Lifestyle
Healthy Kitchen, Healthy Family:
Habits to Make your Kitchen Better for You BY TRACY WRIGHT
The kitchen is often cited as the hub of the home where family and friends gather to cook, eat and share memories. Is your kitchen always good for your health? Organizing, cleaning and setting up your kitchen can have profound impacts on both your physical and mental health.
Healthy Organization
See it and Believe it
In the fridge, [make sure] the healthy snacks like fruit, veggies, cheese and yogurt are the easiest to reach,” said local resident and mom of three Ami McClay. “Other items like bananas or avocados are easy to reach on the counters. I keep those in view so when they are looking for something, they tend to want that first.”
“I am working on continuing to organize and refine our pantry to make it easier to find what I am looking for. More organization equals less stress for me and more likely that I will find it easier to cook our meals rather than order out,” said mom and communications professional Stefani Crumley.
The first step to having a healthier kitchen is making sure its organized and stocked with the proper healthy foods and supplies. Keeping unhealthy food off of the counter is a good way to making sure you promote healthy habits. Stock your fridge and pantry with fruits and vegetables and get rid of fatty and processed snacks.
Make sure you know how to properly store different types of food. If not going in the refrigerator, make sure it resides in a cool and dry place. “I put a guide on the fridge of the best ways to store various fruits/veggies so that they last the longest, and how long to expect them to last,” said mom and physician Andie Pepin.
There’s an app for that!
Apps like Fridge Pal, Fresh Box and Best Before can help you inventory your fridge and pantry items, share shopping lists, search for recipes, and make sure you keep track of items that may be expiring. You can even scan barcodes to enter into your virtual fridge and pantry. They are available for free or at a very low cost for both Apple and Android products.
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For better visual food organization, there are many stackable seethrough fridge bins as well as pantry containers to store your food so you know what you have to eat and what you can make.
Meal Planning and Healthy Cooking at Home
Organizing your kitchen in a way that inspires healthy eating can work wonders. A kitchen with visible foods and products can help people to stay home and cook with healthy ingredients—saving money and calories typically spent when eating out.
Grow Your Food!
A popular option is creating your own indoor herb garden. Home Depot recommends finding a place in your kitchen that receives direct sunlight and begin with seedlings that can grow well indoors. They advise starting with three to five herbs like chives, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary and thyme, which are popular ingredients for cooking. Using fresh herbs makes for tastier meals and can inspire healthy cooking. If you have kids, involve them with the herb garden as a fun family project.
