Kitchen gadgets can make preparing healthful food easier. One of my favorites is an inexpensive, stainless-steel rice cooker that I use almost daily. Whole grains are an important part of a balanced diet and a rice cooker breezes through brown rice, quinoa, millet, rolled oats, whole oat grains and more. Place the grain directly in the rice cooker, add water, turn it on and go off and do something else without worrying about it boiling over or burning. If there are leftovers, they can stay in the stainless-steel bowl and go straight to the refrigerator. To heat it up, just add a little water and plug in. 

Rice cooker tips:

- Add a diced apple or two, a handful of raisins and spices such as cardamom, a cinnamon stick or a few cloves to leftover brown rice. Pour in a cup or more of water and cook until the water is absorbed. This makes a delicious breakfast with fresh fruit and vegan milk or yogurt.

- Forget the microwave—cook your morning oatmeal in the rice cooker. Throw in an apple, raisins and spices, adjusting the water to give it your favorite consistency.

- Try brown rice cooked with kale or collard greens. The greens come out tender and perfectly cooked. 

- Cook brown rice and lentils together, two parts rice to one part lentils. Add about ½ cup extra water.

- Cook quinoa in your rice cooker with large chunks of sweet potato or winter squash.

Vicki Chelf, Pulp Kitchen