6 Tips for a Healthy Kitchen
The start of a new year is a great time to set new habits for a healthier lifestyle! If eating better is part of the plan, making smart diet choices that support the body’s needs can begin right at home. This week, we’ve got 6 tips for organizing your kitchen to support nutritious and healthy eating. Read ahead to learn more!
Get a Fresh Start
Swapping out expired condiments, spices, or rarely used items is a good way to begin prepping your kitchen for its new overhaul. Toss out any items past the date of safe use, but consider donating unopened, non-expired products to a local food bank like Feeding South Florida. This clears space for goods and products that will be used regularly, while helping to eliminate waste and provide for others in the process.
Time for a Deep Clean
Now that unnecessary items have been eliminated, make smart use of Monarc’s ample kitchen space by doing a fridge deep clean. Martha Stewart recommends a top-to-bottom, inside-out scrub down about twice a year, beginning with removing all the food and wiping down the entire interior. Be sure to take out shelves and drawers and clean with a solution that’s two tablespoons baking soda and one quart hot water. Check here for more fridge cleaning tips and tricks.
Stock up on Healthy Choices
Filling the kitchen with fresh produce and other staples is a great way to encourage nutritious eating habits. Monarc is nearby amazing markets that make shopping for delicious, healthy, and sustainably-sourced foods super easy and convenient. Steps away from Monarc, residents can enjoy access to our on-site Whole Foods. The Adrienne Arsht Center Farmers Market and Brickell City Center Farmers Market are also open year-round for the best in locally-grown foods.
Put Nutrition First
Find yourself reaching for the salty snacks and sweet treats even with plenty of other more beneficial options around? Try moving healthy foods so they are featured prominently, at eye-level and within easy reach, inside the fridge and cabinets. Using clear containers to store foods can also help make nutritious options more immediately visible. Blogger The Rustic Dietician suggests keeping fruit or nuts out on the counter to make grabbing a healthy snack, and staying away from more processed alternatives, quick and effortless.
Organize Food Mindfully
In addition to making healthy food options readily accessible, organizing the fridge and cabinets by category can help make meal planning even more efficient. Try placing similar food groups together to make it simple to create well-balanced meals every time. Eating Well suggests that organizing spices and other ingredients by “theme” can also help inspire meal planning.
Get Kiddos Involved
Want to ensure children are making healthy food choices as well? Get the kiddos involved in shopping for foods and teach them how to make nutritious choices too! Clearing a designated space for kids within the fridge and cabinets can be a good way to encourage responsibility and healthy habits from a young age.
To get your grocery list started, check out this guide to stocking a nutritious kitchen. From all of us at Monarc, we hope these tips inspire your healthiest year yet!
