The best way to ensure that you're eating healthy foods without any bad-for-you additives (refined sugar, salt, etc.) is to cook at home. But eating healthy is already rough. Trading pizza and burritos for spinach salads and cauli-rice stir fry is no small feat. Cooking just adds another element to the entire process -- unless you've got the right equipment.

These genius kitchen tools will solve your most common healthy eating quandaries, simplify your life and make it easier to whip up healthy foods at home. We've even included recipes to inspire you.

Image via Deliciously Ella

The Tool: Avocado Saver, $6.95

Sometimes, simple can be brilliant. Such is the case with the Avocado Saver. It's one of those why-didn't-I-think-of-that items that elicited more awe and excitement from certain members of our team than a new mascara (and that's saying a lot). You simply pop the uneaten half of your avocado into the dishwasher-safe gadget, and strap it in. Voila -- your avocado won't turn brown and icky. This way you won't feel compelled to wolf down the whole thing. After all, a serving of avocado is technically just one-fifth of the fruit.

The Recipe: Avocado Bacon and Eggs

Ingredients:
1/2 avocado
1 slice cooked bacon, crumbled
1 egg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the avocado in half. (Store the remaining half in your avocado keeper.) Scoop out part of the center of the avocado, making enough room for the egg to fit. Place it on a lined cookie sheet, and then crack and egg into the avocado. Top it with the bacon, and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe via California Avocado Commission

Background image via Crave Bits

The Tool: Spiralizer, $49.95

Sad but true: Pasta is packed with calories and fast-burning carbs, making it less-than-ideal for everyday consumption. But with the Spiralizer, you can fill your plate with pasta, sans guilt. It transforms regular veggies (everything from zucchini to sweet potato) into noodle-shaped deliciousness that, granted, isn't exactly like the real thing -- but is definitely a healthy, yummy substitute. And anything you can do to noodles, you can do to these veggie iterations.

The Recipe: Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup onions, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup white wine
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
3 zucchinis, spiralized

Directions:
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and then add the shrimp. Season the shrimp with 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and the salt and pepper. Sauté the shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until they are opaque. Remove from pan. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, then add the garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds and then add the white wine. Add the cherry tomatoes and cover the skillet. Let cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
Put the shrimp back in the pan, along with butter, lemon juice, basil and the remaining red pepper flakes. Heat another skillet over medium-high heat and add the remaining olive oil. Sauté the zucchini noodles for 2-3 minutes, then remove and add to the other pan. Toss to coat.

Recipe via Joyful Healthy Eats

Background image via Inspiralized

The Tool: Chef'n Loose Leaf Kale and Herb Stripper, $7.95 I love Swiss chard sauté:ed in garlic, but cutting the leaves from the stalks is incredibly time-consuming -- and you have to use a lot of raw leaves to get a sizeable serving once they're cooked down. This handy tool strips the leaves of things like chard and kale away from the fibrous, chewy stalks in seconds. It even has teeny holes to strip herbs, as well. Genius.

The Recipe: Simple Sautéed Swiss Chard

Ingredients:
1 large bunch of Swiss chard (use the stripper to remove leaves from the stem)
2 large tomatoes, diced
2 shallots, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and the shallots and sauté until fragrant. Chop the Swiss chard into 1-inch pieces and add to the pot. Sauté for a few minutes, then add the diced tomatoes. Sauté until the leaves are boiled down and softened (approximately seven minutes). Put in a bowl and top with parmesan cheese.

Recipe via Running to the Kitchen

Background image via Medical News Today