Revamp Your Kitchen with Aldi Kitchenware Special Buys

If you want to give your kitchen a new lease of life, be sure to pop over to Aldi this week for their Kitchen Special Buys.  With a range of fabulous small appliances that will inspire you to cook up some new recipes to tasteful kitchen accessories that will look fantastic on any worktop, Aldi have some excellent value buys in store now.

I was lucky enough to receive some items from the range to try out.  I received a stylish 4 slice toaster in mint green along with some useful storage caddies.

I am really impressed with the toaster (a matching kettle is also available).  The retro look is really cool and it is covered by the Aldi 3 year warranty.  I have missed having a four slice toaster, so I am delighted to get one back in my kitchen.  It has all the functionality you need including a very useful high lift facility and self centring guide. It has six time settings, a reheat, cancel and defrost button. It cooks toast really evenly and doing four slices at once, has sped up my morning toast making routine!

The toaster and kettle come in four colours, red, black, mint green and cream, to match any decor.  At £19.99 for the toaster and £17.99 for the kettle, this is a great value way to add some colour and style to your kitchen.

I also really like the Storage Caddy Set, which is a great buy if you want to organise shelves and cupboards.  They are great for holding spice bottles, cake baking ingredients or other little items, keeping them altogether.  They fit into the bottom shelf of my kitchen cabinet and make things so much tidier!  Also really useful for make-up and toiletry storage or for the kids' stationery.  At just £2.49 for two medium or three small containers, they are a great value storage solution.

Aldi are also selling an excellent value juicer at £39.99 and a smoothie maker for £14.99, so if you are planning a healthy eating regime they would be very useful.  The Russell Hobbs pressure cooker is a great buy for anyone wanting to make quick family meals at just £22.99.  It comes with a 10 year guarantee and has a 4l capacity. And the Halogen oven at just £24.99 could revolutionise the way you cook and uses much less energy than a conventional oven.

Here is a list of all the Specialbuys, but remember they are only available while stocks last!

Lock & Seal Storage Containers:   £1.79

Soft Grip Bowl:   £1.99

Can opener:  £1.99

Kitchen Brush Set:  £1.99

Premium Tableware:  £1.99

Storage Caddy Set:  £2.49

Meal Planner and Recipe File:  £2.99

Printed Tea Towels – 3 Pack:  £2.99

Madras Mat: £3.99

Pasta, Biscuits and Utensil Holder : £5.49 each

Small Pan Selection:  £5.99 each

Single Pan Selection:  £7.99 each

Tea Time Accessories:  £7.99 each

24cm Ceramic Coated Fry:  £9.99

Tea/Coffee/Sugar Canisters:   £9.99 set

Omelette Maker:   £12.99

Compact Food Processor:  £13.99

Smoothie Maker:  £14.99

Bread Bin: £17.99

Bullet Kettle:  £17.99

Family Grill:  £19.99

4 Slice Toaster:  £19.99

4L Russell Hobbs Pressure Cooker : £22.99

Halogen Oven:   £24.99

Contemporary Kitchen Mixer Tap : £29.99

Juice Extractor:   £39.99

My Kitchen Story - what my kitchen means to me

The kitchen is often referred to as the heart of the home.  Others see it as the room that you are always found in at parties. For some it is the place to sit and natter with friends over a cup of tea.  But for me, my kitchen is the place where I do my best to keep my family healthy through the meals I cook. It's practical rather than cosy, and functional rather than being somewhere to socialise.  I may not enjoy too many evenings spent sipping G&T's at the breakfast bar and putting the world to rights, but I've done a whole lot of cooking in my kitchen!

We have been vegetarian as a family since the year 2000.  My eyes were opened to the old idiom 'you are what you eat' after researching the food industry for health reasons.  I discovered lots of things that I disagreed with from a compassionate, a spiritual and a biological point of view.  I was inspired to make changes, not just to myself, but to my whole family.  So we embarked on a new eating adventure together with open eyes, where our new mantra became 'if it's got a face we ain't eating it!'

