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One afternoon last year, my boyfriend took the dog out for a walk. Twenty minutes later, he came back, holding a KitchenAid stand mixer and grinning from ear to ear. |
“Look what I found on the sidewalk!” |
It was by no means new, but as we learned soon after, it worked fine. And now that we’ve experienced life with a stand mixer, it’s safe to say we aren’t going back. (We make a lot of cookies — what can I say?) Luckily, I didn’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on this appliance, but now I understand why people do. |
Below, seven registered dietitians tell us about the kitchen items they don’t regret splurging on. Enjoy! |
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You’re welcome in advance! Ginger Wojcik Newsletter Editor, Healthline |
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Written by Ginger Wojcik
January 16, 2025 • 4 min read |
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Q: |
What’s a kitchen splurge item you stand behind? |
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A: |
“A fridge with an ice maker. Hands down.”
— Lindsay Mahar, MS, RDN
“My two big splurges are my stand mixer and Instant Pot, but I am a big fan of secondhand markets, so I got a great deal on both! I love to bake, so the stand mixer has been a godsend for our bagel obsession. And the Instant Pot has been our most used kitchen appliance since you can cook anything from rice to a savory stew in that thing!”
— Mohini Bhakta, MBA, RDN, CDCES
“A high quality can opener. I’m laughing while writing this because I’ve broken probably eight cheap can openers in adulthood. I finally ‘splurged’ on a more expensive one, and so far, so good!”
— Kirsten Seele, MFN, RD, LD, NBC-HWC
“KitchenAid mixer. Essential for bakers, but I also love the attachments for shredding and slicing. You can shred an 8-ounce block of cheese in less than a minute.”
— Jessica Sandoz, MS, RDN, LDN, CDCES
“An electric teakettle. It is so quick to heat up water to whatever temperature I want, and a bonus is that it looks very cute on my kitchen counter.”
— Leah Maschino, MBA, RDN
“My large capacity food processor, which came with multiple shredding blades and a traditional S-blade. It’s powerful, versatile, and easy to clean. I use it multiple times a week, from making homemade snack bars to shredding vegetables. I also like it for quickly pulling together empanada dough and pie crust.”
— Kelli McGrane, MS, RD
“Can I say multiple tongs? Ha! Just kidding. It would be our toaster oven. I had never had one before we bought one 2 years ago. It’s used almost every day. My husband is really into toasted bread for breakfast or for his sandwich at lunch. It’s allowed us to stockpile pitas and homemade waffles in the freezer because it’s so easy to defrost and heat them in the toaster oven. It’s also been nice to use it to cook smaller batch items instead of turning on the big oven, especially on warmer days. It also works perfectly to heat up leftover pizza.”
— Annie Hibbs, CPPM, MS, RD, LD
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Want to learn more about food, diets, cooking, or some other nutrition subject? Let us know at nutritionedition@healthline.com and we'll look into it for you! (Heads up, we may use your response in an upcoming newsletter.)
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