Why You Need a Kitchen Designed For Wellness

Did you know that you can design a kitchen that will help you eat healthier?  This may sound too good to be true, but it's not! 

The way a kitchen is designed plays a huge role in how we eat.  We know that eating organic fresh fruits and veggies is best for our bodies.  We are paying more attention to the fact that we shouldn't be eating processed and packaged foods.  And we might even try to prep our meals or at least our veggies ahead of time to make our weeknights easier.

But unfortunately, right now kitchens are hindering our health.  They are keeping us from nourishing our bodies and our minds the way we know they need to be.  So let's take a look at how we can design kitchens that make it easy to nourish ourselves and that align with our healthy lifestyles.

Current kitchen design stems back to post WWII era.  Electric appliances and processed and canned foods were highly marketed to women, promising less time in the kitchen and more time for entertaining.  Many women also took on part-time jobs.  Enter the beginning of convenience food.  Since women weren't home to cook meals from scratch, pre-packaged food became popular, and functional kitchen designs weren't exactly a priority anymore.  

Not much has changed in kitchen design since then.  A big emphasize is placed on pre-packaged food storage, endless gadget storage and the best spot for the microwave.  

But a lot has changed in the way we are eating and preparing food.  Those of us living a healthy lifestyle are buying a lot of fresh produce, but there's no place to store it.  Counter space to prepare the produce is minimal.  And what if our family or friends want to help us prepare this healthy food?  Then there is probably a lot of running into each other and frustration.  

And the storage... These days, many of us want to own less stuff.  It turns out that we don't really need a lot of gadgets in the kitchen.  How many of us haven't used that crepe maker since the day we bought it?  Is there really a need for multiple dinnerware sets?   With the trend going towards less is more in terms of material possessions, we just don't need miles of storage space in the kitchen.  

Imagine entering a kitchen that is spacious and full of natural light.  The warmth of the sun is nurturing your indoor vegetable garden.  The open shelves display some dishes and fresh herbs with a bit of order and lack of clutter, and they provide a sense of openness to the space.  

Your family joins you as you begin to prepare a meal since there is ample space for everyone to participate in meal prep without congestion.  Cutting veggies becomes an act of mindful meditation.  As you chop, you easily slide the veggie scraps into the counter-accessed compost.  

The only sounds in the kitchen are from the buzz of family conversation and the crisp sounds of slicing veggies.  As you cook dinner, you grab some fresh herbs that you've grown on the shelf near the cook top.  Your nourishing meal is created.

• A wellness kitchen is inviting.  It is filled with light and warmth.  It is not cluttered.  It draws you in, and makes you want to stay for awhile. 
• A wellness kitchen brings family and friends together by creating an open space that has multiple work zones, allowing people to work together at food preparation without the frustration of overcrowding.
• A wellness kitchen supports your healthy food choices by having ample storage space for fresh produce and puts your fresh produce on display so your healthy options are front and center.  
• A wellness kitchen has space to grow fresh herbs and plants, improving the air quality in the home.  Plants produce oxygen, providing your kitchen with healthy air that improves cognitive function.  Plants also have the power to increase happiness and evoke calmness.  
• A wellness kitchen creates space for make-ahead food prep.  One of the hardest parts of eating healthy is finding the time to make healthy meals, so making them ahead of time ensures healthy meals throughout the week.  A kitchen that is designed for meal prep makes the process of binge cooking multiple dinners at once easier and even enjoyable.
• A wellness kitchen helps the planet because it discourages pre-packaged food, cutting down on packaging waste, and encourages composting food scraps.  Waste is at a minimum in a wellness kitchen.

You live a healthy lifestyle.  You try your best to eat right and provide the right nourishment for your family.  So it's time to let your kitchen enhance you and your family's health and well-being.  

A wellness kitchen brings ease to your day by encouraging meal prep, light to your heart as it becomes a place to prepare meals together, health to your family because fresh foods are at the forefront, and happiness to the planet by reducing waste.  

Find out how to start incorporating wellness concepts into your kitchen here.