Buying quirky and fun new gadgets is one of the most exciting parts of payday for me. I love messing around with new pieces of technology, and I also love cooking and baking. So combining my love of both of these things is even more of a dream. I’ve spent an awful lot of time ensuring that my home is as smart as possible, and now, it’s time to do the same with the kitchen.
Unlike buying new smart appliances, which can cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, kitchen gadgets don’t need to cost an arm and a leg. You don’t need to drop $4,000 on appliances to smarten up your kitchen. You can just invest in a few items that can retrofit into any home.
This $15 smart home gadget gives me more peace of mind than a security camera
I use it for a lot of reasons.
Smart Meat Thermometers
It sounds silly until you throw something on the grill
My Dad recently gifted me a Z-Grills Smoker, and every chance I get, I’ve been making something on it. But one of the most annoying parts of it, especially if I want to let something cook low and slow, is having to go outside to check the temperature of whatever I’m cooking. A few years back, I bought my brother an expensive Wi-Fi/Bluetooth meat thermometer, and I figured I should do the same for myself. For anyone serious about cooking on a grill, these save a ton of time and effort, so you can do other things while your steak is cooking.
It may sound silly, but being able to monitor temps in real time, set alarms for when you need to spray something down, or crank up the temperature, or flip what you’re making? It’s really neat, and something I never would have imagined would come in so handy. Wisconsin can’t make up its mind, so instead of sitting out in the cold, I can stay cozy inside and see when I need to spring into action again. Since I’m already a big fan of Govee, going with their meat thermometer was a given, since everything I have goes together under a single app.
Smart Kitchen Scales
Great for calorie counting and measuring
My wife is an avid baker, so knowing what she’s going to be dumping into a recipe is a necessity. A good scale is incredibly handy in the kitchen, as one may expect. But I’ve been looking into smart scales, and it may be the next investment I make to make her life easier. Plus, seeing as she deals with ankylosing spondylitis, specific parts of her diet need to be tailored to help reduce the severity of her flare-ups. The fact that this scale is incredibly accurate is also another excellent touch, and the in-app features are incredibly handy.
Working in tandem with the app, the scale can display proteins, carbs, cholesterol, and more information than I could have imagined. It takes the guessing game out of preparing meals, and also helps to ensure that everything she’s measuring for a batch of cookies comes out perfect. It also features a barcode/AI scanning tool in the VeSync app that you can use to scan your items and get an incredible amount of information. For people who need to strictly monitor what they’re putting into their bodies, this could be an incredible investment. Plus, VeSync powers things like LeVoi air purifiers, and also links with Google Health/Apple Health for fitness fanatics.
Motion-sensing under-cabinet lights
Saving electricity is always good, and these are super bright
If there’s one thing that I do that drives my wife absolutely bonkers, it’s forgetting to turn off lights when I’m done using them. With the sheer number of smart bulbs that I’ve installed around my home, it’s safe to say that I’m a big fan of having fun lighting, but the kitchen was surprisingly boring. We have some lights over the oven, and one singular hanging light that puts out a dim, moody yellow glow. That’s when I decided it was time to upgrade things a little bit. While not completely “smart”, these use PIR sensors for lighting, rather than relying on a smart home hub or voice control.
I decided to go with motion-sensing lights for a few reasons. The first is so I don’t have to awkwardly try to reach under the cabinet to fiddle with the lights when I need them. Secondly, this way, I don’t have to get yelled at when I accidentally forget to turn off a light. I jest, but it’s nice not to have to try and flip switches when my hands are full of raw beef or other germs, and having these turn off when I’m done with them is a major plus. Rechargeable batteries also make these a great option for those who don’t have the extra outlets or the wiring skills to hard-wire lights into their already existing electrical lines. Plus, they’re magnetic, so I can attach them via the sticky magnets that are included, or slap them on the side of the fridge and grab them when I need them. It makes charging them much easier than expected, since I can just grab and go.
Smart plugs for random electronics
Power on or power off when needed, and be in control
I’m a massive fan of smart plugs, and they’re one of the best things that you can get for a burgeoning smart home, or a fully decked-out one. No matter if you decide to get one with power monitoring so you know exactly when the dishwasher has finished, or if you want to get a standard one so you can start an electric kettle in the morning, this is one of the gadgets that I’d recommend to anyone and everyone.
Plus, if you get tired of using it in the kitchen, you can always repurpose it in another spot in your home. I had one that was attached to my coffee machine, but after that machine died and I got a different one, I repurposed the smart plug to turn on a light that hangs above my dining room table. They’re incredibly multi-purpose and offer a ton of control to anyone willing to dive in and try them out for themselves.
There are a ton of different kitchen gadgets available
Modernizing a kitchen is a surprisingly simple task. From things like smart plugs to motion-sensing lights, the possibilities seem endless. But you could always take it to the next step and implement a barcode scanner that sends specific items to your cloud-synced grocery list, or smart faucets that turn on with assistance from Google or Alexa. While these options may be a little more expensive, the amount of fun little smart kitchen gadgets you can find for a reasonable price is surprising. While I may not need a touch-screen toaster yet, I wouldn’t be surprised to find that I’ve added something like that in the future at this point.
