A well-balanced diet provides our body with energy, strength, and vitality. Accessibility to food is one of the greatest gifts we can get, but it can be hard to find ways to eat healthy, reach nutritional goals, and keep everything within budget. With the constant buzz of our daily lives, sometimes we allow our nutrition and meals to fall to the wayside, but we must not let this happen. As we stated, eating well-balanced meals throughout your day is crucial to taking care of yourself and having the ability to go about your day. Let us dive into some common kitchen struggles people face, how to combat these struggles, and must-have kitchen essentials.
Common Kitchen Struggles and How to Tackle Them
- A Lack of Space : When your kitchen is more limited on counter space, it can make building delicious meals a bit more challenging. Knowing how to utilize the space you do have can make all the difference. When it comes to chopping and prepping foods for a meal, it is vital to avoid cross contamination between produce and meats. In order to utilize your space and avoid this food risk, make sure you are prepping your ingredients in order of produce, herbs, and then any meat. This will allow you to only use one cutting board. One-pan meals can have the same effect in regard to stovetop space. Add these small changes to your routine to avoid feeling suffocated by the lack of counter space.
- Utilizing Ingredients Without Waste: Have you ever left the grocery store with packed bags and feeling inspired for your meal plans ahead? This can all go downhill the second you start to realize your produce is wilting and time does not seem to be on your side. While it might be tempting to grab all the desirable products at the grocery store, limiting yourself to some essential ingredients can make all the difference in reducing waste and optimizing your money.
- Organizing Complications: Sometimes the way we organize our pantry can impact how we use the food we purchase and thus impact our cooking experience. Your pantry can become your best friend in the kitchen if you just let it. Pantries are usually filled with grains, canned foods, and unopened condiments, but because they are closed off from our view, we tend to forget they are even there. Limiting your pantry staples to an essential few and making sure it is at eye level is crucial to its success in making your cooking experience better. Make sure to stock up on those canned goods and use them to bulk up your meals without breaking the bank!
Kitchen Essentials Gifting Ideas for an Easy and Health Conscious Way to Cook
- An Air-Fryer: Are you looking for a holiday gift for yourself or a loved one? You might want to consider getting an air-fryer to elevate your kitchen experience. Air-fryers are a kitchen appliance that utilize a fan and heating contraption to cook your foods to crispy goodness. Due to the way the food is cooked in an air-fryer, you will use less cooking oil making it a more affordable and healthy way to cook in the long run. An air-fryer could be seen as a smaller and different type of conventional oven of sorts, meaning that usually the meals you can cook in an air fryer are done without fuss.
- A Meal Delivery Plan: With the rise of social media and the accessibility for delivery to our homes, people have turned to meal-delivery companies to get meals and ingredients for the week. These meal-delivery companies tend to give explicit information in regard to the meal's nutritional facts and give step-by-step directions on how to cook the meals. This is a wonderful option for those who struggle with limiting food waste, optimized grocery shopping, and who are limited on time throughout the week to even think about meal plans.
- A Spice Kit: We all love eating delicious foods, and sometimes cooking a meal that is similar to restaurant quality can prove challenging. However, it is not impossible. Sometimes all people need is a bit of some spice to their meals to really elevate things. A spice kit is a great gift for the cooking amateur in your life looking to elevate their kitchen and cooking skills!
Three Kitchen Essentials to Support Your Digestive System This Coming Year
- An Herbal Tea Kit - Herbal teas tend to have anti-inflammatory properties that are beneficial for your digestive health. Certain teas such as chamomile can even help promote bowel movements. Gifting an herbal tea set is a great way to introduce someone to the world of herbal teas and their power over one’s health.
- A Pack of Chia Seeds - Chia seeds act as a prebiotic to your body, making it a wonderful option for digestive health. Prebiotics are essential in building the beneficial bacteria that probiotic supplements and other supplements that help with bloating have to offer. Adding chia seeds to water is a quick and easy way to get some into your diet.
- Kimchi - Due to the fermentation process that kimchi undergoes, it contains probiotics that are known to help build the beneficial bacteria in your gut that protects it. Without probiotics, you are at risk of developing digestive complications and a leaky gut. Kimchi can be a great addition to a gift for that cooking lover in your life as it holds a delicious flavor bound to elevate any meal.
- A Yoga Mat - Gifting a yoga mat as a gift gives more than just digestive support. Someone who incorporates yoga into their daily routine is working on their physical, mental, and digestive health all in one. Due to the mindful aspect of yoga, people are bound to gain mental strength through the practice and while promoting movement in their daily life. While your friend or loved one may not practice yoga right now, gifting them this will be the first step in that direction. Who knows… they might come to love it!