Change Your Kitchen, Change Your Diet

Our diet generally stems from our eating patterns that have been in place for most of our lives. It takes more than desire or intention to change lifelong patterns. While we must approach change from the inside through our thoughts and intentions, we must also make changes from the outside. Making changes to our environment is one of the best ways to do this.

As a feng shui consultant, I’ve seen a lot of kitchens. Your kitchen says everything about your health. Our home, generally speaking, reflects our mind, body and spirit. The kitchen is that part that represents our nurturing or ‘nutritioning’ ourselves. Each time I step into a client’s kitchen who is trying to lose weight or change her diet, it is apparent. Often, the paint color is undesirable, there is kitty litter lurking, the counters are stacked up with clutter and there is no place to sit down to eat. It is an unpleasant room to be in, let alone properly digest food in.

One of the big culprits of losing weight or changing diet is transitioning from eating out (for example, fast food) to eating in. Spending too much time in the kitchen is not the problem… It’s not spending enough time in the kitchen. It is so much easier to just pick up a quick meal or heat up a meal of processed food than it is to spend time in your kitchen and cook a wholesome meal. That is, unless, you have a kitchen you enjoy being in. To successfully change your diet, you must make changes to your kitchen. In fact, you must love your kitchen. Here are some ways to do just that:

1. Add a fresh coat of paint – Nothing affects the energy in a room quite like a coat of paint. Not to mention, color can greatly affect our energy, metabolism, mood and digestion. Take an objective look at the color of your kitchen walls. Do you like the color? Could the color be improved? Does it stimulate you, calm you or make you want to leave the room? Generally speaking, greens and reds are good colors for kitchens and dining rooms. Bright yellow, gold, brown, or muddy colors can leave an ick feeling with our digestion. But, most importantly, it needs to be color that you love!

2. Reduce clutter – Clutter is stagnant energy, and extra weight on our body is stagnant energy. There is a direct correlation. The kitchen often ends up being a major clutter zone for mail and stacks of paper. This can quickly lead to a desire to not even go into the kitchen. Notice what your body does and where your body wants to go. If you notice it averting the kitchen, then there is probably clutter lurking somewhere. Even if the clutter is not sitting out in the open, your subconscious mind knows there’s clutter lurking in the cabinets. I find a lot of people have a hard time letting go of Tupperware containers or other kitchen oddities. While these items seem so benign, they can weigh on our subconscious mind, preventing us from spending time in the kitchen.

3. Clean out refrigerator and pantry – This is a no-brainer, but had to be mentioned. Start with a clean food slate. Remove all food items that are not consistent with your new diet, your new life. Easy. Done.

4. Spice it up – I’m actually not talking about cardamom and ginger, but that’s not a bad idea, either. I’m talking about the overall feel of the kitchen. Once you’ve cleared out all things that don’t resonate with the new you, then it’s time to add a few items that do. For example, add a piece of kitchen art. Art is like subliminal messages. You could have art of healthy foods or art that includes positive affirmations, like “Live, Love, Laugh.” Add a candle, a healthy cookbook, a juicer or a spice rack. Fresh fruit and flowers are always a nice touch, too.

And, under no circumstances are you to have the kitty litter in the kitchen. This is a completely different stage of digestion. Don’t confuse the body!

Tisha Morris is a feng shui consultant, energy healer, yoga instructor and author of “Feng Shui Your Life: The Quick Guide to Decluttering Your Home and Renewing Your Life” (Turner Publishing).

Photo credit: The Cookiemonster

Spring Clean Your Kitchen

By Carolyn “The Healthy Voyager” Scott

Spring is upon us, and that means it’s time for spring cleaning—out with the old to make room for the new. That applies to your kitchen, too. You might be surprised to learn that many of the cooking items you use on a daily basis could be harming your health and rendering your nutritious foods useless. I’ve compiled my top 5 items that should be added to your toss pile this spring cleaning season in order to keep you and yours as healthy as can be!

