There are days when cooking feels exciting and then there are days when you are staring at the fridge, tired, managing your blood sugar, juggling work, maybe family, and thinking, I cannot add one more thing to my plate. In my experience as a dietitian working with women navigating prediabetes, diabetes, PCOS, and perimenopause, decision fatigue is real. The more steps involved, the less likely it is to happen. That is why in this episode of the Diabetes Digital Podcast, we shared the kitchen tools we actually use on repeat, specifically for diabetes cooking.
If you are looking for diabetes-friendly cooking tools that make life easier, this list is for you.
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Kitchen tools to make diabetes cooking easier
Make breakfast easier with an egg cooker
I cannot tell you how many clients tell me they skip breakfast because it feels like too much work. Or they wait until they are ravenous and then grab whatever is fastest. Enter the egg cooker.
You can cook up to six eggs at a time. Soft, medium, or hard boiled. It shuts off on its own and cleanup is minimal. Such a quick, low effort way to have eggs ready to go.
For someone managing blood sugar, having a protein ready to go makes a difference. Hard boiled eggs with toast and fruit. Eggs sliced over rice and veggies. Eggs with avocado and salsa. When protein is prepped, the rest feels easier.
I love tools that reduce friction. If it takes ten to fifteen minutes and you do not have to babysit a pot of boiling water, that feels like a win every time.
Ask yourself: what meal feels the most overwhelming right now? If it is breakfast, this might be your shortcut.
Simplify weeknight meals with an air fryer
The air fryer deserves its hype.
The air fryer is one of those tools that truly simplifies meals. You can cook your protein and vegetables quickly, often in the same basket, with very little prep. Salmon with broccoli. Chicken thighs with green beans. Tofu cubes tossed in spices. Shrimp. Sweet potatoes. Even crispy chickpeas to add to a bowl. It also reheats leftovers in a way that actually makes them taste good again.
For anyone working on balanced meals to support blood sugar, having a fast way to cook protein and fiber makes it easier to follow through. Dinner does not have to turn into a big production.
I hear all the time that dinner feels like the hardest part of the day. You are tired. You have made decisions all day long. You don’t have the energy to think about diabetes cooking. The air fryer cuts down the steps.
Put it in. Set the timer. Let it cook.
Cleanup is simple too, which matters more than we admit. When cleanup feels manageable, cooking feels more doable the next day.
Lean on the rice cooker for full meals
Rice cookers have been around for decades, especially in many Asian households, and for good reason. You add rice and water, press a button, and it cooks perfectly every time.
What makes it even more helpful is realizing you can cook more than rice in it. Add frozen broccoli. Add tofu. Add salmon. Add a sauce you love. Let everything cook together. Now you have a full meal with very little effort.
For anyone who feels overwhelmed by carb counting or trying to balance a plate, this tool simplifies the process. You are building a balanced bowl in one pot. Carbohydrate. Protein. Fiber. Fat. All together.
It can also help ease some of the fear around foods like rice. Rice can absolutely fit into a blood sugar supportive pattern when paired with protein and fiber. The rice cooker makes that pairing easier and more automatic.
If complicated recipes make you not even want to try, this is your reminder that meals can be simple and still nourishing.
Streamline your mornings with a smoothie routine
Smoothies have been part of my routine for years because they are simple and reliable.
When mornings feel rushed, a smoothie makes breakfast doable. I prep the ingredients the night before. In the morning, I add milk, pour everything in, blend, and head out the door.
To support steady blood sugar, I always build in protein and fat. Think Greek yogurt, nut butter, protein powder, chia seeds. Pair fruit with something that helps slow digestion so you are not hungry an hour later.
A personal blender makes it even easier because you blend and drink from the same cup which means fewer dishes.
If breakfast feels overwhelming or you wake up without much of an appetite, smoothies can feel gentler and easier to sip while you ease into the day.
Bring back the cast iron skillet for extra iron
A cast iron skillet is another simple tool that can quietly support your nutrition.
Cooking in cast iron can increase the iron content of your food, especially when you are making something with acidic ingredients like tomatoes or adding a squeeze of lemon. The acid helps release more iron from the pan into the meal.
For women with low ferritin or iron deficiency, this can be a supportive addition alongside medical care. It is not a replacement for treatment, but it can complement what you are already doing.
There is also the Lucky Iron Fish, which you place in boiling water or soups. A small amount of iron transfers into the liquid as it cooks. For some people, it can be a more affordable option compared to supplements, depending on their labs and needs.
When I work with women with low iron, I always encourage starting with labs and a conversation with your provider. Then look at food first, tools like these second, and supplements when appropriate.
