Creating a clever kitchen

by Kate Duncan May 6, 2022

Renovating a kitchen is time-consuming. There are so many decisions to be made … Should we have brass or silver tap fittings? Subway or herringbone tiles? A thick marble benchtop or polished concrete? Then, finally, with the painting complete and the tiles grouted, it’s time to crack open a bottle of chilled red and celebrate your new kitchen … but wait … you’re not done yet. There are so many more decisions to be made. What appliances and products should you put on your benchtops? They must be smart, stunning and complement your new kitchen, right?

Fresh, healthy juice

Australian-born MOD Cold Press Juicer has been crowned a favourite time and time again and I can see why. With MOD, juicing isn’t an effort, it’s a pleasure. Its unique juicing process extracts juice without heat friction or blades. This method helps to reduce oxidisation, ensuring that your fruit and vegetables retain more of their healthy vitamins and minerals. If you go to the effort of making your own juice, you want it to be bursting with flavour and nutrients. With a wide-mouth chute, the juicer is easy to assemble, use, disassemble and clean. Not to mention it looks sleek and stylish on my new benchtop.

When it comes to juicing, preparation is just as important as having fresh produce on hand. As a new mum who has recently returned to work, I often forget what’s in my fridge or fruit bowl until it’s too late. But since using the MOD Juicer, I’ve managed to make a healthy and fresh juice every other day. No more soggy cucumbers or soft carrots to be seen — instead, they go straight into the chute and into my juice. The best thing about the juicer, in my opinion, is its super-quiet operation. With a 240W motor, the juicer’s sound level is 50dB max and 65rpm. Really, what this means is that I can juice quietly while my little boy Harrison sleeps.

As well as making delicious cold-pressed juices, the juicer can make nut milks and sorbets. I’m currently in the process of recreating my favourite café’s homemade nut milk: macadamia, cashew and dates. As for sorbet, I cannot get enough of mango, coconut and vanilla.

Smooth operator

Cult-favourite blender brand Vitamix has done it again. Their Ascent Series A3500i Blender not only looks gorgeous on my polished concrete benchtop, its easy-to-use high-performance motor ensures my smoothies are blended to perfection every time.

With program settings like smoothies, hot soups, dips and spreads, frozen desserts and, my personal favourite, a self-cleaning mode, the clever blender can even prevent mishaps using self-detecting technology. Inbuilt wireless connectivity allows the Ascent Series blenders to evolve with the latest innovation for years to come, making this one of the smartest products you can have in your kitchen.

A personal favourite recipe of mine that has been on high rotation in our household is Berry Cherry Breakfast Bowl. I discovered this delicious healthy recipe in Vitamix’s Simply Blending, a cookbook which comes with the blender. Harrison, who is almost one, cannot get enough of this fluffy and soft smoothie.

The Vitamix is so popular in our house that I would blend all day, every day if it was up to my husband and my son. And some days, it feels like all I do is make soups, smoothies, curries, ice cream and nut butters in the two-litre container. The blender certainly buys this busy working mum some time and makes my day-to-day run smoother.

Frying up a storm

Of course, my newly renovated kitchen needs artichoke green coloured pans sitting pretty against its tiled splashback! GreenPan’s latest Padova collection of frying pans, saucepans and casserole dishes are a must-have for creating a stylish and sustainable kitchen. The brand’s signature Thermolon Infinity Professional coating ensures its ceramic non-stick coating is free of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), which are complex manufactured chemicals found in many everyday products that are best avoided.

Lightweight and durable, the pans are crafted from hard-anodised aluminium and designed for maximum strength and scratch protection. They’re easy to wipe clean, dishwasher safe and oven safe up to 315 degrees Celsius, which means I can enjoy my shakshuka extra hot.

Harry, my little one, is obsessed with lamb cutlets. If he sees one cooking in our GreenPan he immediately wants it. I’m sure, like me, he’s admiring the pan, but I think it’s the cutlet — despite being very rare — that he’s desperately reaching for. Regardless, the pan cooks meat, veggies and almost anything to perfection.

With the colours chocolate truffle, taupe and artichoke green exclusively sold at Myer, the pans add style, function and practicality to our new kitchen.