George Foreman Healthy Cooking Grill

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I hate cooking, but this cheap $40 George Foreman grill has made me a healthy-eating convert.
Imagine your meal prep requires three steps: buying chicken, throwing it on the grill, and taking said chicken (perfectly cooked) off of it 5-7 minutes later. That's my reality, and it is my bliss.
The cooking hasn't disappointed me yet, the cleanup is easy with detachable plates, and the price of $40 is unbeatable.

I am a woman of many paradoxes.

I love fitness, but I hate cooking. I will happily spend hours every week in kickboxing, yoga, and boot camp classes and come home to boil limp ravioli into submission. I understand the arguments for meal-prepping (I can hear you yelling them): saving money, learning a skill, being kinder to your body by introducing fewer chemicals and sweeteners, etc. And yet, I haven't ever been able to shake the feeling that the hour and change I just spent cooking was a missed opportunity to do other things. Trust me, I wish I liked it. If I did, coming home to lovingly season chicken would feel liberating and relaxing rather than soul-sucking. Alas, I do not.

In a desperate plea to break up my ravioli feedings with some protein, my dad recently sent me this $40 George Foreman grill in the mail.

It can cook up to four servings at once in under 10 minutes, the plates are removable and dishwasher-safe for easy cleanup, and you can cook basically whatever you can dream up to grill: chicken, burgers, veggies, paninis. The sloped surface helps drain 42% of fat to make your meals healthier, and this new model supposedly heats up 35% faster than older iterations. And, it's only $40.

I have hated meal prep for as long as I can remember, but this cheap grill has made healthy eating so simple that I've eaten a balanced, home-cooked meal (that took 10 minutes to make) every night this week.

I don't want to sound hyperbolic, but this little George Foreman grill has been a complete game-changer. It's my most-used kitchen tool, and it's the best gift I've gotten in years.

When you pare down your entire cooking process to three steps: buying the ingredients (preferably online, for me), slapping them on the grill, and maybe flipping them once in 5-7 minutes, it is amazing what healthy-eating landmarks you can accomplish.

Some reviews list complaints like a burning smell or wear on the grilling plates, but I haven't experienced either, fortunately. (If you do, though, you'll have the standard 30-day window to return the grill). And while the size is perfect for one to two people, I think it's a stretch to say this little model could suit a family of four. Comfortably, it fits three big boneless chicken breasts. Depending on how big you make your burgers, I'd estimate it fitting three. If you need a larger surface, Amazon also stocks a 5-serving multi-plate system ($94).

It's also worth noting that this $37 grill is extremely minimalist: There's no on or off button (it heats up automatically when plugged in and notifies you with a light change when it's ready for grilling) or temperature control, but that's also what I like about it. There are as few steps as possible, and it does everything I need it to (heat up and grill quickly and perfectly) without any intervention from me.

All in all, I love it. If you're looking for a way to cut your cooking time in half without sacrificing healthy-eating goals — or, like me, need the lowest barrier of entry possible for the activity — I really can't recommend it enough. At $40, it's not risking much. If you hate it, send it back. If you love it, enjoy (what I suspect to be) another three bonus years of life since you stopped eating coffee and ravioli for every meal.

Buy the George Foreman4-Serving Removable Plate Grill and Panini Press at Amazon for $39.99

Mara Leighton

Senior Education and Personal Development Reporter, Insider Reviews

Mara Leighton is the senior education and personal development reporter for Insider Reviews. In the spring of 2020, Mara spearheaded Insider Reviews' new education beat. She's reported on Yale's most popular course on happiness as well as essential workforce recovery programs, free instructional courses for non-ICU workers on operating mechanical ventilators, and a Johns Hopkins' contact tracing course designed to fill thousands of remote jobs. She's interviewed Google executives, presidential policy committee members, best-selling authors, leading researchers and professors, and NBC's Chuck Todd in her education coverage. She's most interested in personal development, skill-building, industry shifts, and increased accessibility for learners of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. Previously, Mara covered e-commerce for Business Insider from 2017-2020. She's written thousands of reviews and explainers, profiled emerging and established D2C companies, blogged through major retail events, and forecasted and analyzed industry trends. She also produced the vertical's weekly newsletter. Say hello at mleighton@businessinsider.com or tweet her @maraleighton. Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here. Learn more about how we review educational and personal development products.