Everyone Loves A Good Makeover!

Who doesn’t love a makeover? Seeing the transformation from start to finish is always exciting isn’t it? So why don’t we do a makeover of our own! How about we take a look at our kitchen??  I’m not talking about refinishing cupboards and finding cute painted mason jars to hold our cooking utensils.  I’m talking a clean out your fridge, cupboards and pantry kind of makeover!

MY KITCHEN IS AMAZING AND ORGANIZED?  WHY WOULD I NEED TO DO THIS?

Let’s face it. Most of my clients come to me looking to shed a few pounds and while we do take a look at their overall fitness goals, nutrition is king! You can’t build strong nutrition habits if you aren’t armed with the best food and tools to help you.  Our environment can affect our progress without us even knowing and so, we begin where 90% of our nutrition choices takes place…the kitchen! It’s time to clean out the fridge and panty.

HAVE A PLAN!

If you don’t even know where to begin, hiring a nutrition coach can be very helpful.  They can be there to assist you with your kitchen makeover, or they can provide you with simple direction and help you create a list of foods that you want to keep!

GET STARTED!

Let’s start in the pantry!

Pull out EVERYTHING that is currently in the pantry and fridge and set it on your kitchen table.  This gives you a good bird’s eye view of all that you have.

With garbage bag in hand, start by throwing out anything that has expired.

Next, either throw out or donate the foods that don’t line up with your goals. This includes all foods that trigger you to engage in poor eating habits. If you can’t sit down and watch a movie without eating a bowl of chips for example, don’t keep them in the house!

Check labels!  Generally speaking, the fewer ingredients listed the better!  Watch for high sugar items and hidden sugars such as fructose and corn syrup.  Check for hydrogenated oils.  And remember that just because an item says low fat, no added sugar or fat free doesn’t mean they are healthy.  Often other low quality ingredients are thrown in to make up for the taste things like sugar and fats bring to the table.  Things like regular peanut butter, fruit juices, breakfast cereals and baked goods sound healthy but pack a ton of hidden calories!

RESTOCK!!

This is the fun part. There is something very satisfying about having a kitchen full of nutritious foods to feed you and your family!

Sit down and make a list of all the foods you want to bring back into your house.  Again, if you are unsure, this is a great task to do with a nutrition coach.  But generally speaking, this is the time you fill your kitchen with nutrient dense foods.

Things like:

• leafy green vegetables
• a variety of other vegetables
• fruits
• legumes
• rice
• quinoa
• chicken
• eggs
• egg whites
• cheese
• fish
• almond/coconut milk
• lean cuts of beef
• nuts and seeds
• oatmeal

Also make a list of tools that help with meal prep.  Having the tools you need to make life in the kitchen easier is key.  Being armed with a food prep containers, mason jars, a slow cooker, an instant pot and a digital food scale can make the daunting task of food prep that much more enjoyable.

GO SHOPPING!!

Armed with your list, hit the grocery store!  Stay strong.  Avoid going grocery shopping when you are hungry as your will power may be diminished and you may find less than desirable foods make their way into your grocery cart.  Stick to the outer aisles of the grocery store as they typically house the fruits and veggies and the least processed foods.

ORGANIZE!

You did it! You purged the crap and brought in the gold.  Let’s stock the kitchen with your purchases. Put all your pantry purchases away! I love all things pretty and organized so use bins and labels if that’s your jam.  Truthfully, you will find fewer pantry goods and more fresh/frozen goods to fill your fridge (am I the only one that cannot find a fridge large enough to house all my food???).

One of the reasons veggies go to the fridge to die is because they aren’t easy to just grab and go.  So as you unpack your groceries, wash and cut up your veggies to make them easy.  If it helps, put them in your food prep containers, or even zip lock bags so that when you need a quick snack, they are easy to grab!

Wash fruit like apples, oranges, pears etc.  Though keep in mind that berries are best washed immediately prior to eating.

Portion out your meat.  Keep what you need for upcoming meals and pop the rest in the freezer!!

And there you have it!  Kitchen make-over complete!    Pick a day each week to sit down and create your weekly menu, and this will help guide future trips to the grocery store to keep your kitchen  stocked with delicious, nutrient dense food that will help nourish your body to reach your goals.

Do you have any questions? Need more information about the process, the best foods to stock your kitchen with or what you should be eating? Let’s chat! Drop me message and we can begin to make this so much easier for you to create lifelong, healthy habits!