Non-Stick Pots and Pans: The most important health factor that should be considered is the transfer, or leaching, of the cooking surface material to the foods being cooked. Heat changes the composition of materials so what may be safe at room temperature can be extremely toxic when heated. Non-stick surfaces like Teflon®, are the biggest offenders when it comes to leaching. In fact, when a non-stick surface is heated beyond a certain level, the fumes can kill birds and create Polymer Fume Fever, a sickness in humans producing symptoms similar to a cold. Most recipes call for the cooking surface to be heated at a medium to high temperature so cooking with a non-stick pot or pan will almost always be dangerous. So don’t wait until the bottoms of your pans are chipping to trash them, start replacing your most used pieces as soon as possible. REPLACE

WITH: Ceramic, stainless steel, cast iron, and/or glass. Be sure there are no toxic paints or coatings.

Plastic Containers: As mentioned above, leaching is hugely important factor to consider. Whether it is food or beverage, plastic should never be the vessel. One must even be cautious of BPA-free containers as there are other contaminants that can be leached from lower quality items. Be a discerning consumer and buy the best! When you add hot foods to plastic storage containers, the heat draws toxins from the containers, which then mix with your food. This is why you should never leave plastic water bottles in the car. Ever taste “plasticy” water? It’s been sitting in the heat, leaching toxins into your otherwise healthy beverage. This happens when you store food as well and even more so when you microwave them. Don’t let chemicals be the secret ingredient in your dishes. REPLACE WITH: Ceramic, stainless steel and/or glass.

Dish Towels and Sponges: Bacteria breeds mainly in cool, damp places like sponges and dish towels. We use these every day to clean up our counters and plates—but if not properly taken care of, we are doing more harm than good. A sure fire way to keep your cleaning aids at their best is to wring them out to release excess water after every use, store them properly so that they can air out and dry quickly, wash regularly and throw them away every 2-4 weeks. If you have old towels and sponges, it’s time to go shopping!

Overcrowded Refrigerators/Freezers: Clutter is never a good thing and, especially in refrigerators and freezers. When the refrigerator is overstuffed, there isn’t enough room for the air to circulate properly and decomposition begins. In addition, many foods will pick up the odors of others—likely causing you to gag, throw away food, and waste quite a bit of cash. This can also cause bacteria and mold to grow in between containers, on walls, and in drawers. In freezers, overcrowding can cause freezer burn as well as forgetfulness! Ever forget what’s in the back of the freezer completely frozen over and covered in ice? From now on, toss foods as soon as they expire. Don’t keep items that you “think” you will use someday like fast food sauce packets. And, properly pack and label your foods with the date and, when possible, consolidate items. Your food will last longer, will taste a whole lot better, and save you a considerable amount of green.

Microwave Ovens: I know that there is quite a lot of controversy when it comes to microwaves, but I’m here to tell you, anything that heats your food that fast and is otherwise cool to the touch, can’t be good for you. These microwaves that are heating your quick lunch are actually transforming the chemical makeup of your foods on a cellular level—it’s essentially food radiation. Ever notice that many things are less crispy and more rubbery when nuked? That’s because while those little waves are heating up, they have mutated your food. And mutated food not only loses it texture and taste, it loses all its nutrients and causes us to ingest radiation.

REPLACE WITH: Convection oven and/or toaster oven.

While a full kitchen overhaul may be costly, if you focus on the items you use most frequently, you can invest in your health while minimizing any financial outlays. You can always do more later and have fun doing it. We should all make an investment in our health and the kitchen is a great place to start. I wish you all a very happy spring as well as super healthy cooking spaces.

Carolyn Scott is the executive producer, creator, host, and writer of The Healthy Voyager brand. Her web series, radio show, site, blog and social network show you how to live, and travel, healthy and green.

Two Essential Kitchen Tools

The tools we use in the kitchen are essential to making it fun, making it easy, making it successful, and making it safe. I absolutely think people would cook more if they had the right tools. People think they don’t need the right tools since they aren’t cooking a lot, but what they don’t know is that they’d be cooking more (and properly and more quickly and with more pleasure) if they invested in a few good tools.

Though there are gadgets galore at your local kitchen store, let’s start with the basics: a good knife and a good cutting board.

