In this conversation, Martha and Peter discuss various tools and gadgets that can aid in health and wellness journeys. They explore kitchen gadgets that facilitate healthy cooking, tools for physical activity, and self-care practices that enhance overall well-being. The discussion emphasizes the importance of making health enjoyable and accessible, highlighting how small changes can lead to significant improvements in lifestyle.
Key Takeaways
- Using kitchen gadgets can simplify healthy cooking.
- Air fryers and slow cookers are great for meal prep.
- Smaller dishes can help control portion sizes.
- Instant Pots are useful for quick cooking.
- Yoga mats and weights are essential for home workouts.
- Apps can enhance fitness routines and motivation.
- Self-care practices like journaling and meditation are important.
- Incorporating movement into daily life benefits mental health.
- Change often occurs as a byproduct of self-care efforts.
Video Transcript
Martha McKinnon (00:00)
Hi, welcome to Simple Shifts: Conversations to Fuel the Body, Mind and Soul. I’m Martha McKinnon from the blog Simple Nourished Living, and with me is my brother and partner, Peter Morrison.
Peter Morrison (00:12)
Hi.
Martha McKinnon (00:14)
Hi, how you doing?
Peter Morrison (00:17)
I’m doing well on this rainy, wet, southern California afternoon. How are you?
Martha McKinnon (00:23)
I’m doing really well. You don’t get a lot of rainy, wet southern California afternoons. So savor it.
Peter Morrison (00:28)
No, and as you can see, I’m bundled up because I’m cold all the time anyway, but I’m really cold today.
Martha McKinnon (00:34)
Now you’re extra cold. So today I thought it would be fun for us to talk about different gadgets and tools that you can use to help you on your health and wellness journey. And Weight Watchers did this in a workshop recently and there were tons of really cool tips, gadgets, apps. I thought it would be fun for us to share our experience here and we’ll talk kitchen, pantry kinds of gadgets, tools, gadgets that you use in your activity and also in your wellness and self-care. You want to start with kitchen, want to start with activity. What do want to start with?
Peter Morrison (01:20)
Let’s start with kitchen.
Martha McKinnon (01:23)
Okay, let’s start with kitchen since we spend a lot of time in our kitchens. We have our recipe food website blog and so we spend a lot of time in our kitchen. So what kind of tools help you stay on track with getting healthy meals on the table?
Peter Morrison (01:44)
Oh pretty much any kitchen, well outside of an oven, like last night for instance I used the air fryer to cook some vegetables.
Martha McKinnon (01:55)
So the air fryer, do you find like the air fryer is one of your go-tos to help that makes things easier?
Peter Morrison (02:00)
Yeah, because it’s a quick, easy way to pull something together. Definitely.
Martha McKinnon (02:07)
Cool. So the air fryer is a great one. And that came up in the conversation too. I find, of course, I’m a huge slow cooker fan. And so my slow cooker is, I find it so helpful because you have to kind of plan ahead, but you also get your food done ahead so that you’re not doing that last minute rush. You know, at dinnertime, what I’m going to eat, you have to kind of think a little bit ahead, which is helpful for me. And then it kind of simmers away and it’s ready for dinner.
I love the slow cooker and we’ve got tons of slow cooker recipes here on the website as well as quite a few air fryer recipes these days. Other tools that you find really helpful that make it sort of maybe fun or interesting, something that makes… the spiralizer (affiliate link) was big for a while and that got mentioned some people are still using the spiralizer (affiliate link) and I think that’s just because it makes eating vegetables more fun. So do you use your spiralizer?
Peter Morrison (03:01)
Yeah, I had one of those. I don’t really use it much anymore because, well, also now you can buy stuff already spiralized.
Martha McKinnon (03:10)
That’s true. And riced right. I like the cauliflower rice. I mean, back when that concept first came out, you had to do it yourself. And that got kind of messy with either using a food processor (affiliate link). I would use the box grater (affiliate link) and you’d have sort of cauliflower flying everywhere.
And so, yeah, the fact that you can get a lot of these vegetables now, either in the produce section or in the freezer section, already to go. That’s a convenience. And that’s something that frozen, all ready to go chopped veggies, I think that can be really helpful. All of the chopped vegetables that you find in the produce section.
I think a salad bar at a grocery store can be helpful too for just grabbing the little bits that you might need to make a salad or a stir-fry, especially if you’re cooking for one or two. So the salad bar can be helpful. Anything else?
