top500reviewer
Member Since: August 13, 2017Reviews
kitchenaid Immersion Blender
Not sure why it took me so long to get one of these but I finally picked one up. This was purchased at Walmart for around $50. I didn’t think I would need the cup that comes with the unit but now I’m not sure what I would do without it... +
Not sure why it took me so long to get one of these but I finally picked one up. This was purchased at Walmart for around $50. I didn’t think I would need the cup that comes with the unit but now I’m not sure what I would do without it. Personally the most attractive thing about this blender is how easy it cleans up. I have used food processors, blenders, you name it but now this is my go too gadget. There is only two pieces to this unit plus the cup. You just attach the motor unit to the blade portion and screw it in, plug it in and your ready to go. There are two speeds available but I always start off with the low speed and make sure I’ve blended the bigger ingredients such as ice or frozen berries first then I switch to the second speed to froth things up a bit. Make sure you hold the cup steady on you counter while blending. When you’re done you just unplug it unscrew and give the blade portion a nice warm rinse. Done. It has come in indispensable for making dressings, mashed broccoli and of course smoothies. -
Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil
I'm loving the Clarins Lip Oil. It feels real sexy on my lips. It just enhances your own lip colour, it does a little plumping but nothing too noticeable. Moisturizes and conditions and is definitely a treat. I can also wear it over lipstick as... +
I'm loving the Clarins Lip Oil. It feels real sexy on my lips. It just enhances your own lip colour, it does a little plumping but nothing too noticeable. Moisturizes and conditions and is definitely a treat. I can also wear it over lipstick as a gloss. -
Dyson V6 Slim Stick Vacuum
This past summer I acquired a cockatiel and although they are cute and noisy in a good way, my goodness they have to be one of the messiest birds. We house him in this amazing pagoda birdcage with the bottom flared to grab the mess of seed and... +
This past summer I acquired a cockatiel and although they are cute and noisy in a good way, my goodness they have to be one of the messiest birds. We house him in this amazing pagoda birdcage with the bottom flared to grab the mess of seed and feathers but it still seems to get all over the floor as it floats around. That’s why I needed a heavy duty vacuum to keep up with this mess. My main concern with buying a vacuum was that it had to be convenient. We have central vacuum in the house But it is so Not convenient. In fact I may go so far as to say it’s the opposite of convenient. Of course I was also looking for cordless, lightweight and powerful. The Dyson Stick meets all the requirements. There are several packages you can purchase with the Dyson V6, we ordered the Bonus kit.
I have to say I do love this vacuum and here’s why: It’s definitely a grab and go tool. It’s the perfect tool for cleaning up all the hair that hits the floor after blow drying. I mostly keep the crevice tool on the vacuum but changing it to another tool is very quick and easy. It’s wonderful for cleaning the carpeted steps. So lightweight (less than 5 lbs) you can use one hand. The soft duster tool which is part of the Bonus kit really helps with dusting the furniture and picks up the fine white dust that just seems to move around the furniture with other dusting methods I’ve tried. As far as vacuuming hard wood floors and carpets it works very well. I’m sure it’s going to be a cinch to vacuum out the car this summer.
Emptying the canister is fairly easy. Sometimes the hair gets wrapped inside the canister but I just use a plastic spoon handle or long stick to remove it. The brush heads have a lock button that you just turn with a coin and your brush come right out. I usually empty it and clean it once it needs to be charged. They recommend that you rinse out the filter once a month. It takes about a day for the filter to dry before you can use it again. Might be a good idea to order a spare so you can switch them out easily. The downside to the Dyson V6 is that the charge only last 20 minutes. There is also a “Max” button you can push for better suction but I don’t find that I need to use it too often. 20 minutes of vacuuming is not so bad but it’s more of a blip because it doesn’t warn you that it’s low. It just stops. The charge time is 3 hours. I think the plastic seems a bit flimsy but I am not sure it’s built that way so they can make it a lighter vacuum. This Dyson comes with a 2 year warranty. Though it’s on the expensive side as fair as cordless vacs go I’m extremely happy with this purchase.
