A Little Plug

As you all know, one of my goals this fall has been to become more adventurous in the kitchen and work towards making more of my own healthy meals myself. It's a great way to control what kind of things you're eating (ie lower fat and sodium) and to make sure you're getting the freshest ingredients. (Side note: I still need to work on portion control. Aaargh!)

Well, one of the best decisions I've made to help me in this adventure - one which I really hemmed and hawed over for a while - was to finally get myself a cute little mini food processor. Since any decision to shell out 50 bucks or more for a new appliance is one you should consider seriously, I asked for advice before purchasing and my co-blogger and several other good bloggy friends provided great insights.

I am so glad I brought this little mini chop-chop home! (That's what I call it, cute eh?) It's a KitchenAid food processor, and I love its stylish little chrome look. The 3-cup size was perfect for me, cuz I don't cook giant meals for entertaining. And it's dishwasher-safe, my two new favorite words!

So far, I have used it to chop a lot of garlic, and to make my own garlic and cilantro vinaigrette. I plan to follow T's advice to use more carrots in my cooking, so this little baby will come in handy for that, too. I want to try making my own salsa, too. I'm still looking for great suggestions on other ways I can use this little cutie, and so far I'm very happy with my purchase!

Next up? I'm hoping to get an immersion blender so I really can make some tasty, healthy and smooth soups.