Peter Morrison (04:04)
Yeah, I was thinking, like rather than buying like a whole head of cabbage or something, if you only need a bit.
Martha McKinnon (04:10)
Yep. Grab it.
Peter Morrison (04:12)
Every morning or most mornings, I should say, not every morning, but most mornings I have a smoothie. And so my Vitamix (affiliate link) is probably at the top of my list, because while I don’t use it much for soups and other things you can and I have done in the past, it’s it’s just one of those multifunctional very helpful tools that I just love. I just love my Vitamix (affiliate link).
Martha McKinnon (04:41)
Yeah, it was a big investment at the time, but I really feel like it’s stood the test of time for me and it is something I go to again and again. And I do use it quite a bit for soups too, in addition to smoothies. The immersion blender (affiliate link) works too, you know, that’s a cool tool for pureeing, but the Vitamix just gets things so much smoother and creamier.
Peter Morrison (05:07)
Hmm. It actually heats too if you cook it long, if you run it long enough.
Martha McKinnon (05:11)
Yeah, but it’ll actually heat up the soup, is pretty cool. Yeah. So what about other tools or, you know, kitchen, pantry, food items? I found actually, when I really think about it is smaller dishes, you know, shrinking down. I’ve got smaller bowls, smaller plates, and they’ve made a huge difference because that can really cut down and having to measure because the plates are small enough where you can eyeball it.
If you don’t have smaller dishes, I think measuring cups, measuring spoons are going to be a really important kitchen gadget to depend upon because you can totally over serve yourself without realizing it on a really, in a big bowl or big plate.
Peter Morrison (05:55)
Mm-hmm.
Peter Morrison (06:00)
With the more baking I do, I’m using my kitchen scale (affiliate link) a lot more.
Martha McKinnon (06:04)
Mm hmm. Yep. The kitchen school scales a great one too. Yeah. I’ve gotten into sour dough bread baking. I went to a class on sour dough bread and all of that was done using a scale, a kitchen scale (affiliate link). And so, and that’s been fun. And I think, I think just eating really good bread, it’s really satisfying. And I find that I even crave less of it. Cause it’s so satisfying. It just feels like, and it’s good for your gut. Actually I was in the Weight Watchers app and they were talking about different foods that are really good for nourishing your gut biome and sourdough bread came up so that was cool.
Peter Morrison (06:43)
It probably, the bread that you make, probably doesn’t last as long. Does it dry out much quicker?
Martha McKinnon (06:50)
It does. And here because it’s higher humidity, it’ll get moldy if you’re not careful. So after a couple days I just slice it and put it in the freezer because we make a lot of toast and toasted sandwiches, and so just by slicing it and throwing it in the freezer and then we can just pop it out you know a few slices at a time as we need it and that’s been working really well.
Instant Pot (affiliate link), you know, I think that the Instant Pot (affiliate link) for people who like it and who have gotten it into their repertoire really love it because it really does speed up the process for especially for longer cooking items like beans and stews and things like that. Do you use your Instant Pot very much?
Peter Morrison (07:35)
Not as much as I would like to, just because it kind of makes a lot of food for two people. And I haven’t really learned how to scale it down. And I mean, we’re okay with leftovers, but sometimes it’s just too much. I’ve actually, I’m part of a bean club, like not a monthly, it’s quarterly, but they’re really special.
Martha McKinnon (08:01)
Mm-hmm. Heirloom beans?
Peter Morrison (08:02)
Heirloom beans and they’re dry and they’re things you just sort of can’t get in the store and I’ve actually I’ve just taken to doing them on the stovetop and I really enjoy doing them on the stovetop, so if I’m around and can keep an eye on them if I’m not I’ll do them in the slow cooker and I have tried to do them in the instant pot but I can never seem to get it right and I have to like cook them multiple times to sort of get them, which is not a big deal, but it just sort of depends on how my day’s going, I guess.
Martha McKinnon (08:36)
Yeah, and I think that’s the issue for me that I haven’t quite gotten over with the Instant Pot because the slow cooker, guess I just, I think my mascots in life are probably like the snail and the tortoise. And so the fact that they take a long time doesn’t bother me because I can check on, but I love the convenience of being able to just lift the lid, check on them to see if they’re done yet versus the Instant Pot just is a little more complicated on getting things done.
Peter Morrison (09:05)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Martha McKinnon (09:07)
I mean, until you’re really experienced with it, I think. I think for a new cook, the slow cooker, because again, if it takes an extra hour or two, it doesn’t really matter as long as you’ve planned, right? If you’re doing maybe prep on the weekends, and so it’s not going to be an issue from delaying your dinner.
