Lola Akingbade: 9 Kitchen Tips For a Healthier Lifestyle

It’s popularly said that being healthy and fit requires 80% nutrition and 20% workout, so what does that mean for our kitchen? We need to find ways to help our kitchens help us get healthy!

Many people are able to workout hours a day; in my opinion I think nutrition is the hardest part. It is hard keeping track of what goes into our mouths and ensuring that we are getting balanced nutrition. Making sure our kitchens are healthy will help towards achieving our fitness goals. We have all probably heard some of these several times but still do not practice them regularly.

Have Fruits & Vegetables in Accessible Places in Your Kitchen
Having fruits and vegetables surrounding you will make you less likely to grab chips, chocolates or unhealthy things. Place them where you can see them first before most other things. For instance, place them at eye level of your refrigerator; this way they are one of the very first things you see when you open the door. Some fruits and vegetables include grapes, apples, oranges, broccoli, spinach, kale and others.

Have Salad Ingredients Handy
Make salads and have them handy during meals. This way if you feel like going for seconds you could have them or even have them before your meals. This keeps you full, so you eat less. That being said, salads can become unhealthy really fast. Avoid adding salad creams especially in excess. Also avoid adding croutons or things that take away from the nutritional value of salads. Usual healthy staples include: lettuce, cabbage, carrots, onions, cucumbers, protein sources like chicken and eggs.

Use Small Plates & Bowls
Using smaller plates could possibly help with portion control because many people tend to feel the need to fill up the plate. With smaller plates you may be likely to fill up the plate with less food as opposed to using a bigger plate. Smaller plates give the illusion that you are eating a lot.

Avoid Buying Unhealthy Foods
If you do not keep unhealthy food in your kitchen you will be less likely to eat unhealthy food. If you have them in your kitchen, you are more likely to consume them just because they are there.

Pack Leftovers First Before Eating
Store whatever is left before eating. Many times, we tend to eat more just because we can see the food in front of us. If it has been stored in the refrigerator, the thought of having to reheat it will reduce our chances of over eating.

Use Measuring Cups & Spoons:
This can be used to measure your portions or ingredients out so you have an idea of how much you are consuming. This also helps avoid overeating. Many people struggle with portion control so this is a great way to do that.

Avoid Seconds Rounds
If you feel the need to have a second round, wait about 15 minutes. A lot of times you find that you have forgotten, and realize you really are not hungry anymore

Remove Snacks From Visible Sight
If you must have things like chips, chocolates, candies and others, keep them away from your immediate reach. Store them where you have to do some work to reach. Maybe in the topmost closet so you have to climb up to reach them. By doing this, you do not have access to them in the 5 seconds you think of them.

Drink More Water
This is pretty obvious; drink more water as opposed to sodas or juices. You could infuse the water with lemon or fruits if you like a little extra flavor boost. Sometimes we think drinking juice is healthy but in actuality a lot of juices have an insane amount of sugar and thus have not much nutritional value when compared with sodas.