With meat, poultry and fish off the menu, I started to find recipes using lentils, pulses, tofu, Quorn, soya and vegetables. I discovered a whole world of delicious ingredients and enjoyed experimenting with them to come up with my own family meals.

As the years went by, my interest in food and healthy eating increased.  We cut back on dairy products, increased the amount of wholefoods in our diet and reduced the amount of refined sugar we consumed. Don't get me wrong, we still enjoy a cheeky Indian takeaway or a big, veggie topped pizza and we love a good home made cake, but on a balance we do the best we can to eat as well as we can. It's not restricting to eat this way. In fact it's been liberating to discover new foods and experiment with wholesome ingredients and bold flavours.

My slow cooker, food processor and spiralizer have become essential kitchen appliances that I use all the time to make food. I love a good gadget and kitchen gadgets are my absolute favourite things. I even have a fondness for my squeezy egg separator that sucks the yolk clean out of the white. I could spend all day browsing the internet for the latest time saving device or humorously shaped silicone cake pan!

These days my cupboards are stocked with red and green lentils, coconut oil, Chia seeds, nuts, dried pulses, buckwheat flour and nutritional yeast flakes.  They are unrecognisable from my shelves of yesteryear,  filled with HobNobs, Pringles and KitKat Chunkies.

There are still some days when I just feel utterly unmotivated to do anything and these are the days when I am grateful for my American style fridge-freezer which I keep stocked with Quorn nuggets, veggie sausages and bean burgers. A bit of convenience food comes in handy from time to time!  Throw in some potato waffles and a can of beans and the kids are fed for the night.

If I ever won the lottery (I can dream!!) I would love a house with a huge, modern kitchen with an island in the middle where the family could sit and chat and where I could spread myself out while preparing food.  I'd have cupboards filled with fancy kitchen gadgets, novelty bakeware and gorgeous crockery. I'd spend many an hour cooking and baking and would serve up plenty of good meals and yummy treats for my family. Of course I would also love the convenience of having a huge and super efficient new dishwasher to clean up all the pots and pans, with Fairy Platinum dishwasher tablets effortlessly keeping everything sparkling clean.  (Failing that, my Ian is an excellent and very accommodating pot wash!)

In the meantime, until my six numbers come up on a Saturday night, I will continue to enjoy my kitchen exactly as it is, and continue to do my best when it comes to feeding my veggie family!

“This post is an entry for the “My Kitchen Story” Linky Challenge, sponsored by Fairy Platinum.”

Don't Move ... Improve! A Kitchen Renovation for £50!

In these times of austerity, money is very tight.  UK homeowners have been gradually reducing their DIY spend since 2008.  Working longer hours has reduced the free time available to do DIY projects.  However, making the effort to do DIY can improve the look, feel and functionality of rooms in your home. 

We were challenged by moneysupermarket.com to carry out a cut price room renovation in hope of becoming a home improvement hero with a budget of just £50.

For me, a brand new kitchen would be top on my list of dream home improvements, but without a budget of thousands of pounds, I need to get creative and revamp my space as cheaply but effectively as possible.

Revamping the Units

You can change the whole look of your kitchen cabinets by changing the door handles on your units and drawers.  I found some brushed steel bow dimpled handles on Amazon for just £25.25 for 20, complete with fixtures.  They brighten up the units and modernise the kitchen, giving the illusion of it being new.  They are easy to fit, screwing in to the original holes.

They make such a difference to the overall look of the kitchen.  I love the curved design, they are much nicer and more ergonomic than our original handles.  Buying in bulk on Amazon saved us some money too.

A lick of paint is something that can totally change the ambiance of a room.  Our off-yellow paintwork was looking tired and dull.  New paint can totally freshen up the room and give it a new feel.  We have gone for a Mediterranean theme and used Olive paint on the walls and brilliant white on the ceiling.  The colour scheme was inspired by a utensil pot that I really liked in Homebase that cost £1.93 on their sale rack.  It sometimes helps to find an object to use for inspiration if you don't have a clear colour theme in mind.