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Zyliss Salad Spinner
Over the years I have tried many salad spinners but this is by far the best one so far. Most salad spinners are a fairly large size and take up precious counter and cupboard space. If you aren’t going to use them then why keep it around. The... +
Over the years I have tried many salad spinners but this is by far the best one so far. Most salad spinners are a fairly large size and take up precious counter and cupboard space. If you aren’t going to use them then why keep it around.
The spinner is Swiss made and top notch. The purchase was made at Home Outfitters for around $35.00. It is well worth the money. There is an inner straining basket so you just place your salad greens in the basket and rinse well. Once done with your rinse place the basket back in to the spinner. Make sure the unit is in the unlock position, the lever will be up. All you do now is push down on the lever a few time and watch the spinner in action. It takes very little effort and spins and spins till your salad has very little trace of water. All done and very little clean up.
I admit I do purchase mostly the triple washed salad as it is most convenient for every day but for the occasions you need to wash your greens nothing beats the Zyliss Salad Spinner.
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Magic Bullet Single Shot
We have a Magic Bullet at our house, but who doesn’t? This must have been the most purchased appliance in the past 10 years. I supposed it gets top marks for convenience. It really is easy to use and easy to clean. Plus it helps that you can... +
We have a Magic Bullet at our house, but who doesn’t? This must have been the most purchased appliance in the past 10 years. I supposed it gets top marks for convenience. It really is easy to use and easy to clean. Plus it helps that you can make your smoothie then drink it right out of the same cup you made it in. Who doesn’t love one less cup to wash?
When we first got it the whole family was making smoothies all day long. Your basic smoothie in the Magic Bullet would be about 1/4 cup of fruit (fresh or frozen), milk, water or juice, maybe some yogurt. That’s it. You put all your ingredients in to the cup and place the lid with the blades on to the cup. Then place the cup on to the base. Make sure your unit is plugged in. Once the unit is placed and locked down on to the base the blending will begin. Sometimes it takes a bit of time before you will see the mixture start to blend. This is due to the thickness of the ingredients. If you still have some space in your cup you can try adding more liquid to speed up the process. Also, it’s helpful to remove the cup and give it a few shakes then put it back on the base. The cups are pretty small but it’s pretty much one serving.
At times I use the Magic Bullet for making salad dressings. It’s very convenient for that purpose. Plus if I don’t use all the dressing at one time I can just place a lid on it and save it in the fridge till I’m ready to use it again. I went through a phase where I was adding butter (it’s a Paleo thing) instead of cream to my coffee and blending it in the Magic Bullet. I wouldn’t recommend using the Magic Bullet for hot liquids. The hot coffee caused some stress cracks in the cups and they eventually started leaking. We tried online to find extra cups to purchase but it was less expensive to just get a whole new Magic Bullet. We now use the extra one at the cottage.
There are several different packaged Magic Bullet products you can buy. The basic one would be the unit with 4 cups and 4 coloured rings, on tall cup and one short cup. The coloured rings just allow you to colour code what cup belongs to what person. We don’t use the coloured rings very often. I believe the Magic Bullet advertises that you can chop, mix, blend, whip, grind. Don’t have too much experience using the Magic Bullet to chop, whip and grind but I’m sure it’s more than capable of performing those tasks. Overall I would say that the Magic Bullet is a useful household blender that is well worth the price.
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Breville Compact Smart Toaster Oven
Recently we upgraded our toaster oven to the Breville Compact Smart Toaster Oven which we purchased at Canadian Tire. We’ve had it about 3 months now and I have to say it’s a joy to use. Having an option which doesn’t involve heating up the... +
Recently we upgraded our toaster oven to the Breville Compact Smart Toaster Oven which we purchased at Canadian Tire. We’ve had it about 3 months now and I have to say it’s a joy to use. Having an option which doesn’t involve heating up the main oven for baking smaller items is important. I believe the toaster oven saves on electricity costs though I haven’t done a cost analysis at all, it just makes sense. Besides making toast, I’ve always used my toaster oven for heating up left over foods, making toast and preparing frozen dishes. Using the microwave isn’t always the best option with some foods. When making toast I like to be able to see the progress as it annoys me when the toast comes out too dark or burnt and the pop up toasters don’t always work the way they’re supposed to.