ONE GOOD KNIFE
When you’re eating a plant-based diet, because there’s no need to de-vein a shrimp, disjoint a chicken, filet a fish, carve a turkey, or de-bone, butterfly, or cleave anyone, none of those “specialty” knives are necessary. Essentially, you need just one good chef’s knife, whether it’s a 6-, 7-, or 8-inch blade. (The 8-inch blade is my personal favorite.)

Cleaning Knives
In terms of cleaning knives, never put them in the dishwasher. The very high temperatures can damage the blade. Never let them sit around with food stuck to them, hand-wash them with a little soap and water, and dry them right away with a soft cloth. Then store them properly.

Storing Knives
The main thing is that they’re not just thrown in a drawer. Aside from the fact that is dangerous, the blades can also become dull when rubbing against one another in the drawer. Use a knife block, a magnetic knife holder you hang on a wall, or a special case for your knife, but keep it protected to prolong its life. As you have no doubt heard: it’s not sharp knives that cut people. It’s dull knives.

CUTTING BOARDS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY
What to avoid: Glass cutting boards. Not only is glass the WORST thing you could cut on because they absolutely ruin your knives, they’re also so dangerous because the knife could slip so much more easily. And then you’re left with a non-vegetarian dish as little bits of your finger wind up in your favorite casserole!

What to avoid: Slippery, flexible plastic “cutting boards.” They’re not “boards” – they’re slippery, flexible, plastic things. They’re dangerous because they slip around so easily, and I just avoid them.

What to avoid: Plastic boards in general. Though you may find some “experts” who recommend non-porous cutting boards (such as plastic and acrylic), I flat out disagree. If you’ve ever had a plastic cutting board, you’ll notice that though they’re not porous, every cut and slice is visible, and bacteria can definitely get into those grooves. I also think these cuts and slices reduce the efficacy of the cut, and I just feel like I’m cutting plastic up into my food.

The main reason, however, that “experts” recommend against using porous cutting boards is because of food safety. It’s true this is a concern if you’re cooking and cutting up animals. If you keep a vegan kitchen, you don’t have to obsess over contaminating your knives and counter and cutting boards! After all, the foodborne illnesses we’re susceptible to are animal-borne because we’re animals. We’re not susceptible to plant diseases, because we’re not plants. So, you don’t have to keep two different cutting boards and fear for your safety when you’re not cooking with raw animal parts and secretions. In a vegan kitchen, the worse thing you might find is aphids in your kale and a borer worm in your corn, and they pose no health risk.

What to embrace: My favorite cutting board is bamboo, though you can use wood, too. They’re both hard and solid and great to cut on, though bamboo is even harder and of course more sustainable a crop. Now, even though it would be easier to just say “buy wood or bamboo,” it’s not that simple (Lord I wish it were!) – there are a few things I want to say about that.

a) The first thing is to look for a cutting board made out of a solid piece of wood or bamboo. I’ve seen too many cutting boards crack where two pieces come together, so get a good solid piece.
b) Just because you find a wood or bamboo cutting board doesn’t mean you’ve gotten the right size. Avoid any cute shapes, and make sure it’s nice and big – at least 12 inches high (and my favorite is 18 inches long).
c) Don’t leave veggie scraps and water sitting on your cutting board. Clean and wipe it dry right away, and never immerse it in water. The wetter it remains, the higher the chances it will become warped.
d) If you have stains on the board (like from beet juice, for instance, try using a little white vinegar on a soft cloth. Wipe, wash, and dry. That should do the trick.
e) When you first get your wood or bamboo cutting board, you can prolong its life by seasoning or oiling it. You can use an oil like walnut oil (it doesn’t go rancid as quickly as other oils, so it’s a good option) and a soft cloth, and apply it in the direction of the grain. Warming the oil allows it to penetrate even deeper into the wood. Apply 4-6 coats before using the board. After awhile, you can also oil it again if it looks dry. Dry boards crack more easily.
f) Another way to prevent cracking and drying is by avoiding placing hot pots and pans on the boards right off of the stove or right from the oven. It might not happen right away, but over time, it can dry out your board and cause cracking.

When we stock our kitchens with the proper tools, we’re more inclined to cook – and cook healthfully and safely.