Two years ago, Tina Haupert was getting ready to get married.  She’d packed on a few extra college pounds and was hoping to get healthy before her big day.  So, she started taking pictures of everything she was eating and what she was doing daily for exercise, documenting it all online at CarrotsNCake.com to help track her progress.  Today, Tina has one more thing to document on her popular site, the progress of her about-to-be-released book, Carrots ‘N’ Cake: The Book.  All of this success hasn’t changed the tenor of Tina’s site or life.  She still tracks her eating and excersize regime three times a day through her website, and continues to believe that–with hard work and a bit of organization– it’s possible to maintain a healthy balance in our everyday life.  Here, Tina share’s the three kitchen tools she can’t live without:

I’ve come a long way when it comes to cooking. In college and in the many years that followed, I rarely set foot in the kitchen. However, once I got married and received lots of new cooking gadgets from my registry, I made a vow to get more comfortable in the kitchen—and not just with the microwave! I soon discovered that I didn’t need a culinary degree or tons of super-expensive equipment to prepare some tasty food in my kitchen. In fact, I realized I relied mainly on these three multifunctional (and affordable) kitchen essentials.

Cuisinart Elite Collection 4-Cup Chopper/Grinder

This grinder is the best little gadget! It’s perfect for chopping extra veggies to throw into soup, an omelet, or casserole. But it’s also great for making my favorite low-calorie treats, like Banana “Soft Serve“. I actually like this version better than real ice cream and it comes with a fraction of the calories and fat.

Mario Batali Measuring Prep Bowls

These bowls have measuring cup numbers on the inside, so it’s easy to measure ingredients and keep everything organized. Usually, I prepare all of my ingredients in these bowl and then just toss them into my recipe. When it comes to snacking, these bowls also keep my portions in check. For instance, high-calorie snacks like mixed nuts are no longer a problem for me. I use the 1/4 cup bowl to serve myself, so I don’t end up eating the entire canister of nuts!

Cuisinart Griddler

I cook everything on this thing! With five separate cooking options, it can handle everything from pancakes and eggs to hamburgers and paninis.

It’s a piece of cake to use and easy to clean (the plates are dishwasher-safe), so it gets a ton of use in my house!

For more than two years, Tina has shared her life through journaling her daily meals on her blog,Carrots ‘N’ Cake. Each day, she strives to find the right balance without losing out on fun or good taste. Tina also writes a weekly feature for Health.com and directs the social strategy for a nutritional rating company called NuVal. She is currently writing her first book, which will be published in Spring 2011.

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