Peter Morrison (09:23)
Definitely.
Martha McKinnon (09:25)
Yeah. Any spices or food items or things like that that really make it that you find go to?
Peter Morrison (09:34)
Well, I had one more dish thing before we moved on. About a year or two ago, I invested in Anyday dishes. They’re not, they’re storage containers, but they’re really, they’re made for microwave (affiliate link) cooking. I know microwave (affiliate link) cooking is controversial with some people. But these dishes there, they can go in the freezer. They could go in the refrigerator. They can go directly into the microwave and they’ve got a ventable lid, which is really cool.
So I just use those all the time and I’ve sort of gotten rid of all the plastic. I try not to use like plastic containers because heating plastic in the microwave kind of creeps me out a little bit. Anyway, they’re glass and I just love the convenience of them for storage and for reheating in the microwave for my small family.
Martha McKinnon (10:28)
Cool. Anyday containers we’ll have to maybe link out to those in the notes here. Yeah, and the microwave. I know maybe the microwave is controversial, but for us, I think that it just makes leftovers. It makes warming up food so much nicer than I remember back in the day before microwave when mom would like heat things on the stove or in the oven and they would tend to take a real long time and get dried out. And with the microwave, you really do sustain the quality during reheating and so I think that’s just a really nice convenience. When you’ve got food ready to go in the fridge and you can just microwave it you’re much less likely to dial for Uber Eats, so that would be on my list as well.
Peter Morrison (11:14)
Yeah, especially coming into the winter when we’re eating more soups and stews, it’s perfect.
Martha McKinnon (11:25)
Any other foods? I like yogurt. I mean there’s some things that I always have in my fridge that I think are sort of go-tos. Yogurt, cottage cheese are a couple of my go-tos. You know, in the pantry I always have tuna. So that it always seems as though there’s something that you can put, whip together, eggs. Something that you can whip together real quick and easy to keep me on track and out of the chip bag or out of the dialing for pizza.
Peter Morrison (11:55)
Mm Yeah, I’ve actually gotten away even from like protein powders and whatnot, because they’re expensive and they are sometimes just loaded with all sorts of stuff. So I use either protein or yogurt or cottage cheese for a little protein boost in my smoothies now.
Martha McKinnon (12:13)
Yeah. Good, cool. So I think we’ve kind of covered and again, I’d love for anybody who’s listening and watching and tuning in to share in the notes if they have other gadgets and tools that they find helpful for their journey. I’d love to hear more about that.
What about in the world of activity and movement? Do you have any, any gadgets, any tools, any go-to equipment that is important to you. I know for me it would be my yoga mat. I always have my yoga mat unrolled and ready to step on too. So that’s a big one for me. And along with a few other yoga props, like a yoga block and a strap for stretching. I’ve got some hand weights that are kind of go to, you know, for just doing a little bit of strength training.
Peter Morrison (13:02)
Yeah, I like those little small like two and a half, three, four, five pound little dumbbells. They’re so versatile and so it’s amazing how helpful they can be.
Martha McKinnon (13:14)
Mm-hmm. Yep. I know and they’re easy to grab, they’re easy to, you know, even when you’ve just, if you’re watching TV, you can be doing, you know, a few simple strength training exercises. So that’s go-to. Somebody during the workshop that I tuned into mentioned step-in sneakers, which I thought was kind of cool. The fact that, you know, you just have the sneakers, think Skechers might make them, you know, you’re just able to step into them. They don’t need to be tied or fastened and you’re just ready to go. And so she finds that’s really helpful for her.
A lot of apps were mentioned. Do you use any exercise type apps to help you? Or fitness sites?
Peter Morrison (13.50)
I don’t.
Martha McKinnon (13:53)
So there are lot of, and Weight Watchers in fact is offering various stretch and walk with me in various activity type workshops as part of their offering now, which I think is kind of cool. It’s almost like, you know, one stop shopping these days with everything they have included there available within the app.
Peter Morrison (14:15)
It makes me think that the gym up here at our community center has like these weighted balls. I don’t know what they’re not like medicine balls, but they’re kind of like basketballs. Like they’re grippy, they’re rubbery and they’re like eight pounds, 10 pounds. And they’re just fun to hold and twist and you could feel like a little extra. I probably wouldn’t have them at home, but if you’re a member at a gym or something. It’s another fun way to get some strength training and stretching in a not an unusual way, but just a different way.
