The newness of the New Year fades fast as you get back into the swing of things, and those resolutions that seemed easy to make, get really hard to keep. Make this year different by getting the right tools to put your plan into action. We’ve taken some of the top New Year’s resolutions and figured out how to make each of them work for you where it all beings: in your kitchen.

• The slow cooker is a great way to make convenient, cost-effective meals. Not only can you make enough for leftovers, but it’s also a great appliance for meal prep. Shredded meats like pork and chicken can be used throughout the week in pasta and salads, and large batches of soups and stew can be frozen for quick meals later on.
• Skip the drive-thrus and coffee shop lines in the morning, and get what you need to make your own liquid motivation. A personal, on-the-go blender makes it easy to take your homemade smoothie with you in the morning. And of course, a coffee maker lets you easily brew a fresh cup at home, for next to nothing.

Eating Healthier
Another popular New Year’s resolution is to start eating healthier. Whether you’re going Paleo, Keto or just swearing off of junk food, starting with the right tools will help you meet your goals.

• A juice cleanse is a lot easier – and cheaper - to do at home with a juicer. Steam proteins and cook grains at once in a rice cooker for a quick, healthy weeknight meal. Lighten up your favorite pasta dish by swapping out the noodles for spiralized vegetables. An electric spiralizer will make quick work of turning vegetables into zoodles and swoodles.
• And just because it’s snowing outside doesn’t mean you can’t grill. An indoor grill designed to drain excess grease away is just what you need to satisfy your burger cravings without the guilt. 

Learn Something New
If your New Year’s resolution is to keep learning, why not try learning something useful? Embrace the challenge you’ve given yourself and try your hand at trying some new skills in the kitchen.

• If you want to start cooking from scratch or with more fresh ingredients, a food processor or food chopper can help minimize the prep work of slicing and chopping. If mastering baking is more what you had in mind, a stand mixer is ideal for cookie doughs, cake batters and more.
• Ready to go next level with your cooking? Try made-from-scratch bread or jam with the help of a bread maker. Or see what all the fuss is about with the sous vide method of cooking. Once you’ve tried filet mignon with this appliance, you’ll never want to cook it another way again.

Spend More Time with Family
Keep that New Year’s resolution to spend more time with your loved ones this year. There are two ways to get more time with family – get out of the kitchen, or invite them in.

• To spend less time in the kitchen, start putting a slow cooker meal into your weekly meal plans. Prep the ingredients the night before, so when you get home the next day you can have a family game night and a hot dinner.
• Or bring the family into the kitchen. It not only gives you quality time with the kids, but it might also help your picky eater become more willing to try something if they’ve helped create it. Our family favorite appliances include waffle makers for breakfast, pizza ovens for dinner and of course, an ice cream maker for dessert!

Eating Breakfast
If your New Year’s resolution is to start eating breakfast, it can be a challenge. Habits are hard to break – or in this case, make. If you’re determined that this is the year you’ll start your morning off right with breakfast, make sure it’s a hearty and delicious meal you won’t want to miss.

• Don’t waste time watching a how-to video on egg poaching or how to hard boil vs. soft boil – an egg cooker does all that for you, so you can have this morning protein in a snap. Hot cereals like oatmeal will warm you up on a cold day and can be started the night before in an oatmeal maker or rice cooker.
• Meal prep breakfast by making egg, ham and cheese sandwiches in a breakfast sandwich maker and freezing them for later. Turn a Sunday waffle breakfast into breakfast for the week by making extra in a waffle maker and freezing them. They’ll be thicker and fluffier than the ones in a box but heat up just as fast.