Lured by the promise of sushi in the shapes of flowers, bunnies, and bears, my husband and I were transfixed when this toy was shown on a random blip about the Tokyo Toy Show. We immediately sought it out online and bought one.

Sure, it’s probably not going to be anywhere as easy to make bear sushi as it claims in this commercial if you follow the link, but we had to try.

It’s for science.

About twice a year our favorite local grocer goes nuts and cuts meat prices down to ridiculous levels. A pork tenderloin for $2, boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1 a pound. Before the FoodSaver, we cursed our inability to stock up on such deals because everything would just freezerburn. Now, however, we’ll invest nearly 2 hours of prep work, bagging and cleanup every few months to save some big money.

This time we bought a ton of chicken breasts, grinding up over 4 lb with our KitchenAid Meat Grinder attachment; ground chicken is expensive in the stores, but it’s a great low-fat substitute for ground beef. We also coarsely ground a chuck roast (under $2 a pound) for delicious chili meat.

QUICK TIP: Slice up chicken and beef for fajitas and stir fries, adding the marinades to the bags before vacuum sealing them. This is the best time saver in the world for nights when I work late. The meat has plenty of time to marinate while thawing in the fridge throughout the day, I can open the bag, cut up some veggies and immediately start cooking.

And then there’s the cheese. The awesome $20/lb Spanish Manchego that we’ll treat ourselves to now and again, or the Queso Chihuahua in bulk from the Mexican grocer ($3/lb versus $7+/lb to buy it a hunk at a time!), Foodsaver’d cheese lasts for what seems like forever, and buying in bulk lets us have our favorites while saving a ton of money.

My dear FoodSaver Vac 300 has served me well over the last 3 years, and remains the best $30-on-ebay I’ve spent for my kitchen. As far as I’m concerned, for Shortcut Chefs a FoodSaver or other vacuum sealer is a must-have.

You need a garlic press. You do. Polaner Garlic (or any jarred minced garlic) is great in a pinch, so be sure to keep a jar on hand, but there’s nothing quite like the real thing. And please please please, stop trying to flavor everything with garlic powder and garlic salt. It has its place, for sure, but it’s just not the same. Most premade sauces have more than enough salt and sodium, so stick with the fresh stuff to maximize flavor.

I know, I know, crushing your own garlic is too big a pain in the ass. What if you didn’t have to peel it first? That’s where freshly peeled garlic in the produce department comes in. It’s easy to get at Asian and Italian markets, and they probably have some at a store near you.

Without peeled garlic, I’m not sure I’d make the effort all the time, but the cloves are generally all large, making it quicker to crush (as opposed to a bunch of teensy tiny cloves).

Seriously, check your produce department and if they don’t have it, demand it.