The Breville Compact Smart Toaster Oven rack has three positions and on the door they clearly mark what position is best for what you are cooking. It’s important to change the rack position before you start to preheat the oven. The middle rack has a magnet which attaches to the door. Once you open the door the rack pulls out with the door to make the hot food easier to remove. There are three adjusting knobs on this oven. The first knob allows you to choose your mode, such as pizza, toast, baking or roasting as well as convection. The second knob is for selecting your temperature setting and the third knob is for adjusting your time. Once you have chosen your mode the oven will prompt you to enter more information such as what size is the pizza or how many pieces of bread are you toasting. Based on your preferences the oven will have a pre-selected time and temperature but you can always adjust to suit. When you select your mode, temp and time the oven will then preheat and beep once it is ready for your food to be inserted in to the oven. When the pre selected time is up the oven will then beep and shut off to remind you your food is ready. It’s easy to add more time if needed.
As far as looks the Breville Compact Smart Toaster Oven is a sharp looking appliance and I do enjoy seeing it on my counter. It can bake a 12 inch pizza so it is quite large and comes in handy as a second oven when entertaining. There is a bottom crumb catcher tray that pulls out for easy cleaning and is very simple to use. Another small feature about the plug is that it has a pull finger hole that makes it so easy to pull out the plug when the oven is not in use. I think more appliances should copy this design. The only cons I have is that there is no oven light so I find that I am having to use my phone flashlight to see the progress of my cooking. Also, it’s not the least expensive toaster oven option out there.
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Tfal Actifry
We love french fries at our house. Who doesn’t? Obviously we don’t need all the extra added fat when it comes to the deep fried variety. That’s why when we heard about the T-fal Actifry and how we can cook a batch of french fries in 1... +
We love french fries at our house. Who doesn’t? Obviously we don’t need all the extra added fat when it comes to the deep fried variety. That’s why when we heard about the T-fal Actifry and how we can cook a batch of french fries in 1 tablespoon of oil we had to get one immediately. The T-fal Actifry works so well. We empty one package (567 g) of frozen fries in to the Actifry, no added oil needed and set it for approx. 22 minutes and let it run. You can watch your food cook as it rotates inside the unit. It shuts off automatically but gives you a warning beep just before it shuts off. At that point you can open up the unit, sample your food and decide if you want to cook for a bit longer depending on how crispy you want your fries. They come out perfect.
There are a few different models of the T-fal Actifry depending on what size you are looking for. Our model is the family model which can make enough to feed four people no problem. This T-fal Actifry is not to be confused with a real deep fryer that you can add batter to to make donuts or other goodies. It does fry your food but doesn’t work with large amounts of oils or liquids. I have used our unit to make roasted potatoes, baked apples and Rice and Shrimp dishes. The T-fal comes with an 83 page recipe book with several options. The teenagers in the house can throw in a batch of prepackages frozen wings or chicken bites and have a hearty meal with little kitchen mess.
After the food is cooked and enjoyed the unit will need to be cleaned up. It has several parts but the main unit pan can be used to serve the food. It looks like a deep frying pan with a handle that folds down. Because of the three main parts involved it’s not the easiest unit to clean up but it’s worth the extra work. The parts are dishwasher safe for convenience. There is a plastic ring that fits around the pan and has a hinge in the centre of it. Truthfully I am afraid one of the kids might snap it in half when attempting to wash it so I would just rather clean it up myself. The worst part of the unit is that it is fairly large and takes up a lot of space when not in use. You can pick up the T-fal Actifry at most department stores for around $200.
