HG's Must Haves For Your Kitchen....

1.Pam Cooking Spray:

They say: A spritz of this stuff can save you crazy amounts of calories and fat grams when whipping up your favorite dish. Ooooh, and they have "fun" flavors too.

I say: I do agree, this is a "must have".

2. Steamer.

They say:

Steaming foods ROCKS. First off, it helps to retain the vitamins and other good-for-you stuff found in natural foods. Secondly, it's super-easy to do. And, best of all, it's a great low-cal and low-fat cooking method, since you don't need to add any oil, sauce, or butter to get going.

I say:

Steaming may "ROCK", but who says you don't add any oil, sauce or butter??? What about the cheese??

3. Blender

They say: Smoothies and shakes from the local coffee shop or burger joint can contain absurd amounts of fat, calories, and sugars. But it only takes a few minutes, some key ingredients, and a blender to whip up your very own guilt-free versions! We also use our blender to grind up those Fiber One breadcrumbs (the KEY ingredient in our Lord of the Onion Rings recipe). Blenders are a girl's best friend!

I say:

Screw the Fiber One breadcrumbs! Margarita anyone?? Blender, a girls best friend? I say that would be the local Caribou.

4. Food Processor

They say:

Food processors make prepping veggies a breeze. You can also make soups, sauces and awesome chopped salads with these super-handy appliances. Life without a food processor is like, well, life without a thing that chops, hacks, dices and liquefies really well.

I say:

More crap in the cupboard?? How about salad and or soup from a bag, already chopped, hacked and liquefied.

5. Spices & Extracts

They say:

Keeping a stocked spice rack will help you add zazzle to your cooking while barely affecting calorie and fat counts.

I say:

I will agree with this one. Although don't ask me to use the food processor that I wont' be getting to make my own spices.

6. Non Stick Frying Pan

They say:

Investing in a good nonstick pan is a MUST. You can basically cook up anything (seafood, pancakes, veggie burgers, and more) without the use of any oil or butter. Another bonus? These pans are easy to clean, so no more using that as your excuse to order in!

I say:

Well duh!!

7. Measuring cups and spoons.

They say:

It's WAY too easy to overdo your portion sizes when you're eyeballing it. Measuring out ingredients will do more than get your baked goods to taste right; it'll keep you from accidentally causing increases in the fat and calories and not even knowing it. Even when you're not re-creating your favorite recipes, measuring utensils are super-handy. Sure you buy low-calorie cereal, but when was the last time you checked how much of the stuff you're filling your bowl with? Yikes! Break these out to keep yourself in check.

I say:

Again, duh to the measuring contents of a recipe. To the measuring of the food I eat......well, maybe I would be less worried about stuffing myself into a swim suit this summer if I measured out my portions. If I use the 1/2 cup, how many scoops can I have???

Deb's Must Haves For Your Kitchen:

A Microwave

Kraft Mac & Cheese

Butter, noodles, and parm cheese

Hamburger

A Microwave

Wine

Paper Plates

A personal chef!