Three kitchen tools that are rocking my world

I purchased an embarrassing amount of "As Seen on TV" products this Christmas.

From the Scrub Daddys I gave out at my "Favorite Things" Party for my boot camp chicks:

The most successful product ever invested in on "Shark Tank," my favorite show EVER.

 To the "Chord Buddy" we bought to go with our family gift, a guitar:

Also seen on "Shark Tank." This fabulous little item has us playing simple tunes mere weeks after Christmas. It's super fun.

 To the "Veggetti" purchased in a whirling, last-minute trip to Bed Bath & Beyond where I finished up the last of my Christmas shopping purchasing fabulous items I never knew I (and my family members) needed.

I'm a sucker for that little red square in the corner. If it's on TV, it's got to be good, right?

You've probably seen the Veggetti or something like it advertised someplace or another. It's the little tool that lets you easily cut zucchini or yellow squash into thin noodle ribbons.

Y'all, pasta is SO 2014. Just look at how you can cut calories and carbs with the Veggetti:

Last year I was working with a client who was doing The 21 Day Fix, and she told me that she fixed pasta one night for dinner, but it didn't turn out to be many noodles in that yellow container. My response: "Why are you eating pasta?" It's not that it isn't allowed on the plan, but why eat pasta when you can have way MORE "noodles" that have less calories and more health benefits. That goes for spaghetti squash, or these fabulous little Veggetti noodles.

This tool is super affordable (about $15) and very easy to use. Just wash your veg, and twist it through the machine by hand. You can eat them raw, or saute them in a pan for a few minutes before you slather your delicious, homemade sauce on top. When we ate these we also had some awesome Body Beast turkey meatballs.

The Veggetti needs to be in your kitchen arsenal!

I don't know if my next item has ever appeared on television or not, but it sure makes my weekend mornings fun. It's the Aerolatte milk frother.

Comes with a convenient carrying case, so if I stay the night at your house I may whip this puppy out and make you a latte.

I've decided that I much prefer our coffee at home to Starbucks (or anywhere else, for that matter). I like my coffee fresh and weak. I also like lattes, so this is fancying up my coffee in a big way. All you do is put a little bit of milk at the bottom of your cup, stick the frother in there and run it for about 20 seconds. Then pour your coffee in and you've got yourself a home made latte. Love it!

And finally, this. The BIG Christmas present:

This.

This is NOT just a blender. If, one day, I go to turn on my car and it will not start, I will hook it to my Vitamix and drive to town.

This is a blender like I've never experienced before. My dream blender (as I've referred to it for the past several years).

Do you know what this thing can do? You can put ingredients for soup into this blender, turn it on high for 5 minutes, and the force of the engine (I guess? Maybe it's centrifugal force? Sounds like a home school research project in the making) makes the soup HOT. It steams out the top! And then you pour it in your bowl and eat it! There are not enough exclamation points to tell you how cool this thing is! ! !

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So far we've made our Shakeology in it (of course), and it pulverized kale so thoroughly that I couldn't tell it was there. We've made apple sauce, tomato soup, acorn squash soup, smooth roasted red pepper hummus, and chocolate fondue. The fondue was a trip...you put whipping cream and chocolate chips (plus some orange zest and vanilla) into the blender, then whipped it up. When it got hot and pourable, you put it in a bowl and dipped all manner of yummy fruit in it.

And then a special bonus: we didn't eat all the fondue, so I put it in a container in the fridge. The next day it had hardened into a fabulous chocolate mousse-like substance that in my opinion was better than the fondue!

On the Vitamix menu today: peanut butter! I can't wait to make our own peanut butter.

In summation, you need to hit the stores and pick up a Veggetti and a milk frother ASAP. And if you've got some cash on hand, look into a Vitamix (they ain't cheap). At the very least put it on your long-term list of dream items for your kitchen.

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

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Workout of the Day

T25 Beta Core Cardio

We just finished week 3 of Body Beast, and will be posting our thoughts about the program soon. We've been taking weekends off from the Beast for cardio and yoga, and this week will be a recovery week before we get back to Beast mode. 

Programming note: We will be doing another round of the 21 Day Fix starting SOON, so if you're interested in trying this program, please visit www.SmellsLikeFitness.com and look for the 21 Day Fix Challenge Pack, which is on sale this month for $140. It gets you the program AND 30 days' worth of Shakeology, which is a stinkin' bargain -- that's like getting the Fix program for 11 bucks!