Favourites of the year: Kitchen Gadgets, Podcasts and Books

Good morning!

Get yourself a drink and sit with me, today I am sharing some discoveries that have won a place on my list of 2021 favourites. Since the beginning of the year, I have read a few books, listened to a few Podcast and moved flats, which encouraged me to try new kitchen gadgets and test their value.

Let’s start the list with…

kitchen tools

Air Fryer

After moving to the new place, we decided it was time to treat ourselves to an exciting kitchen appliance. If you enjoy learning about cooking, you know Youtube is currently loaded with delicious recipes that you can prepare with an Air Fryer, and we went for one.

I love the convenience of preparing healthy and easy meals packed with vegetables in a device that makes them fast and extra crispy.

Not every food is going to come out as crunchy as you expect the first time. It takes a while to get the trick for each ingredient to be perfectly made, but it is fast, easy to use and versatile. I have prepared vegetables, potatoes, tofu and baked a few muffins and I am loving it so far.

Salad Spinner

I love making salads. I usually prepare huge amounts and store them in my fridge, ready to eat. Unfortunately, lettuce is part of the sad dirty dozen.

The dirty dozen is a list that contains the 12 greens and fruits with the highest amount of fertilizers. Most of those fertilizers stay in the skin after being washed and peeled. And you would expect organic lettuce to be easy to find, but it’s quite rare.

Iceberg lettuce is my most used leaf and my new Salad Spinner is helping me wash it better than I used to do before. My technique is simple. I cut some leaves and leave them soaking in water and vinegar for a few minutes. After that, I use the salad spinner to dry the leaves.

Knife Sharpener

As well as the air fryer, I also got this item days after moving flats. I bought a nice set of knives during the quarantine and, one year later, the knives felt less sharp and pleasurable to use. I have always been a sceptic about knife sharpeners. However, the good reviews pushed me to try a cheap one on Amazon.

It works. And it’s awesome. To my surprise, after using it once, cutting my tomatoes was nice and simple again. The item shows you the order of the sharpening gaps you need to follow and despite not being the nicest feeling in the world, I am satisfied with the result.

Books

With the situation that unfolded last year, I started reading paper books once again. With that, I also enjoy giving my eyes a break from digital screens.

“The Midnight Library”

The first book I read this year was “The Midnight Library”. The story focuses on the life of a girl that, tired of feeling in pain because of her regrets, decides to take her own life. After that, she wakes up in a library and discovers that every book on the shelves is a possible life she could have had if she had taken different choices growing up.

This is a beautiful book, especially if you are going through a challenging time. It portrays topics like regret, trauma and makes a great point on the power of changing our own life at any point.

“The Story of the Human Body”

A great non-fiction publication that brings us millions of years of human history, giving us a good explanation of the changes that occurred from the Australopithecus until the present time.

The story of the human body is a wake-up call for all of us who have become too comfortable working from a desk and eating comfort food every now and then. Reading this book has been a wonderful reminder of how important is to take care of our body and be mindful of how we treat it.

Podcasts

Going out for a walk and working out at home wouldn’t be the same without a podcast. Listening to someone talk about an interesting topic is now a privilege we can use at any time.

I would be lying if I didn’t admit that it was difficult to find great podcasts to listen to. There are too many channels on the platform and many of the episodes I found were filled with unimportant chatty chats and noiseless conversations. All filler no thriller.

However, I kept doing some research and now I have successfully put together a shortlist of podcasts that I believe are worth listening to.

The Wolf’s Den

As a top businessman, The Wolf of Wall Street couldn’t miss the opportunity of getting a podcast himself. Jordan Belford brings successful guests and has conversations with them about self-improvement, business, finances, investments and much more.

I got hooked to his podcast after listening to his interview with Robert Greene. Since then, I try to listen to every episode he uploads!

Cleaning Up The Mental Mess

Doctor Caroline Leaf takes over this platform to talk about mental health. She discusses mental issues from a very unique perspective, offering solutions to get better and be more aware of our brain and how to heal it.

She is also the author of the book “Your Mental Mess”, which is currently on my to-read list. Every explanation she gives makes you question the way that society and traditional medicine has portrayed mental disorders over the years.

Kwik Brain

After going through a traumatic accident that delayed his ability to learn, Jim Kwik became a professional in the art of learning. His pain and following resilience made him a master of the memory process. Now, he has a podcast where he shares his knowledge about the brain, habits and learning tips.

Lewis Howes: The School of Greatness

My absolute favourite. Lewis Howes invites professionals to his podcast to speak about every interesting subject you can think of. He makes great questions and always challenges the guests to be eloquent with their words.

The reason why this podcast has become my favourite? It’s the one where I discovered Doctor Caroline Leaf and Jim Kwik. He has also interviewed Robert Greene a couple of times. I find every episode fascinating and I am glad I can listen to so many different experts in only one platform.

That’s everything so far. In comparison with last year, I am listening to podcasts more often than I used to and I am also trying to be more mindful with exercise and nutrition.

As always, feel free to share with me which are your favourite discoveries in the comment section!