Small, consistent shifts can make a meaningful difference over time.
Upgrade your drinks with a milk frother
A milk frother might sound luxurious, but it can be a surprisingly practical addition.
This version we recommend heats and froths milk in one cup, so you can create a café style drink at home in just a few minutes. Froth the milk, then add matcha, cocoa, or turmeric. You have a creamy drink without leaving your kitchen.
To make it more protein rich, use soy milk or dairy milk as your base, or whisk in a scoop of unflavored or vanilla protein powder while it is blending. You can also stir in collagen peptides or add a spoonful of powdered peanut butter for a subtle boost. Small additions like these can help support steadier blood sugar and keep you satisfied longer.
This can be helpful for diabetes friendly cooking because when you make drinks at home, you control what goes into them. You can skip heavy syrups and adjust the sweetness to your taste.
Many women tell me they feel a blood sugar crash after sugary coffee shop drinks. Making your latte at home can help create a steadier pattern while still keeping the ritual you enjoy.
And rituals matter. Food and drinks are not only nourishment. They are comfort, culture, and part of your daily rhythm.
Keep diabetes cooking tools practical and realistic
If a tool takes up too much space or has too many parts, it quickly becomes another source of stress. We do not need every trending gadget. We need tools that remove barriers and make everyday meals feel more doable.
If managing diabetes already feels like a challenge, your kitchen should support you rather than overwhelm you. Start with one tool that solves your biggest friction point. If breakfast feels chaotic, try adding an egg cooker or a personal blender to your diabetes cooking routine. If dinner feels exhausting, an air fryer or rice cooker can cut down the steps. If you are working on improving iron levels, bring out the cast iron skillet. If you want a nourishing treat at home, a milk frother can help you create one without relying on sugary coffee shop drinks. Small shifts add up.
Transcript
Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Diabetes Digital Podcast hosted by Food Heaven.
We’re going to be talking about our favorite kitchen tools for diabetes cooking today.
We have a few.
We’re not super elaborate when it comes to kitchen tools, but I feel like we both have things that are very practical and that might help you make diabetes cooking a little less overwhelming, especially if your energy is low, you don’t have a lot of time, which is like most of us.
0:29
And if you’re just like overwhelmed with having to manage your blood sugar and it feels like another thing to do, I think this will be really helpful because kitchen tools should help to make cooking easier.
Sometimes it’s like people get a little extra with them and it’s like, what are we doing here?
It’s taking more time.
0:45
To cook.
With these damn tools, Yeah, that’s how I feel about juicers like, Oh my God, yeah.
So we’re going to share the tools that we are using to make life easier, to reduce decision fatigue, to reduce cleanup.
Welcome to the Diabetes digital podcast.
1:03
I’m Wendy.
And I’m Jess, and we’re best friends, registered dietitians and diabetes educators.
Through our telehealth platform, Diabetesdigital.co, we offer accessible and personalized virtual nutrition counseling for people with diabetes and pre diabetes.
Visit diabetesdigital.co.co to book your first appointment.
1:22
We accept insurance and offer affordable self pay options.
Now let’s get into today’s episode.
The Egg Cooker it is OK.
What are your thoughts on it?
I have it because of you.
1:42
It’s great.
When I learned how to use it because at first I wasn’t really sure what I was doing because I I’m not good at following instructions.
So I just kind of winged it and I was like, OK, this is not.
They were either undercooked or overcooked.
But now that I know what I’m doing, it’s great.
1:59
OK, they cook the eggs perfectly every single time is someone who does not follow directions.
I feel like it’s so intuitive.
The eggs are perfect every single time.
You can cook up to up to six eggs at a time.
Get the egg cooker, you guys, it’s it’s like $10 to $15 and it will change your life.
2:19
You can make a beautiful meal.
You can even do like omelette.
I don’t do all that.
I do maybe for my dog here and there.
She So now anytime she hears the music, she’s expecting eggs.
Well, definitely leave the link to the one that you use so that people get the right one.
So we’ll have to indeed.
Do that anything you want.
2:35
DMS or just DMS?
My top kitchen tool right now is the air fryer.
I know, I know, you guys probably already have.
I feel like it’s so popular but I don’t have any crazy things so I feel like it’s worth mentioning.
I have two different ones.
2:50
I have the Ninja 1, which is larger, and it does like a bunch of different things, like it can roast, it can bake, it can grill.
We use that one when we’re making more food and it’s great.
It’s also pretty easy to clean.
And then I have a Mini 1 because when I used to live by myself in my apartment in New York, I didn’t have a lot of counter space.
3:13
So I bought the Instapot mini brand and it’s amazing.
