Design your kitchen for healthier eating

Kitchens are often the main room in a house where people gather together, whether it’s to eat a meal, hang with the family or do a little bit of work from home. However, while the environment is conducive to relaxing family time, hanging out in the kitchen also makes it easy to snack on unhealthy foods or eat larger meals. If you’re remodeling your kitchen, you may want to think about incorporating some of these design elements that make it easier to form healthy eating habits:

Utilize your windowsill
Any windowsill that gets a lot of sunlight is a great place to start growing your own fresh herbs (even better if the window is south-facing). Having herbs growing on your windowsill will make it easier to add flavor to your meals without a lot of extra salt. Easy herbs to grow indoors include sage, rosemary, chives and oregano.

Keep small appliances handy
Create an accessible storage spot for your blender, food processor, crock pot and other small appliances that make healthy cooking easier. To keep your counter from becoming cluttered, consider designing a built-in storage space just for your appliances where you can tuck them out of sight.

Rethink your sink
Double-basin stainless steel kitchen sinks are a good choice for creating healthy eating habits. Designate one basin for cleaning fruits and vegetables, and keep it clean and clear of all dirty dishes. Consider adding wall-mounted kitchen faucets that are easy to install at exactly the right height for your washing and cooking needs.

Reorganize your refrigerator
The refrigerator is a trouble area for mindless snackers, but there’s one quick change you can make for more nutritious munching. Rather than hiding produce in a drawer, put it at eye level on one of your refrigerator’s shelves. Keep junk food in the drawer and out of sight instead. If you’re worried about freshness, you can seal produce in gallon-sized plastic bags.

Make healthy foods easier to see
Organize your pantry so healthier food options are at eye level in the front, while less nutritious foods are too high or low to easily see when you open the door. Keep chips, chocolate and other unhealthy snack foods in a hiding place. Sure, you’ll know they’re there, but they’ll tempt you less when you can’t see them at all. If you have snack items on your counters, put them into hiding – the only thing you should leave out on countertops and tables is fresh, pretty produce.