TECHBYTE - Appliances

Tech byte the coronavirus pandemic has forced us to stay at home a lot more.

And that, of course, means more home cooked meals.

Let's look at some of the best small appliances that'll make cooking easier than ever.

I'm emily cassulo, and this is tech byte.

Best small appliances for home cooking nathan roach / best buy who says convenience can't be healthy too?

Best buy's nathan roach says the ninja cyclonic grill is your perfect cooking tool for when you're spending more time at home.

Roach : "rather than going out and trying to actually grill while it's cold, it's raining, it's snowing, you'll be able to do everything right inside.

You can cook steaks, burgers, chicken.

You can do vegetables, really anything that you want to do, and it allows you to focus on dinner at home, while not having to go out and get dinner every night."

Not only can you use this grill inside, but it also doubles as an air fryer.

Roach : "a lot of them will have air fryers built in.

There's a lot of counter top models that not only can it toast, but it can do air frying, it can be a grill, so there's a lot of great options out there.

Even for folks that don't want to cook.

It makes it very easy to use, and it's something that anybody can excel at."

Roach says other hot items for some good at-home cooking include kitchen-aid mixers, along with ninja blenders and food processors.

Roach : "you can even make soup in some of the blenders that we have now.

Vitamix, for example, actually has a cooking option within theirs, so you can actually blend all of your ingredients together, and make a soup or a stew right there in it, without having to transfer it to another device, which is pretty awesome."

And of course you can use it to make smoothies too.

Blenders are a great for adding more fruit to your diet.

Roach : "if we're not going out as much.

We're not getting out to the gym as much, i think it's important, especially as we move through the holidays, to make sure we're doing the things to stay healthy, and a lot of those devices give you that opportunity to be able to keep the nutrition in your body, and really just help yourself continue to move through the next few months."

With the right device - like an air fryer - fried food can be a little healthier too.

Roach : "you can just throw some fries in, make it real easy.

You're not dealing with grease.

You're not dealing with anything -- it's very similar to an oven.

It makes it super quick and easy, and it's delicious too."

And if you're tired of all the clutter on your kitchen counter, the instant pot is multiple cooking devices in one.

Roach : "we have an instant pot now that's not only a pressure cooker, it's not only a crockpot, it's also an air fryer, and it also has the crisper on top as well."

Now you have no excuse for making the same meals every day.

Emily cassulo / tech byte you can even control some of these appliances - like the instant pot, for example - using your smartphone or tablet.

Now cooking on the go isn't just for fast food.

I'm emily cassulo, and that's this week's tech byte.