Many of us eat poorly, and it often starts at home. If weight loss happens in the kitchen, shouldn’t your kitchen be prepared to support a healthy lifestyle? That’s why we consulted two top experts for their tips on creating a health-friendly kitchen.
We’re all aiming to be our healthiest selves. We exercise regularly, manage stress, and eat carefully planned meals. But how’s that working out for you?
Is your meal organization less than perfect? If you need help with planning and organizing meals, you’re not alone.
A good healthy eating plan starts in the kitchen. Take a look at your dry food storage. Are there items that make you feel lousy? Get rid of them! Keep your pantry stocked with staples that support a healthy lifestyle, like olive oil, vinegar, and nutritious herbs and spices, stored in a cool, dark place.
Load up on canned foods such as tomatoes, beans, coconut milk, low-sodium broth, and sustainable seafood. Choose whole grains for your pasta, bread, and crackers. Swap potato chips and orange-colored snacks for healthier options like dehydrated vegetable chips, seaweed snacks, dried fruit, popcorn, and roasted chickpeas.
Superfoods like chia seeds, cacao nibs, and goji berries can be stored in glass jars for easy access to add to smoothies or overnight oats. Clear out your fridge of anything spoiled and high-sugar drinks, syrups, and processed foods.
Keep eggs and Greek yogurt handy for protein and probiotics. Replace sodas and sweetened fruit juices with filtered water, sparkling water, and coconut water to stay hydrated. Make sure your produce drawers are filled with mostly fresh vegetables and some fruits, enough to last a few days. Use them to add spinach to eggs, carrots, and squash to soups, and broccoli to stir-fried noodles.
Chop and store veggies and fruits in containers for quick snacks or to toss into salads or sautés. Store nuts, nut flours, and some nut butters and oils in the fridge to prevent them from going rancid. Stock up on frozen vegetables; they’re just as nutritious as fresh ones! Keep some frozen fruit for smoothies and yogurt parfaits. Trade dairy ice cream for coconut milk-based treats.
If bananas, peaches, or kale are about to go bad, chop and freeze them in bags for smoothies or soups. Marinate and freeze individual portions of lean proteins like chicken or fish for quick meals.
Equip your kitchen with essentials like glass containers for batch cooking or leftovers, mason jars for salads or storage, a crockpot for easy meals, a blender for making smoothies, soups, and sauces, a food processor for healthy recipes, and maybe a spiralizer for veggie noodles.
When your kitchen is set up this way, preparing meals or snacks will be a breeze, not a hassle.
