Last week I wrote about food gifts I’m planning to give to family and friends. This got me to thinking about what gift ideas for me I could share with my family. As someone who enjoys spending time in the kitchen cooking, I looked around my kitchen to see what I needed. Here are a few ideas I came up with:

1. Kitchen shears- I used to have a pair but they seemed to have disappeared. Kitchen shears can be used for many things like cutting up fresh herbs, cutting pizza into slices or quesadillas into wedges, or cutting poultry joints.
2. Plastic cutting boards- I have put my cutting boards to good use. They have a lot of nicks in them where bacteria could hide even with thorough cleaning so it’s time to get new ones. I will ask for 2-3 so I can keep one for cutting raw meats or poultry and the other for cutting fruits and vegetables or ready-to-eat foods to prevent cross contamination.
3. Food Clips- I like to use food clips to clamp shut open bags of fresh spinach, frozen fruits or vegetables, or crackers. By keeping them shut tight, less air gets into the bag and keeps the food fresher and better tasting.
4. Skillet with a lid- I use my skillet a lot when cooking for my family and it is starting to show. I like a skillet with a lid since a number of the recipes I make, like Lentil Tacos, include covering the food while it cooks.

In addition to giving a kitchen tool as a gift, consider sharing the link to the Spend Smart. Eat Smart. website or blog with the cooks in your life so they have a whole new set of recipes to try!