, I’m not a fan of the hollow in the bread it leaves behind. Hence, I allow the bread machine to take care of the mixing, kneading, and rising part of the dough-making. I then take over to shape and bake the dough into loaves or rolls.
Saving potential on grocery expenses: Making your own bread and baked items can significantly slice your grocery expenses, more so if you have a big family. By harnessing the correct recipes, you’re able to bake your own bagels, bread, pizza dough, rolls, etc. Purchasing flour and yeast in bulk quantities and freezing additional baked goods efficiently manages your time and budget.
How to score a budget-friendly Bread Machine: Many people have bread machines lying unused. Look around in yard sales or ask your acquaintances to chance upon a bread machine for under $20.
3. Multi-Use Rice Maker: The Aroma 3 Quart Rice Cooker and Food Steamer that I recently acquired, demonstrated to me that rice makers can cook much more than just rice. Its wide-ranging heating alternatives allow me to cook rice, steam veggies, and slow cook meals like soups and meat. Its so-called “slow cook” setting even cooked raw beans in under three hours, making it faster than a traditional slow cooker.
Saving potential on grocery expenses: The compact size of this gadget heats up quickly, thereby using less energy, making it a budget-saving appliance. Including brown rice frequently in your meals not only contributes to a healthier diet but is also more affordable per pound than pasta.
How to procure a low-cost Rice Maker: Based on your locality, affordable rice makers are available online or in stores. If your existing rice cooker has multiple features like slow cooking and steaming, make full use of them.
4. Ice Maker: Surprisingly, the common ice maker boosts energy consumption by 12%-20% when active. The power is not absorbed by the cooling aspect but by the motor that unloads the completed ice cubes into the tray. While mandatory heating elements require power to prevent the ice maker from freezing internally, ice makers are not particularly power-efficient.
Remember, these devices will not decrease your grocery store expenses unless you consistently use them! Whip up meals from scratch utilizing these tools, as opposed to relying on processed or canned foods. What are your favorite budget-friendly kitchen appliances?
