Instant Improvement – 5 Simple Swaps For A Healthier Kitchen

Looking online, you’d think that eating healthy every day is as easy as pie. What the wellness influencers don’t show you, however, is just how difficult it can be to stay disciplined every day. This is especially true when you have all kinds of temptations lurking in your kitchen. 

That’s why the first step in any health plan is to start with your kitchen. If you want to change your habits, turn your kitchen into a healthy paradise with these five simple swaps: 

• Start With the Cookware 

A simple switch in cookware can yield great results, and investing in non-toxic cookware specifically can help you eat your way to a healthier lifestyle. 

Most of the normal cookware you see in stores has harmful carcinogenic chemicals that can wreak havoc on your body. So a healthier change on your part must start with tossing away all things toxic, including cookware. 

Spoil yourself with some new kitchenware, and start cooking healthier from the pan up. 

• Do Away With Vegetable Oil 

Getting rid of vegetable oils is another step towards a healthier lifestyle. Though vegetable oil does have the word “vegetable” in it, this does not automatically make it the healthiest option. In fact, the opposite is true. Research suggests that vegetable oil can contribute to inflammation and other conditions due to the way the fat oxidizes when heated. 

Instead, try out healthier options like extra virgin olive oil or even coconut oil. There are numerous health benefits to using extra virgin olive oil, and research tells us that it may even help prevent cancer. 

• Give Up Normal Table Salt 

If the thought of eating poorly seasoned food scares you, you’re not alone. The truth is, most people overuse condiments like salt and end up missing out on the natural flavors of food. While salt is an important part of the diet, there are healthy and unhealthy options. 

Himalayan pink salt, sea salt, and rock salt are far healthier than normal table salt, which lacks the presence of other minerals and can have dubious additives. There’s also something psychologically pleasing about cracking rocks of pink salt or sea salt onto your meal that helps you be more mindful of how much you’re adding. 

• Gluten-free Foods 

For most people, the idea of consuming gluten-free food seems almost unbearable, and who can blame them? The term “gluten-free” is synonymous with the look, feel, and taste of cardboard. But what if you were already eating something gluten-free every other day? 

White rice, brown rice, and basmati rice are all delicious grains that are gluten-free. So, if you love to eat rice, then you should add these to your daily diet along with a wide range of nuts and seeds. 

• Make Organic Foods Your Go-to

While most consider organic food to be expensive, it’s even costlier to deal with the consequences of not eating organic. For starters, conventional, non-organic food has far more pesticides than organic alternatives. 

There is no concrete evidence that organic food is more nutritious than conventionally farmed produce, but there’s plenty of evidence that avoiding pesticides and herbicides is a good idea! 

Choosing organic is about more than just produce. It’s also worth it to switch to organic unbleached flour, as well as organic nuts, seeds, and grains. 

When switching to a healthier lifestyle, nobody expects you to make big changes like growing your own vegetables and going off-grid. What you can do is make these simple swaps to create the healthy lifestyle that you know you deserve.

Photo credit: Pablo Merchán Montes / Unsplash