Mother’s Day is just around the corner!   Are you looking for a unique gift that shows thoughtfulness without spending too much money?   These are my top 5 kitchen tools that any foodie will love if they aren’t already in her kitchen.

Citrus Squeezer
Slice your lemon in half horizontally and give it a good squeeze to get all the goodness out without adding the seeds to your recipe.  These can be bought for lemons, limes and oranges, but I find that the lemon size works well for most types of citrus.  They retail for around $10.

Microplane Zester
While on the subject of citrus, the Microplane zester is the perfect tool for adding a little zest to your recipes.  Its plastic handle allows for a nice grip and takes away the worry of zesting your finger along with your lemon peel.  It can also double as a fine cheese grater.  It sells for only $12.99

Pastry Scraper 
This little $7 tool is so handy!  Its purpose is to scrape flour and dough while making pastry but I use it to also lift just about anything I chop from the cutting board to the bowl.  It also doubles as a great cleaner-upper for kitchen spills and can help scrape sticky messes off the counter (or even the floor!)

Meat Pounder
Use this to flatten out chicken to make thin cutlets or pound your beef or lamb to make a braciole.  Hit it lightly against a garlic clove to easily peel away the broken skin or pound peeled garlic to crush it into an aioli.  There are more expensive versions of meat pounders but I find that this one works great and we sell it at T&T for only $22.

Kuhn Rikon Peeler
This is the best little peeler for getting the skin off potatoes, carrots, apples or anything else you need to peel.  At only $5 it’s the most reasonable priced gadget in my kitchen.