Mother’s Day Gift Guide for the Whole Foods Mom
Is it bad to say that I’m not dropping ANY hints this year about Mother’s Day hoping that the boys in my life will just surprise me with something good? I know I shouldn’t expect my husband to read my mind, and I definitely don’t expect him to read this blog. (My husband is not the most computer savvy.) So instead of nagging him about what I want, I’ve put together my top ten list of things I already own or salivate over every time I peruse the malls. Items that I feel best accent the Whole Foods OAMM or any OAMM!
Cast Iron Pizza Pan
1) If you haven’t heard already, we love pizza. And not just your typical pepperoni, we like to make ours. For our wedding my Auntie Shelly got us this amazing Pizza Stone. I cannot find our specific model anywhere on the internet! But this model is fairly similar. You can not only cook amazing pizzas, but you can cook breads, vegetables, cookies, anything you so desire! We simply season ours a few times a year, but it stays in my oven all the time! And you may as well just add a Pizza Peel to your cart as well. These handy boards are just so wonderful to have and make pizza and bread making even easier. You’ll be a professional in no time.
Microplane Grater/Zester
2) Store bought shredded cheese is a sin at my house. Yes it can be cheaper and there are some great coupons out there, however, taste buds rule, and hands down, freshly grated cheese wins every time. If you do not have any type of Microplane yet, get these on your list right now. There are several different types: fine, coarse, medium, spice, etc. We have three different ones and I love them all. They shred everything with the grate-est (come on) of ease. From adding a little lemon zest to Scones to getting fresh Parmesan for Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi.
Le Creuset Cooking Set
3) Sure it’s a big ticket item but the Complete LeCrueset set is just so beautiful and wonderful or any type of cook of any skill! These classic kitchen pieces not only add great color to your table and meals, but offer great preparation options. I personally have about four pieces of the set in Orange Color. Yes they describe me perfectly “Orange is perceived as inviting, friendly, and intense. It stimulates and energizes us, and is warming. It is an excellent color for creativity.” Head to the LeCrueset site to find YOUR color or the color for the Mom in your life!
Steel Canisters
4) I’ve recently been doing more research on buying some of my pantry staples in bulk. I go through a lot of flour. I love to bake! When I do buy flour, sugar, etc, I stock up while the price is right. These Stainless Steel Canisters have come in very handy to me in the past few years. There are definitely options available for every price range. These were a wedding gift and have worked well for me. I will be stocking up here soon however when my 50# bags of flour come in. If you have more tips on other canisters for me send them my way!
Oven Thermometer
5) 4820 FT above sea level is where my house is located. Contrary to popular belief, not ALL of Colorado is at a “Mile High”. Bread baking is such a science experiment. I’ve failed many times, and I believe a lot of it is attributed to the fact I do not have an Oven Thermometer. “But Kelly there’s one on my oven, that should be enough right?” Nope, not every oven is true to temperature. Therefore having an Oven Thermometer is key to get exactly the right temperature to deliver the results you want.
Immersion Blender
6) Raise your hand if you have ever put soup in a blender and had it explode all over? ***Raises Hand*** However that was over seven years ago, and our first Christmas in our house my sister in law bought me my first Immersion Blender. By far one of my most favorite kitchen small appliances ever. It finally burnt up just this last winter, so my husband bought me this upgraded version. It does it all, and I especially like the attachments that come with it. It’s a perfect match for Smoothies or Marinara Sauce. Not to mention it’s small, easy to use, and dishwasher safe!
KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment
7) There are some amazing all natural ice creams on the market today. There are even some great soy, vegan, gluten free you name it. However there’s nothing better and hearing the hum of the Ice Cream Maker going during a hot summer day knowing I’ll have homemade vanilla bean ice cream to go with my fresh berry cobbler that night. We have the older Ice Cream Maker but this new version has it all. The options for sorbet, frozen yogurt, whatever you desire! If you can spend a little extra get an extra bowl, they are great to have for making bigger batches. If you buy this for the Mom in your life, you’ll be headed over to her house every night this summer. Believe it. (And if you have a KitchenAid mixer you can simply purchase the attachment appliance for making ice cream. No extra appliance laying around!)
