12 Ways To Design The Kitchen For Healthy Eating

Have you resolved to eat healthy multiple times, only to falter and fail? Don’t blame yourself entirely, for the kitchen has a role to play.

In our haste to find that perfect diet, we often ignore that one place which plays the most crucial part in meal planning: the kitchen! Our kitchens are more than a place to slice, dice, and fry. Instead, they are a culinary laboratory where discoveries should be made.

And like any other lab, your kitchen too must be well equipped to carry out and help in your gastronomic experiments. If the kitchen is not designed for healthy eating, then no amount of diet planning is going to be successful.

Therefore, to help you do just that, here are a dozen ways to equip any kitchen for healthy eating this year. By incorporating these tips, you can be sure to pave the way to a healthier diet.

So let’s dig in!

Design The Kitchen For Healthy Eating

Design And Display A Meal Plan

One of the most effortless tricks to stay on track with your meal plan is to have it written and handy. Having a consolidated meal plan helps you to maintain a well-balanced diet by allowing dishes to be planned well in advance.

A meal plan makes your shopping process more manageable and ensures that you buy only what is truly needed and don’t grab whatever is nearest. This way, you save on not only calories, but also money.

Remember to have a written or printed copy of your meal plan on display in the kitchen. You can hang it on the fridge, or write it down on a chalkboard menu. The prime intention here is to keep the meal plan well in sight so that everyone can hold themselves accountable.

Set Up Your Favorite Tunes

Cooking can seem like a chore, and boredom leads to forbidden temptations (of the stomach that is!). To ensure that you don’t get tired and reach for that chocolate cake in the fridge, have something to listen to during cooking.

Hook up your iPad with the latest tunes, or set up a music system in the kitchen. Also, don’t limit yourself only to music, either. Listen to a radio drama, or turn up the volume on that audiobook that you’ve been planning to listen to for a long time. Whatever the choice, make sure you’re not indulging in forbidden foods.

Get Hooked Onto Herbs

One of the biggest challenges that we all face while eating healthy is this: healthy stuff just doesn’t seem tasty! But there’s a way to solve this problem: herbs and spices. A dash of fresh herbs and spices can spruce up the blandest of dishes.

If possible, keep a private collection of herbaceous plants in the kitchen. Most often, these require low maintenance and help you cut down on unhealthy seasonings like butter and salt. Plus, they also add a dash of greenery to the environment, which is a bonus.

And if there’s not enough space in your kitchen for that private garden, then stock up on spices and herbs that are available at the market. You’ll be surprised at the dazzle which a sprinkling of oregano or a dash of pepper can bring to any dish.

Display Healthy Snacks 

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a snack? That’s right: potato chips! And it’s precisely this kind of a thought process that leads to unhealthy binging.

So, to ensure you don’t follow that same path, make it a habit to keep healthy snacks such as fruits nearby. What’s more, you can even arrange and display them in attractive Still Life patterns.

This way, you’ll be sure to keep the kitchen stocked with healthy fruits and veggies that are always within easy reach. Plus, when healthy snacks are the first thing you chance upon in the kitchen, it’s expected that you’ll give that bag of nachos a miss.

Be Minimalist

Don’t make your kitchen the dumping ground for toys and tools and everything in between. A cluttered kitchen is one you’ll never want to get into, thus paving the way for a quick fix dinner.

Declutter the kitchen by moving out all items that are not related to cooking. Keep only the bare essentials such as appliances that you regularly use and tools that you always need.

Reorganize the kitchen furniture to get more space. Clear out the fridge and store only the items that can be kept frozen for long (more on this, here). If needed, add extra cabinets and drawers to the mix.

Keep The Sinful Stuff Out Of Reach

There’s a saying: out of sight, out of mind. Often, the same applies to unhealthy food. Therefore, when you’re arranging the kitchen pantry, take care to ensure that the healthy stuff is displayed nearby.

Also, make an effort and hide the unhealthy bites, such as chocolates and cookies, on the high shelf. That way, if you can’t easily reach it, you won’t be tempted to go eat it when the urge kicks in. Just give it a try, and you’ll be surprised to see the results.

Maintain Strict Inventory

Every time you dash to the store to get something, you’re being exposed to unnecessary temptations. That’s why it’s of vital importance to maintain an inventory of all kitchen supplies and products.

You can use a physical chart pinned inside the pantry or the fridge for this purpose. Also, if you’re the digital kind, you can use any of the inventory apps available on the web. Whatever the choice, make sure that the kitchen is always well stocked with all the required ingredients for a healthy meal.

Light It Up

In case you have a small, poorly lit kitchen, you’ll rarely be enticed to go and cook up a healthy meal. This opens the doors for that takeaway order with lots of grease and cheese. And we all know what that leads to!

So, it’s essential that you design your kitchen to receive as much natural light as possible. Use lighter curtains and colors in the kitchen, install cheerful lights, and make sure it’s well connected to the rest of the house.

The ultimate goal of all this should be to make you feel at home in the kitchen. Only then would you be able to rustle up a healthy dish.

Make Time For Tea

There’s no ritual more relaxing than making a spot of tea. It’s even been observed that the habit of regularly drinking tea can help to reduce cravings for junk food. What’s more, tea also has several other health benefits, such as antioxidant properties.

To reap the full benefits of this wonderful concoction, set up a tea station in your kitchen. Keep the cups and saucers within reach and give the kettle the prime spot on the counter. Oh, and don’t forget the tea itself; experiment with varieties such as green tea and herbal tea.

Sneak In Those Sneakers

It doesn’t matter what you’re cooking, but most of your time in the kitchen is spent walking around. And naturally, this is bound to get uncomfortable after a while. That’s why we advise keeping a pair of comfy sneakers stashed nearby. 

You can put the pair under the sink, below the kitchen table, or even hide them in a shoe cabinet. And if you don’t prefer wearing shoes while cooking, you can always use an anti-fatigue kitchen mat to soothe those tired soles.

Keep it Social

Your kitchen is often merely the place where you rustle up a quick fix and head out for that party with friends. Why not bring the party at home, better yet right in the kitchen? Yes, you heard us right!

Make your kitchen the go-to destination for socializing. Add a small bar counter, throw in a few bean-bags, and keep your kitchen connected to the rest of the house. Simple design changes such as a rolling workstation or extra cutting boards can work wonders.

This not only brings the life back into your kitchen but also prevents you from resorting to TV dinners. And needless to say, the better you socialize, the more excellent your culinary skills grow. Don’t believe us? Just try it out and judge for yourselves.

Chop It All Up

It may sound a bit cheesy, but chopping, slicing, and dicing skills are part and parcel of every cook’s arsenal. That’s why you must have the right tools for the job. Gift your kitchen a good cutting board, along with a set of kitchen knives that get the job done.

Also, make it a point to set-up your cutting station at a location where you can quickly sweep the remnants of fruits and veggies into the trash can. This can save a lot of headaches while cleaning the kitchen later.

Final Thoughts

Don’t let the kitchen be the place where you only enter when you’re hungry. Instead, give it a complete overhaul and turn it into the place that makes you yearn for a healthy meal. After all, health is wealth, and there’s nothing better than a good meal.

Also, do let us know your thoughts on the subject! Do you have any ideas that you want to add to this list? In case you do, don’t hesitate to let us know. We’ll be glad to incorporate them in the next update.

Till then, eat healthy and be happy!

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