My Cuisinart food processor is my hero and is the main reason I receive any type of healthy sustenance and balance in my meals. I know everyone says it all of the time, but I am so incredibly busy. And I get that everyone is busy with their lives, their jobs, their partners and their kids. I know it’s busy; just a different kind of busy. I’m talking pretty much from 4AM to 8PM, when I just want to come home and put in minimal effort into everything I do.

I am on for the day as soon as I wake up. I’m up, dressed, I drink a cup of coffee, maybe a banana and I’m out the door for a quick run. I come back, make myself a smoothie, and head for the gym. I take my fitness very seriously. I come home, have another cup of coffee, shower, get myself ready, and head into work. I work in television production, so call times tend to be on the early side. Then it’s a minimum of a 12 hour day. Sometimes longer, depending on the shoot or if it’s a wrap party or something. If I have an early call, and I have once a week to meet with friends or family, then I make it work.

I love my job and how busy it keeps me, but it surely does make it difficult to plan my dinners at home. Sometimes I’m doing dinner out, but on a night where I’m just done and I want to go home for the night is where my Cuisinart food processor really stepped up its game, I take a couple of hours out of one day off where I plan my meals. Like hardcore food prep to make sure that i have at least lunch and dinner options when i need them.

So I spent a day doing some research on a day off. I wanted to know how much this kitchen tool could give me and what I needed to do to make that happen. My friend in the industry suggested where she orders from, a website called KitchenWorksInc. that sells actual Cuisinart food processor replacement parts. I found plenty of things, mainly blades and the sleeves where you feed the food through. The blades were great because they gave me some variety to work with.

I basically just looked into some of the healthier things that I like to make, but with a food processor. I was shocked that it was such a thing. I mean anything you can chop by hand is made way easier by putting it in the food processor. I made myself a basic healthy menu of what I’d like to prepare, with some other alternatives and staples that would freeze well. I took a Sunday to make everything up and get it stored for the week, and possibly later on.

I couldn’t believe how much this magical kitchen tool could make all the difference in how I nourish my body. It really is a game changer and a life saver.