We do it every year. Come January, we vow to pull up our boot straps up and finally lose that ten pounds that has been hanging around our middle, or we vow to get back to the boot camp classes at the gym. You know, the series of six that we never went to. Come February, most of us have all forgotten what we promised to do in the first place because thoughts are just that: thoughts. Life goes on and we inevitably fall back into our lives.
Now, I am not putting down resolutions that focus on getting healthier and in shape. What I believe stops most of us from putting our plans into action is one key component: making friends with our kitchen. I know, most of us practically live in our kitchens. The mail gets dumped there, kids homework gets done, a TV might be humming in the background or we are sitting down to read the newspaper at the table. But what happens, exactly, when we really are motivated to lose weight? We need to know how to cook and put together our own lighter, healthier foods. And in order to do that we have to be prepared: with the right items in our pantry, the right equipment to make cooking as easy as possible and the right resources to find healthy food and create nutritious meals.
If your kitchen is not ready for action, it is impossible for you to be. I realize that things get in our way. Lack of time, our kids, the career, our health issues can be legitimate issues to making changes. But these things might actually factor into your resolutions: feeding your family healthier, avoiding a future health issue, eating better when you are at work. It can all begin in your kitchen. Cooking and preparing your own food, knowing exactly what you are eating and how much of it can have a profound effect on our healthy goals. Make 2013 a different year for you and your resolutions and learn to make friends with your kitchen.
Heather Carey, MS is a culinary nutritionist who helps women create better health through the power of real food. She is trained as a chef and a nutritionist which fuses the science of nutrition with the creativity of healthy eating. Her upcoming workshop, Kitchen Consciousness begins January 30th, and shows women how to connect with their kitchens while tackling health goals. Please visit www.heathercarey.com for more information.