Yeah.
Especially if you’re just making one or two servings of something and it’s like it’s so cute.
The colours that they have are great.
It doesn’t take up a lot of space and it’s also pretty affordable.
3:28
So that’s the one that I would go with for diabetes cooking.
And I literally throw everything in there from like animal protein to literally yesterday I put bread crumbs in there so I could toast them and use them as a top.
We should actually create link.
I should everything.
3:45
Yeah, in the show notes.
So that you guys, because there’s we’re going to talk about a few things and it’s going to be hard to do the DMS.
I also have the same air fryer, the ninja brand because I went to Wendy’s house.
I saw her making salmon and I was like, how did you cook this?
She’s like, oh, the air fryer you guys, it makes the best, juiciest, crispiest salmon.
4:03
I perfected it and it literally takes, I think it’s like I want to say 10 minutes.
If anyone wants that recipe, DM me that I will respond.
OK.
The next thing is, and I’m not trying to act like I discovered this by any means, I just discovered it for myself and big ups to Japan who perfected this tool in the 1950s.
4:27
It’s been around since the 20s and it’s very popular in Asian communities and many others.
And that is the rice cooker.
Ciao, where have I been?
I’m not even kidding you.
I cook every meal in the rice cooker now and it’s incredible.
4:46
Literally I take the rice and because my friends have been like get a rice cooker, get a I’m like no, it seems complicated.
It’s not.
I don’t even measure anything.
I just put some rice, cover it with some water, put some frozen broccoli in there, put some tofu in there, put some like pre made sauce in there.
5:03
I cook like noodles in there now.
It’s just great with the rice.
To frozen foods, add a protein, add some salmon.
I don’t eat meat, but you can add some meat in there.
The best invention ever.
Depending upon what you’re cooking, it takes usually feels like 10 minutes and it’s so easy to clean. So it’s perfect for easy diabetes cooking.
5:25
So get if you are not using a rice cooker, I know you guys probably all are and you’re like girl, that’s nothing new.
But if you’re not using it like day-to-day, or if you’re just cooking rice and you don’t realize you can put in your vegetables in there too and they cook to perfection, you need to start using it.
Yeah, that’s something that I seems.
5:41
Intimidated.
Not experimented with just I don’t know.
I don’t know.
I probably should though.
Yeah, I think so.
I’m like I.
Don’t make the rice.
But yes, I do make rice too, so I should give it a try.
But yeah, with tools, I’m always kind of hesitating because then I get them and I’m like, like, I got the insta pot, I was using it for a while and then I wasn’t and I was like, damn, this is taking up so much damn space.
6:05
I gave them to my mom.
And so I ended up selling it, but I.
Will say.
So I think the key.
Is like if it can fit in like 1 type drawer or one shelf, like that’s what I go for.
And it’s like not the thing with insta pot is like it’s heavy and then it’s like a lot of pieces.
6:21
And so I really go by that.
Like how many pieces is it?
Can I just rinse it out once?
The rice cooker is great.
I love a good Dutch oven, especially in the winter because you can make so many hearty meals and it’s especially good for making bread.
6:38
I’ve made so many great loaves of bread in a Dutch oven.
It really does make a difference when you use that compared to I don’t even know what else.
I’ve only made bread in a Dutch oven, but it comes out super crusty and delicious.
It almost tastes like French bread.
6:54
Yeah, the one that I use is by Great Jones.
I’ll include the link.
It’s very high quality.
I’ve had it for years.
Amazing.
OK so my next thing we’re each doing like 3 to 4 things that make diabetes cooking easier.
This is my third is the personal blender.
7:10
This is these are like tools, tried and true decades on decades.
I will not like literally have my smoothie that I just drank right here from the personal blender.
You got to get it.
Especially those of us who struggle with breakfast, who struggle with also not having the time in the morning to just sit there because I’m a slow eater.
7:34
Takes me a long time to eat the eggs and the thing.
It’s just like I no, but smoothie, I just always come back to it. 15 years at this point.
So the personal blender I use the Ninja.
Yeah.
I freeze the ingredients before or not freeze them.
7:50
I put all my ingredients the night before, like in a Tupperware or something or in a plastic bag.
So that way in the morning I just dump it in.
First I put the milk, then I dump the things, then I blend.
Ready to go.
Perfect breakfast, tasty for me.
8:07
I don’t like it too sweet but try it out everybody.
It can be simple.
You can have the most nourishing, delicious breakfast with like no time and effort.
And I will say I have the Nutribullet blender where it’s like it, you can interchange the base with the big blender and the personal blender.
