Breville Toaster: Lovely Toaster

Attractively housed in brushed die-cast metal, this Breville two-slice toaster features an internal smart chip that automatically lowers bread into the toasting slots with a single touch and regulates the toasting time. The Breville Toaster offers push-button controls for toast, a bit more, bagel, defrost, and lift-and-look functions. With the "a bit more" setting, bread automatically lowers for additional toasting time. The lift-and-look function automatically raises the bread carriage during toasting without canceling or resetting the cycle, which allows for viewing, and if necessary, canceling the browning cycle at any time. The Breville Toaster LED panel illuminates according to the selected setting on the variable browning control. The display acts as a toasting progress indicator, counting down the time remaining in the toasting cycle.

Best Microwave Oven: Sharp Brand Delivers

I’ve had good luck with the Sharp brand. My previous best microwave oven was also a Sharp unit, I had purchased way back in 1995. It was a full-size unit though, and I wanted to get something smaller, in stainless steel, since we recently re-did our kitchen in stainless steel. ‘Luck would have it’ that our old 1995 Sharp unit broke down shortly after we re-did our kitchen in late 2005, so I jumped at the opportunity to get another Sharp. The new R-305KS works flawlessly, and cooks even faster and more even than my older, larger unit! I must have reaped the benefits of improved microwave technology over the last 10 years or so that i’ve owned the older Sharp oven. One of the best microwave ovens considering the price.

Brita Water Pitcher: Tasty Too

The Brita 42629 Slim Water Pitcher ensures that you will always have healthful, purified drinking water at your fingertips. With a capacity of 40 ounces, this smartly designed, compact water pitcher is perfect for small households. With Brita’s advanced filtration process, you can enjoy water that’s free of harmful substances and unappealing chlorine taste. Using this water pitcher for your drinking water needs is also an easy way to help the environment by decreasing the need for bottled water. Thanks to its slim, compact design, the Brita Water Pitcher can be stored in narrow spaces like refrigerator doors, avoiding the hassle of sacrificing valuable shelf space. Despite its compact size, the Brita water pitcher holds up 40 fluid ounces of water, the equivalent of five 8-ounce glasses.

Vibrating Exercise Machine: Does It Work?

Improve your muscle strength and flexibility with the unique Zenergy Vibes VB1000 Vibration Therapy System, which provides a vibrating platform on which you can tone your legs with squats and work your upper body with rubber resistance cables. You’ll also be able to increase lean muscles and reduce fat with simple step-ups and experience the adrenaline rush of an advanced push-up. With Vibrating Exercise Machine your get a whole body vibration achieved by being on a platform that vibrates at a high frequency, causing your muscles to contract and stretch to maintain balance without your brain being actively involved. The rapid involuntary reflex intensifies even the simplest exercises. This fast repetition of your muscles reacting along with the controlled low impact to the bones creates the growth and strength.

Concept 2 Rowers: Smooth Operation

Whether you already row or are considering rowing as a way to keep in shape, cross train for another sport, or compete on the water, the Concept 2 Model D indoor rowing machine is a terrific choice. Rowing offers several benefits over other exercises: it exercises your entire body, including the arms, legs, chest, back, and abs; its low-impact rhythm is easy on the knees and ankles; it burns a ton of calories because it uses so many muscle groups; and it relieves stress. The Concept 2 Rowers Model D adds to these benefits by offering such features as a quiet flywheel that’s designed to minimize noise while providing the smooth feel of rowing on the water, along with a spiral damper that lets rowers choose the feel of a sleek, fast boat or a slow, heavy boat.

Portable Stepper: Step It Girl

Forget the gym. Now you can enjoy a full cardio workout in the comfort of your home or office with this compact portable stepper elliptical trainer from Stamina Products. Unlike full-size ellipticals, this trainer doesn’t have arms or a front console. Instead, the trainer is essentially foot pedals only, with a chassis that’s small enough to store under a desk or in a closet. Despite the small size, the portable stepper still packs a workout wallop, letting you burn a similar number of calories as jogging but without the risk of injury to the back, knees, hips, or ankles. Just keep your feet moving on the pedals–which continually oscillate in a low-impact manner–and you’re set. Other details include sturdy steel construction, non-slip pedals, and an electronic fitness monitor that tracks the number of strides per minute, total number of strides, exercise time, and calories burned.