We already had the decorating equipment and white paint so we just needed to get the Crown Olive Green Kitchen Paint which cost £22 in Homebase.

Top Tips for Painting

Choose a colour that reflects the mood you want.  You could go for something warm and homely, chilled and relaxed or vibrant and energetic.

Use Tester pots to make sure you like the colour before you commit to the change.

Use a proper kitchen paint which resists grease and mould to give a finish that will stay looking good.

Stir your paint well before you start to paint to ensure it is well mixed.

Use cheap masking tape on the edges of the walls to get a clean line.  It is much easier and much faster than trying to do it freehand, and gives a straight, neat finish to your paintwork.

Don't wash all your brushes and rolls.  Wrap them in clingfilm overnight and they will be ready to go next morning.  This saves time, effort and means you only need to clean your tools once.

Do a good old 'snagging' after you have finished.  Get someone with a fresh pair of eyes to spot any bits of paint you've missed or smudges you've made.  You can go paint-blind after staring at the wall for hours so it's good to get someone to help with the quality control!

Decluttering and Storage

Decluttering doesn't cost a penny!  It is the biggest home improvement you can carry out and it's absolutely free to do.  Getting rid of old, unwanted stuff and finding sensible storage solutions for the things you are keeping is a great way to update your space.  Charity shops are always pleased with donations so you will be helping others too!

I used old plastic boxes in my cupboards to separate the food items such as herbs & spices, cake decorating bits and nuts & seeds.  Keeping all the similar items together makes it so much easier to locate the things you need and keeps everything tidy.

In organising my kitchen work surfaces I doubled the work area available.  My microwave had been taking up much needed space as I had put it near an  electric socket which was away from my other electric appliances.  By adding a socket extension block to the other plug socket I now have all my electrical equipment together and have loads more free space. It really gives the illusion of having a much bigger kitchen...improving for free!

I have had a brand new toaster and kettle in the garage since Christmas.  It was the perfect opportunity to bring them out and complete our new kitchen.  

So here is a quick before and after shot which show how we improved our kitchen for £50 and a bit of hard work and reorganisation!

Before

After

Shopping List

Cupboard Handles £25.25

Olive Paint £22.00

Olive coloured Utensil Holder £1.99

TOTAL

£49.24

Oxo Good Grips Grinders and Shakers

I've reviewed baby and toddler products from the Oxo Brand before (Oxo Tots for Bath Time, Snacking and Feeding) and have been impressed by their quality, innovation, stylish design and functionality.  So I was very excited to test out something from their kitchen range to see if I would be equally impressed.

I chose the Oxo Good Grips Salt and Pepper Grinders to try.  My husband is a big fan of ground pepper, but other mills we have had in the past have been messy, ineffective and inconsistent. I had high hopes that Oxo would give me a better experience!

With its brushed stainless steel accents and clear acrylic body, each Grinder looks very contemporary,  sleek and stylish. They are functional in the kitchen but still look elegant when brought to the table.  The soft, non-slip grip makes them very comfortable to use and secure to hold.  They feel good in your hand with their ergonomically designed shape.

Stylish

Practical

They are sold ready filled with peppercorns or rock salt which I thought was a nice touch, transforming them into a great gift idea.  The Grinders are adjustable by turning the top where there are settings from coarse to fine grind, depending on your requirements. A plentiful flow of finely ground or coarsely ground salt or pepper is produced according to the setting.  I prefer finer pepper, Ian likes his much coarser and so this suited us both equally!

The non-corrosive, ceramic grinder won't absorb flavours or odours, and is positioned on the top of the Grinder so it won't make a mess when put it down. No more salt and pepper spills on the table.  The Grinder sits flat on its base and you simply turn it to grind your salt and pepper onto food.  It is a simple idea, but makes much more sense!  It makes it really easy to refill too.  These are really faultlessly designed.  Easy to use, effective and they do exactly what you want them to do!

I think these would make a really nice gift...practical yet stylish.  They will season Christmas Dinner to perfection!! 

They are available from Amazon, Lakeland and other good stockists RRP £20.43 each.