8:25
And it’s super clutch because like if you have to make something more big volume, you can use the big one.
If you’re on the go, you cause a small 1.
So I really like that one if you want kind of like a all in one.
OK.
And then the last one that I will say is iron skillet, which a lot of people already have at home, but maybe they forget to use or they get overwhelmed by the cleaning because if you don’t do it properly, it does rust.
8:48
But once you get the hang of it, you don’t have to clean it every time.
By the way, it’s great for making so many different things.
And if you’re trying to get more iron, it does help you with getting higher levels of iron into your food, especially if you cook with anything that has vitamin C.
9:05
So if you put tomato or lemon into your food as you’re cooking it, it’ll help to release more iron into that meal if you’re using iron skillet.
There’s also, I think it’s called iron fish.
I don’t know if anyone’s heard of them, but they’re these little fish that are made of iron.
9:23
It was like the Parsley health dietitian who I met with told me about it because again, the ferritin, she was saying just when you’re cooking like you’re boiling your water, like either for pasta or for tea, you put the iron fish in it and it’s, it’s like cast iron.
9:40
And so a little bit leeches out and then you’re able to theoretically absorb some of that iron.
And it’s nice because it’s cheaper than the pills because like high quality iron supplements are pretty expensive, which is another reason why I was happy to do the transfusions because my insurance covered it versus like, you know, you could be spending $3060.00 a month on all these iron pills.
10:02
So I had one of those handheld brothers and my friend came and she was like, and I swore by it and I would make, you know, just like some matcha, like with hot milk or whatever.
It mixed it together, things like that.
10:18
She was like, I’m getting you like a frother frother.
And I was like, no, please.
Like I don’t like things.
Like I don’t want anything in my house.
Like I try to keep it minimal.
I don’t like tools.
So she bought it and sent it to me.
I’m obsessed.
And I think I mentioned one of my favorite things that I make.
10:37
You guys have to make this.
It’s incredible.
It’s a strawberry milk matcha latte and it has 20 grams of protein and it tastes amazing.
10:54
So what you do is, and when I say frother, I mean like the frother where you like actually heat up the milk and then it froths within.
So it’s like a cup, it heats up the milk and then it comes out and it’s just like chef’s kiss.
So you have to get specifically the pro mix strawberry milk protein powder.
11:14
It is phenomenal and also doesn’t have like it really a lot added.
The strawberry milk is made from freeze dried strawberries.
So and it’s whey protein in freeze dried strawberries essentially, so that I cook it in the frother and then I’ll heat up a little bit of ceremonial grade matcha powder.
11:34
Has to be ceremonial grade because it won’t taste good.
Ceremonial grade matcha powder like just a little water and pour that in once it’s done.
You like, yeah, when I think I was staying on this pot, I went on vacation to Italy and like I was sad because I couldn’t have my fraud.
I was like, this is what I need in life and all I need.
11:52
So I’ll put the link in.
I don’t think it’s more than like $20 either.
But whatever you make, if you like a turmeric, golden milk, if you like a hot chocolate, like it just it basically frosts the milk like a latte at home.
I like to do like soy milk often times because again, you can, even if you’re doing like a golden milk or something with turmeric and you use soy milk, you’re getting some protein in there as well.
12:15
So it’s going to help, you know, your blood sugar versus like sometimes if you go to a Starbucks or something, they will add a lot of different syrups and things.
And I don’t even think it makes it taste that much better.
And I noticed like, I tend to crash right after because it does have like more of that sugary base.
12:33
So I like just making them home.
Thank you for sharing your tools.
Just we’re going to wrap things up now.
We hope that you enjoyed hearing some of our favorite tools that we use in the kitchen.
Whether you’re trying something new or you already have some of these at home, we hope that it gave you some ideas for things that might make your life a little bit easier when it comes to diabetes cooking.
12:52
We always love sharing small things that work for us and that make being in the kitchen a little bit easier.
So thanks for tuning in again and we will catch you all next week.
Bye.
Thanks for joining us for today’s episode.
13:07
If you’re interested in nutrition counseling with one of our expert dietitians to help improve your pre diabetes or diabetes, visit us at diabetesdigital.co.
Also, if you found our conversation helpful, do us a favor and rate and review this podcast on iTunes, plus share with someone who might find this helpful.
And if you try one of these, message us. We love hearing how you are making your kitchen work for you.
If you are looking for more support with blood sugar, culturally humble nutrition care, and realistic strategies that fit your life, you can book with our team at Diabetes Digital. We accept insurance and work with women across the country navigating prediabetes, diabetes, PCOS, and more.
Find more tips for easier diabetes cooking here. See you in the kitchen.
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