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Brentwood Tempered Glass Tea Kettle
We needed a new kettle as our old plastic black kettle was over 10 years old and it never seemed to look clean anymore. I picked out the Brentwood solely based on looks, I think that might be a women thing. Our kitchen has a mix of black and... +
We needed a new kettle as our old plastic black kettle was over 10 years old and it never seemed to look clean anymore. I picked out the Brentwood solely based on looks, I think that might be a women thing. Our kitchen has a mix of black and stainless steel appliances and I thought it would be a nice esthetic addition.
This kettle holds 1.5 litres of water which is plenty and I don’t have to fill it up constantly. The water mark is clearly displayed on the outside of the kettle and I am sure it would come in handy for recipes requiring boiled water. The marks are displayed from .5 Litres to 1.5 Litres. It has two push buttons on the handle, the top push button releases the lid and once released you call pull it up even further for easy filling and the other button is to power the unit on and off. It also comes with a detachable power base which is always a nice added feature to a kettle. I find the cord is the perfect length for our needs at 2′ 4″. Any longer might be a hazard with small children around.
When the kettle is set to “on” there is a beautiful blue led light that emits around where the lower glass meets the stainless. It is so pretty. The kettle shuts off automatically once boiled. The unit has a easy pour spout with a mesh filter and the handle stays cool to the touch.
The kettle comes with a removable stainless steel tea infuser so that would come in handy when making tea for a larger number of people. I have not yet used it though.
I have only had the kettle for a few weeks now so I have nothing bad to say but I will keep you posted if something comes up.
Love this beautiful kettle and I would definitely recommend it.
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Bialetti Frother
This has been a welcome addition to our Jura Impressa F50 Classic coffee maker. Even though the Jura is able to foam milk I prefer a thicker foam and the process involves more work then I like. The Bialetti Frother makes it easier to enjoy a fresh... +
This has been a welcome addition to our Jura Impressa F50 Classic coffee maker. Even though the Jura is able to foam milk I prefer a thicker foam and the process involves more work then I like. The Bialetti Frother makes it easier to enjoy a fresh beautiful cappuccino any time. Bye bye Starbucks, you have been replaced! The Bialetti Frother is easy to work with. Basically you get a pitcher with a lid that sits on an electric base but they are not attached in any way so you can remove the pitcher at any time just by lifting it away from the base. Inside the pitcher is some markings that tell you what the min. and max. amount of milk you will use. You pour in your milk and press the power button. It takes about a minute and a half for heated foam. Once the foam is ready the red light on the pitcher will flash to let you know it’s done. Presto, couldn’t be easier. You can now lift the pitcher from the base, remove the lid and pour your precious foam in to your coffee. I use a wooden spoon to remove the foam as suggested in the instruction booklet as the foam is quite thick and you don’t want to scratch the inside of the pitcher. Enjoy! The foam is also tasty for creating a chai tea latte. Yum!
Cleaning the unit is probably the most work involved here. Because the milk is heated it does create a film inside the pitcher that doesn’t just wash away with water. I suggest not letting the unit sit after performing the foam cycle as that makes it harder to remove the residue. The instructions suggest to do another foam cycle but just use water. That seems to help clean the unit more efficiently. Love it!
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Nordic Ware Microwave Popcorn Maker
This may just be the most used item in my kitchen. We all know by now that the store packaged microwave popcorn is just loaded with chemicals and ingredients we can’t pronounce. Why do that to ourselves? This microwave popper is just so... +
This may just be the most used item in my kitchen. We all know by now that the store packaged microwave popcorn is just loaded with chemicals and ingredients we can’t pronounce. Why do that to ourselves? This microwave popper is just so convenient. You add about 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels, 1 tsp. of cooking oil to the bowl. Then put the lid on the bowl and place it in the microwave. I set my microwave for 4 minutes but usually will stop the process when there is about a minute and forty seconds left.
Of course you want to pay attention to the popping sounds and once it slows down stop the process. Be careful as the bowl can get quite HOT. Once complete I will usually sprinkle the popcorn with sea salt or Club House garlic plus then I wrestle with my partner to try and get my hand in the bowl again.
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