5 Steps To A Healthy Kitchen

In Transition To A Healthier Lifestyle? Then this article is for you!





1.Sort your food supplies into different groups such as Junk Food, OK Food, and Healthy Food. Go through all the food and cooking ingredients in your kitchen, and identify everything as Junk, OK, or Healthy.
Junk Foods have very little nutritional value, a lot of calories, and include ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, sugar, processed meats, fats, or are cooked in fats. Some examples are:
candy
hot dogs
ice cream treats
sugar coated kids' cereals
processed cheese in cans
high fat lunch meats
frozen corn dogs
high fat potato chips
high fat corn chips
soft drinks
frozen french fries
packaged dessert items
packaged cookies
Junk Foods can also include any packaged or canned foods that have passed their expiration dates.
Once you have identified all the junk food in your kitchen, get rid of it. If you don't have the heart to waste food, then please don't replace any of these items after they are eaten.



2.OK Food includes items that aren't super healthy, but maybe not so bad for you either. Keep in mind that health food stores often have healthy versions of many of these items. Here I would include foods like:
most canned soups, stews, and pasta meals
white bread
breakfast cereals that are not sugar coated, but not whole grain
meat snacks like beef jerky that have a lot of additives
sugar sweetened yogurt
most salad dressings
condiments like ketchup and mayonnaise
jellies and jams
dry mixes like macaroni and cheese
boxed dinner mixes
pasta and noodles made from regular white flour
frozen dinners
high fat meats
fish sticks
These OK Foods are fine to eat occasionally, but they shouldn't make up the bulk of your daily menu


3.The third group of foods would be the Healthy Foods. These are foods that are good for you, such as:
fresh vegetables
fresh whole fruit
fresh greens
lean meats and poultry
fish filets, steaks, or chunks of tuna or salmon
frozen vegetables
whole grain bread
whole grain pasta
low fat marinara sauces
olive oil
low fat dairy or soy products
whole grain cereals
frozen fruits
frozen juice bars with no sugar added
a variety of nuts and nut butters
fresh eggs
These are the foods that should make up most of your meals. You can also include most convenience foods purchased from health food stores.



4. Now that you have all your food sorted out, it is time to tidy up the kitchen:
clean all the cabinets and shelves before returning the foods you are keeping
clean your refrigerator, including any removable racks, trays, and drawers
clean and sanitize your silverware and utensil holders
clean and sterilize cutting boardsIt is also a good time to remove the clutter from your counter tops which only serve to get in your way and decrease your working space.



5. When you go grocery shopping, use a grocery list of healthy foods.Make sure that 80% of the foods you buy come from the Health Food category, and avoid the junk foods as much as possible. Buy a variety of the healthy foods to be sure that you have ample ingredients to make tasty healthy meals. Use recipes that feature healthy ingredients, and keep a supply of herbs, garlic, and any of your other favorite seasonings. Buy your convenience foods from heath food stores so that the ingredients will be healthier than conventional frozen and packaged meals