Must Have Kitchen Gadgets for Baseball Moms
Each Spring, just as baseball season kicks off, Baseball Moms everywhere struggle with the daily stress of meal planning and preparation. We want to make sure our growing athletes are eating healthy, but the fact is we are always short on time! Weeknight practices that run over, early morning away games, or those Sunday night championships where we’re all exhausted can lead to our healthy meal planning efforts getting thrown out the window.
There is nothing wrong with getting drive-through on the way home from a late practice that ran over. However, baseball players, especially teenagers, need more lean protein, healthy carbs, and healthier food options than fast food can offer. For those times when you need to get a healthy breakfast, lunch or dinner on the table for your athlete fast, a couple handy tools can help you accomplish this feat. Here are my ‘Must Have’ Kitchen Gadgets that every Baseball Mom needs to put together healthy breakfasts on the go, fast lunches, and last minute dinner ideas.
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Breakfast on the Go
Early morning away games are the worst! Breakfast in the car can make sure your ball player gets the maximum amount of sleep, while also making sure your athlete gets that all-important healthy breakfast. These tools and kitchen gadgets help make a healthy breakfast on the go easier.
Hamilton Beach Breakfast Maker
This amazing little kitchen gadget is one of my personal favorites, and was one of my best Black Friday buys! The Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker not only toasts an English Muffin, Biscuit, or other bread, but also perfectly cooks an egg, cheese, and other protein like pre-cooked bacon. We LOVE this kitchen gadget! In about 5 minutes, you can have a breakfast sandwich ready to go for a quick breakfast in the car. Just pre-heat it, place the bottom of your English Muffin in the bottom ring, close it, place your egg, cheese, bacon, etc. on the middle ring, and then top with the other half of the English Muffin. Close and after 4-5 minutes you have a sandwich ready to wrap in foil. It also comes in a Dual Sandwich Maker option if you’d like to cook two sandwiches at once.
Dash Rapid Egg Cooker
Make healthy, protein rich hardboiled eggs in minutes with the Dash Rapid Egg Cooker.
Overnight Oats Jars (16 oz)
These Overnight Oats Jars are so handy to have for overnight oats, cold cereals, or yogurt parfaits to go. The snap tight lids keep these jars airtight and closed for storage.
Ninja QB3001SS Ninja Fit Compact Personal Blender
The Ninja QB3001SS Ninja Fit Compact Personal Blender makes smoothies in seconds. This version of the Ninja Fit Compact Personal Blender is highly rated, and comes with blender cups and lids, so all you have to do is make your smoothie, screw on a lid and go!
Thermos 16 oz Stainless Steel King Vaccuum Insulated Food Jar
If you are Overnight-Oats averse, or just prefer your oatmeal warm, the Thermos 16 oz King food jar is the original, and best, warm foods container. Store warm cereals, soups, or even keep dinner warm in these generously sized jars. To keep food warm for hours, just be sure to pour boiling water into the empty jar and allow to sit, full of the boiling water, for at least 5-10 minutes before putting in your hot food.
Cool Gadgets for Lunch (or Dinner) In the Car
The older our ball players get, the busier the schedule. Shuttling them from school to practice or a game sometimes means that lunch or dinner will need to be eaten in the car, or on the tailgate when they get to the field. These cool tools and gadgets make dining so much easier!
Electric Lunchbox with 60W Car Adapter
For when you’re bringing dinner to the field, and you want to keep it warm for hours, this Electric Lunch Box is a game changer! The 60W charger can plug into your cars’ outlet to keep food warm until your athlete is ready to eat. Includes a leak proof 2 compartment, removable Stainless Steel Container, as well as a fork, spoon and carry bag.
Bentgo Salad Stackable Lunch Container
While my teen athlete wouldn’t touch a salad 2 years ago, this school year he noticed that many of his friends started bringing salads for lunch. He’s now had a salad nearly every day for lunch, and I’m encouraging it! This generously sized Salad Container is amazing – it keeps proteins and salad additions like chicken, cheese, olives, etc. separated from the greens, and the salad dressing separate as well. When you’re ready to eat, just add the dressing and salad toppings, put the lid back on, and shake for perfectly dressed salad. This one is a must have for salad lovers!
Set of 20 Reusable Stainless Steel and Silicone Straws, 10.5″
New Jersey banned plastic straws about 2 years ago, and paper straws are officially ‘the worst’. Keeping a stash of these Reusable Straws straws in your car is a great idea if you frequently find yourself faced with a paper straw, that will fall apart after a few sips. The silicone tip prevents painful tooth or lip injuries.
Bento Box 5 Compartment Containers
These bento boxes are a personal favorite of mine – I love filling these boxes with finger foods like hard boiled eggs, cubed cheese, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and crackers for a filling snack on the go. Comes in a set of 4.
Kitchen Gadgets for Fast Dinners at Home
The older your ball player gets, it seems like the further you get away from a ‘normal’ dinner time. It’s either super early so they can go to practice, or super late because they’re just getting home from practice. For that reason, every Baseball Mom needs options for fast dinners. These 5 kitchen gadgets have become my go-to helpers when I need to get dinner on the table fast.
COSORI Pro II Air Fryer 5.8QT
If you haven’t yet tried an air fryer, the Cosori Pro II Air Fryer is a highly rated option that give you 12 one-touch cooking functions, allowing you to perfect air fry foods like Steak, Chicken, Seafood, Shrimp, Bacon, Frozen Foods, French Fries, Vegetables with the touch of a button.
Additional functions like Toast, Bake, Preheat, Keep Warm allow you to keep your oven turned off, or even replace your counter top toaster!
We use our air fryer for everything from toasting waffles in the morning, to perfectly cooking Turkey Meatballs and Pork Chops at night. It’s also great for bringing new life to leftovers like pizza or chicken tenders.
Here are two of my favorite Air Fryer Recipes, perfect for busy weeknights!
Meat Chopper
For fast weeknight meals, I depend on ground beef or turkey for the majority of our fast meals. The meat chopper is a must have for chopping up meat in the skillet so it cooks fast and evenly.
Mueller Pro Series All-in-One Mandoline Slicer, Chopper, Grater, Spiralizer, Dicer
This chopper is a must have kitchen gadget for throwing together fast salads, or for chopping veggies for soups, stir frys, or any recipe. This super cool multi-functional tool allows you to slice, chop, grate, dice, or even spiralize (for zucchini noodles) by changing out the blades.
Kitchen Gizmo Snap On Pasta Strainer
This pasta strainer is a must have kitchen gadget that I use daily for quickly draining off fat from cooked meat, or for straining out pasta water. Just clip it to the side of your skillet or pot when you’re ready to drain.
Instant Pot Duo
Finally, I can’t say enough great things about my Instant Pot. Not only do I use it as a Pressure Cooker for speeding up the cooking process of recipes like Beef Stew, but I also got rid of my Crock Pot when I realized all the functions available with my Instant Pot. The Instant Pot Duo 9-in1 can perform as an Electric Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, Yogurt Maker.
The Instant Pot is a must have kitchen gadget
Every baseball mom sometimes need a little help in the kitchen. These kitchen gadgets are not only affordable, but help save time when you’re in a time crunch!
Looking for fast recipes? Here are a few of the most popular recipes from There’s No Place Like Home Plate:
Vanilla Overnight Oats – Grab and Go Breakfast Recipe