Martha McKinnon (14:58)
Right. And that made me think of hula hoop. We have an old success story on our site about a woman who really transformed her life by hula hooping. And I was talking to somebody recently who was going to a weekend getaway and hula hoop exercise was going to be part of that. So weighted hula hoops are definitely a thing. Yeah.
Peter Morrison (15:19)
Oh wow. I’ve actually always enjoyed jumping rope too. I don’t do that, but it’s just one of those things that it’s kind of fun and it helps with your coordination and stamina and whatnot.
Martha McKinnon (15:31)
Yeah. Yeah. Good. So I think we’ve sort of covered activity there. And I know you would say you’re pickleball paddle, right?
Peter Morrison (15:41)
It doesn’t apply to everyone, but yeah, or a tennis racket.
Martha McKinnon (15:46)
But it does apply to a lot more people. It’s funny. It seems like wherever I go, I run into people who will say, do you play pickleball? I mean, it’s happening more and more in our world.
Peter Morrison (15:57)
Hmm. And you say paddle and it’s more like paddles because I’ve probably got about…
Martha McKinnon (16:01)
Yeah, because you’re a pro.
Peter Morrison (16:03)
Well how many crock pots of you have?
Martha McKinnon (16:01)
Yeah, a few. A few for sure. One can’t quite get it done. What about? Yeah. So what about in terms of about the wellness part, the wellness, your self-care, do you have any tools or gadgets or go-to’s when it comes to more generalized health and wellness?
Do you still use like essential oils in a diffuser? Do they help like in terms of, you know, I love the smell of citrus and orange and I’ve been using my diffuser a little more and so I think that’s something that is very uplifting and I would consider that something I do for wellness.
I journal, so I would think that that’s something that is sort of a go-to and important for me in terms of the self-care aspect. I’m doing a lot more meditating and there are lots of good meditating apps like the Insight meditation app and Happier. Those are a couple that I’ve used for meditation.
Self-massage. I mean I love you know those little like weighted collars that you can put in the microwave and then just kind of wrap here and just that can be really soothing and warming and that’s kind of a cheap way, in lieu of a massage of just feeling really sort of nurtured and taken care of. Bubble baths. So you know nice bubble bath products are also a form of self-care for me.
Peter Morrison (17:40)
Hmm. I think I just try to get a little, or a lot of, movement in every day. I don’t really follow or subscribe to any particular.
Martha McKinnon (17:51)
Mm-hmm. Any other self-care beyond movement?
What about for your mental health?
Peter Morrison (17:57)
Oh dear.
Martha McKinnon (18:03)
Well, I guess exercise, a lot of people find exercise really important to their mental health.
Peter Morrison (18:08)
Yeah, it does. That serves a dual purpose for me because I, in days like today, it’s a rainy day. I’ll do like, we probably won’t be able to do our afternoon walk, but I do have some small weights here. I might do some exercises. I’ll probably do like a little pushup routine or some kind of maybe stretching or something. It’s not the same for me as actually being out in the air moving, but it does help my mental state.
Martha McKinnon (18:43)
Yeah, and I would say like nature, nature for me like getting out and walking and being in nature is very beneficial and sometimes just even bringing flowers into the house. I think that those are really a couple of more uplifting things that just help state of mind, inner calm.
All right. Well, I think we did a good job at identifying just lots of tools to make the health and wellness journey a little more fun. Make it easier, like make it a little more interesting because again, we know that change happens when we can make what we’re trying to accomplish as easy as possible and as enjoyable as possible. Those are really key in setting ourselves up for success. So thanks for sharing with me today.
Peter Morrison (19:27)
No, it was a great idea. As you were talking about change happens, it makes me think, I think change happens too when you’re doing these things and not necessarily even trying to change. You’re just doing these things to take care of yourself. And then a week, two weeks later, all of a sudden a change has happened.
Martha McKinnon (19:48)
Yeah, it’s like it’s a byproduct as opposed to the real goal. Yeah, that’s cool.
Peter Morrison (19:54)
Yeah, exactly.
Martha McKinnon (19:48)
Mm-hmm.
Peter Morrison (19:55)
Cool. Well, have a good day everyone. Please feel free to subscribe if you like this content, share it with anybody you think might be helpful. Share your ideas below. We’d love to hear what works for you on your journey and we’ll be back soon. Bye.
Martha McKinnon (20:15)
Take care, bye bye.
