Set yourself up for success with a kitchen cleanout

One important part of nourishing your body and soul is preparing meals at home. No matter whether you are a newbie cook or a gourmet, regardless of whether you have the tiniest of apartment kitchens or a spacious set-up large enough to host a crowd, when improving your nutrition and your health is your goal, then giving your kitchen a once-over is a good place to start. To begin your kitchen cleanout, I suggest that you:

• Declare, “Out with the old!” Rummage through your pantry, refrigerator and freezer and toss anything that is stale or freezer-burned. Be gone, ancient condiments and frozen veggies, 3-year-old dried beans and rancid oils (if you haven’t eaten it by now, you won’t ever…and I wouldn’t want you to!). See the “Kitchen Cleanout” download for more tips.
• Clear the counter clutter. Stacks of mail, be gone! Small appliances that you use infrequently, be gone! Reserve your counters for appliances you use daily (or at least several times a week) and for actual food preparation. If your kitchen is perpetual mess, you’ll be less likely to want to cook.
• Break down barriers. If you don’t cook as often as you would like to, what’s getting in your way? Is the sink perpetually filled with dishes? Are all of your knives dull? Do you need a few more cutting boards? Do you never seem to have the right size pot or pan?

In the book, I cover meal planning, cooking and setting up the perfect pantry, but these three steps have benefits in themselves!