Baking Mat
8) I brought cookies to my husband every time I saw him when we first started dating. He jokingly told me I needed to buy stock in aluminum foil because it was my staple in making cookies without the mess or grease. Then my wonderful Mom bought me a Silpat Baking Mat and I fell in love. These baking mats are a must have! They rarely cause burnt edges. They are easy to clean, easy to store. And best of all re-useable so they are great for the environment! Although aluminum is easily recyclable.
Apple Peeler/Corer
9) Since we joined our CSA last year I have a whole new appreciation for fresh fruit. This winter they had an over abundance of apples and invited all CSA members new, old or prospering, to head up to the farm and take away as much as they could haul for FREE! My son and I walked away with about four bags full of apples. Apples store in a cool, dry environment for quite awhile. However that same weekend, we decided to start the basement finish. There went my storage space. I bought a trusty Apple Peeler Corer and made about four full batches of applesauce. I made applesauce in the fall, and it went nothing like this winter. It was messy, hard and exhausting. My son loves the peeler corer because he can help without me worrying. There are many other uses for the Apple Peeler Corer, for example who likes curly fries?
Food Rules
10) Lastly Food Rules by Michael Pollan, is one of the easiest and most inspiring books you will read. It’s simply stated in 112 pages, which really is about 60 pages of writing on tips how to re-think how you eat today. Nothing graphic, nothing political, nothing mind altering, just suggestions and fun tips on becoming a conscious consumer. Our favorite “Treat treats as treats. And if you want a treat, make it yourself.” My husband and I each read this book in the same night, so it’s not one that will take awhile, or a lot of mind space, therefore perfect for the bathtub.
I hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day. Whether you celebrate with just your husband, babies to be, children young or old, your fur babies, your Mother, Grandmother, or Great Grandmother, take this opportunity to take a bow for all you do. Give yourself the permission to take a break this Sunday, and do whatever it is that makes you smile.
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Last year we planted a garden, it was too early. This Mother's Day we'll more than likely be in the mountains on a hike, similar to this one last June!
Like so many Americans, I have started cooking more at home too. Sites like this really help me perfect what I set on the table. Thank you!
While I’m not a mom yet, the majority of those items wound up on my Amazon wish list ;)
If you’re looking at buying foods in bulk, invest in a wheat mill (grinder) and buy whole grains. Electric or manual and then buy 50 lb bags of whole wheat. About 2 cups of wheat will produce 3 cups of flour. It’s considerably cheaper, stores better for longer and doesn’t loose it nutritional value like stored flour. If you live in Colorado, you have access to an abundance of grain providers to purchase from. Midwest & western states will pay much less for the grains and in shipping that say one of us Southern states. And one more advantage to having whole grains stored instead of enough flour for your needs, you can use grains for more than just grinding up to make flour. Cereals, cooked and used in salads, soups – even mixed in with meat to help use less without cutting out nutritional value.
[...] previous gift guide suggestions see the following posts: Whole Foods Gift Guide, Cooking Gift Guide, Once A Month Cooking Gift Guide, OAMM Suggested Equipment post, the Mother’s [...]
I love the Tupperware Modular Mates for storing large amounts of flour or sugar. You can buy the larger ones (Square or Rectangle 5) and they will hold a ton and they keep your flour fresh.
For bulk storage, I would highly recommend storing in mason jars if you have a foodsaver! You can vacuum pack normal canning jars with their jar lid sealer attachment which only runs about $10. We’ve started to vacuum seal all of our bulk purchases keeping our nuts, grains, dried fruit, and other snacks all fresh for much longer than any other containers could.