Is it too easy to find the cookies? Is it too much trouble to toss a salad? The kitchen may be the so-called heart of the home, but depending on how it’s designed and stocked the kitchen can help make or break healthy eating habits.
When Anne Marsden and Randall Roberts renovated the kitchen of their Buckhead home, they wanted to make sure the new layout matched a love of healthy cooking. Marsden said, “I added a second sink and built in a large chopping block to make it easy to prep fresh vegetables.” The addition of a bay window overlooking the garden added more light and more emphasis on fresh recipes. “It gives us a great view of the six raised beds in the yard so we can see what vegetables are ready to be harvested for dinner,” said Marsden.
Kitchen fitness
What we eat and how much is governed by more than taste buds. Researcher Brian Wansink of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab said our environment sends powerful cues. “Most of us overeat because of distractions and distances, cupboards and containers, shapes and smells, lights and colors,” he said.
In his book “Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think,” Wansink suggests using a 9-inch dinner plate so that servings appear larger. Heap the same serving on a large plate and it looks like less so you may tend to eat more.
Here are some tips to create healthier cooking and eating environments.
Lights: Save bright lights for kitchen workspaces. Dimmer switches in the dining area help relax and slow down the pace of eating.
Fridge: Place salad fixings and cut-up fruit at eye level so they're the first things you see.
Pantry: The more cookies and snack chips you buy in bulk, the more of those foods you'll eat. Move healthy staples such as brown rice, canned beans and whole grain pastas to the front of the cupboard within easy reach.
Cooktop: Avoid storing dried herbs too close to the stove as heat robs flavor punch. Keep measuring spoons near cooking oils. Every tablespoon is about 120 calories.
Counters: A bowl of pretty fresh fruits and veggies tempts you to cook and eat the healthy stuff.
Marsden said their garden-focused kitchen started a healthy trend. “Our next door neighbors expanded their kitchen and added double French doors to provides easy access to tomatoes and herbs literally right outside the door,” Roberts said, “We are currently waiting for our neighbor to get back from Italy to make a big batch of pesto with all of our basil.”
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