Are you managing to keep your New year’s resolutions, or have you already faltered? Some of the most common resolutions revolve around healthy living and eating for you and your loved ones, but when you try to make it all happen, you keep bumping into walls and barricades. Sometimes the things that prevent you from being the best version of yourself lie in your surroundings. More precisely, when it comes to maintaining a healthy diet, the problem could be your kitchen, the way it’s organized and equipped. If this is the case, here are some smart resolutions for your kitchen and your family to improve your lifestyle and allow you to achieve your wellness goals.
Get rid of things you don’t use
You may think that everything you have in your kitchen has its purpose and you need all of it. However, once you start going through the back of your cabinets and shelves, you’ll find a whole variety of gadgets, pots and other kitchen items that you’ve bought on a whim or got as a present and never used once. Instead of keeping such things, which can only lead to clutter and lack of space, you should find a way to let them go. Some of it will, unfortunately, end up in the trash can, but there will be things that somebody else will find useful. Donate them somewhere where they’ll have a purpose, or sell them online. This way you’ll make room for things you actually use when you cook and you’ll make your kitchen easier to clean.
Limit your time in the kitchen by being more efficient
Many people spend far too much time in the kitchen only because they aren’t organized or skilled enough, but also because their appliances slow them down. So, in order to limit the time you spend cooking and preparing your meals, you need to make a series of good decisions. First of all, you need to plan your meals, know exactly what you’re making and how. This way you won’t waste time by, for instance, slicing meat first, when you can chop onions and then deal with the meat while stir-frying the onions. Furthermore, if your kitchen appliances are outdated, you should consider investing in some new and better ones. One good example is having a good stove. If you get a high-quality Bosch stove, it will save your time in many ways. Not only does it heat rapidly, allow you to bake two things at once and regulates and adjusts its own temperature while you fry something, but it also has an oven with a self-cleaning feature, which can additionally shorten the time you have to spend in the kitchen. Finally, there are many tricks and hacks to reduce your time in the kitchen, freeing you to do the things that really matter, like playing with your children.
Make your kitchen more family friendly
With kids going to school, all their sports practices and other extracurricular activities, combined with all your obligations, it’s sometimes difficult to find time to spend together. This is why one of your resolution could be to turn your kitchen into a more family-friendly place, so that your children can join you while you cook, bake or clean. You can do this by keeping knives and anything else that can hurt them high, out of their reach, making the kitchen safer for them. On the other hand, keep the dishes and things that they can use where they can get to them, so that they can help you whenever you’re making something. For example, if the microwave oven is somewhere where they can use it, they could sometimes reheat their meals, or make popcorn. Also, when you’re making something that they don’t really like, they’ll be more likely to eat it if they help you prepare it. Most children enjoy helping in the kitchen, so make sure you can spend some quality time with them and make every moment in the kitchen a learning and enjoyable one.
Open up to new cuisines
One interesting and exciting way to spice up your cooking skills is to try learning a new cuisine. Of course, you’ve made Italian pasta or even French ratatouille, but there are other, less conventional cuisines you could give a chance. Moroccan, Greek, Eastern European, Korean or Portuguese, just take your pick and at least once a week try out a new recipe with ingredients and spices you haven’t used before. This way you can step out of your comfort zone, widen your food-related horizons and upgrade your general knowledge by learning about new countries and cultures. Plus, you might master some new culinary techniques in the process, which you can use later to add a new twist to some of your favorite meals.
There are many things you can achieve by being creative and innovative in your kitchen, but also by making what you already know and have work for you. So, make a few good resolutions and let them bring some new joy into everything you do in your kitchen.