Food preparation is a snap with the Braun Multiquick Handblender. Its 400-watt motor puts most hand mixers and traditional blenders to shame, enabling you to crush ice and hard foods in as little as 10 seconds, thanks to the Turbo speed setting. It comes with three snap-on stainless steel attachments: a blender, chopper, and a whisk.

Use it to blend smoothies, chop vegetables, mix a light cookie batter, whisk egg whites into a tasty custard, etc. At $63, this is a good investment, for everything that Braun includes with this appliance. I plan to test it out.