Design Your Kitchen for Prosperity

By now I am sure you are aware of my obsession with your personal environments, and how they affect your health, relationships, career success, moods, and fitness. If you are not in environments that help to strengthen those areas then you are either in environments that will fight against to those goals, or in the best case stagnate those goals, which in itself is a loss. And to me the kitchen is the most important part of your home health environment. In fact I am a firm believer that many peoples struggles with both long term health and fitness goals is the lack of an inspirational and empowering kitchen.

In feng shui it is said that the kitchen is the nourishment centre of the home, where health, body and mind are strengthen, and this makes complete sense. The kitchen is literally the place where you cook, eat, take the time to prepare food for others, add herbs, flavours, spices and vitamins, hydrate, and fight disease. The kitchen in this sense is also strongly linked to "prosperity", because without health, it's unlikely the other areas of your life will be optimized.

However, our kitchens, even the nicer ones are really relics of World War 2. A place to hide away foods in cans, bags and boxes behind closed dark cupboards. Even our fridges are really not optimized for success, or at least the way we tend to typically use them. Foods being shoved to the back, hiding from site, and even crispers are nicknamed "food coffins".

So how can we start to fix this? How can we begin to nutrify and inspire our kitchens? Below I will list 5 ways we can start to do just that.

1. Bright, Open & Clean.

Every time you look at our kitchen it should inspire you to think of health, a lean body, energizing you eat well, and remind you of your health ideals and goals. You need to keep it as clean as possible, smelling clean with natural, non-toxic ingredients. The kitchen also needs to be bright with as much bright natural light as possible.

2. Health Inspiration on Display

One of the key correlations in the Blue Zones and longevity is having a fruit bowl on display. this is a reminder to eat your fruit each day, and much better than having them hidden in a crisper at the bottom of your fridge. However, we can take this proven hack and apply it to much more than just a fruit bowl. I always suggest displaying as much non-perishable, healthy foods as possible in glass jars and bottles. With so many options available now a days with mason jars, old fashioned food storage bottle from places like Ikea, swing bottles, and more it's very easy to make your kitchen look like a superfood wonderland. In my kitchen I have a row of glass bottles across the window sill each filled with something delicious and nutrtious, whole grain pasta, quinoa, black rice, black beans, couscous, and chia.

* Along the same line, you make want to also have all your healthy and nice looking pots pans, and cooking utensils on display too of wall racks or hanging from the ceiling. If you see them, you will be more likely to use them as well, and get creative in the kitchen.

3. Have a Green, Living Kitchen

Another must have and is so easy to do today is have a living kitchen. As the kitchen is literally a place of nourishment, and in turn growth, it only makes sense to have some nourishing life within it. I suggest a couple options.

One: Indoor Sprouting.

This simple as a glass jar with a strainer lid, and you can get these at many health food stores, and gardening shops.

Two: Growing Some Indoor Herbs.

Stores like Ikea, Walmart, many grocery stores, and even furnishings shops carry a huge range of indoor herb planters. You can also build very easily a Living Green Book Rack/Shelf in your kitchen with just a couple full-spectrum light bulbs and/or some herb potters. What better way to level up your nutrition then with hand grown ,hand picked and 100% organic grown herbs in your own kitchen. From ones that sit n the counter, to ones that hang on the wall, to ones that hang, there are some many options for indoor berg and sprouting. Again in my kitchen I have a sporting shelf, and some basil on the window sill, and soon I'll be adding a lot more emphasis on this area.

4. Spice Rack Glory: Flavours and Boosters

Spices and herbs are natures medicines. From their use in in traditional Chinese medicines, to Ayurvedic medicine, to aroma therapy, to even their isolated and refined forms of the modern vitamin and pharmaceutical companies, spices and herbs are wonders, not only boosting a dishes favours, but our health, from circulation to breathing, to calorie burning, to fighting inflammation and infections, there is a flavour to all health issues.

5. Visual Reminders of Goals, Your Health & Important People

The last thing I can suggest you keep in your kitchen is reminders of why you want to keep your health and fit body. This is particularly important if you are trying to achieve a new health/weight goal or maintain your current status. Visual reminders of why you want to look good, or why you need to feel good, and who else you are doing this for, happy healthy times and family. Visual reinforcers are a HUGE missed key in nearly everyones kitchen.

These are just a few of my top suggestions to help you boost the energy and inspiration of your kitchen. Remember what they say "abs (and overall health) are built in the kitchen, not the gym".

Let me know your thoughts, and what you do to keep your kitchen inspiring you to live stronger, longer, and better.