What did YOU have for breakfast this morning?

May 2nd, 2009

Do you even eat breakfast? I know that breakfast is a big challenge for a lot of people.  We’re not hungry when we get up (probably because we ate too late the night before) so we skip breakfast.  But then we get starved around 10 and head for the vending machine or fast food restaurant for a breakfast platter.

Breakfast used to be a challenge for me until … I discovered smoothies.  Now I make a smoothie for breakfast 4 or 5 days a week.  The other days I might have oatmeal with nuts and raisins or an egg and veggie dish.  Think of all the calories you save eating a healthy breakfast….that’s what I think about because I used to fall prey to the 10 am hunt for hunger in all the wrong places.

Here’s how I make my smoothies

Every day my smoothie fruit ingredients vary according to what I have on hand and what I’m in the mood for, but here are the options I usually choose from.  In a regular blender I blend …

Variety of fresh and frozen fruits

• raspberries, cranberries, black cherries, peaches, bananas, mangos, blueberries, pineapple, apples, pears, grapes, grapefruit.
• a squirt of lemon juice (fresh or reconstituted)

Special things I think are good for me

• a splash of chlorophyll (store in the fridge)
• about a tablespoon of colloidal minerals (I don’t really measure) (store in the fridge)
• a couple of ounces of aloe vera juice (store in the fridge)
• a scoop of whey protein powder

Optional things you might like to add

• ground flax seed
• ground hemp seed

Special notes: I make my smoothies fresh every morning so I get the best of the nutrients–before anything oxidizes and nutrients are lost.  It’s much cheaper to make your own than buy them at the store–if you’re living frugally.  I have a very efficient routine/system set up so I can make my smoothies in 5 minutes or less…and I’m not exaggerating.

My smoothies taste great and hold me until 10 or 10:30 in the am.  If I get the munchies before lunch I snack on a small handful of nuts and dried fruits like figs, dates, cranberries, or raisins.

Smoothies solved my breakfast dilemma…..so now to solve the lunch and dinner dilemmas   That’s why we’re doing all this posting in May!

OK enough about me and my smoothies…

• What did YOU eat for breakfast today?
• Did you eat breakfast?
• What are your favorite breakfasts?
• Share any recipes or prep tips

Do tell … at the comment link below.

What Did YOU Have for Dinner Today?

May 1st, 2009

May Day – Healthy Eating Alert!!

Some days I just think, “Man I have to think about what to have for dinner again?!?!”  After a long day…it’s not always easy to think about what to have for dinner – I just want it served!

While walking Toby along the Kansas River this evening, I thought long and hard about what to do about dinner.  Oddly enough, I couldn’t come up with anything.  Sometimes that happens if I’ve eaten out too much – nothing sounds good.

So I did what I always do when I’ve been eating out too much – I made a salad (romaine lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, pumpkin seeds and walnuts with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing).  It was a pretty simple salad but satisfying.  I had more things I could have prepped to put in it, but I just didn’t want to bother.  A little tired after a week of projects.  Then I had a great idea…..

My great idea about healthy eating…for the month of May

I have a very talented, smart, healthy, eager list of subscribers.  You can help me decide what to have for dinner so I can create my Top 10 List of Dinners–and so can you!  Many of my subscribers are wellness experts or health nuts….so hey, we’re just a few comments away from having a ton of new ideas.

Here’s what I’d like to do for the month of May if you’re willing.  I’ll post regularly about healthy eating and ask for your contributions.  You can tell us what you had for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.  You can review of your favorite cookbook/s.  You can share simple, healthy recipes.  You can tell us how to make your favorite dressing.  I’m loving this idea.

If you haven’t already subscribed via the RSS feed or the big red button at the top right for email alerts when I post…I recommend you do that you’ll be on top of it as soon as a new healthy eating post goes up.  Sound good?

Let’s start by  telling us what you had for dinner today? Even if it was a #1 at McDs or a Crunch Wrap Supreme at Taco Bell….do tell!  We’re going to feel free to be real here about what we eat.  And we won’t be food cops. 

What did YOU have for dinner today?

And … what are your typical favorite dinners–especially things that you make fast–maybe even without a recipe?  We’re looking for dinner ideas!

10 Entrées You Can Make for $5 or Less

Apr 22nd, 2009

Cheap and Easy Dinner Ideas

With food prices rapidly rising, it’s crunch time for family food budgets these days. To help lessen the pressure on your purse, here are 10 suggestions for lunch or dinner entrees you can make for about $5 apiece. The following cheap meal ideas and recipes will show you just what $5 can get you if you invest a little prep time.

Lena Loved My Wellness Soup!

Jan 12th, 2009

I got a great audio testimonial from one subscriber who loved my Wellness Soup.  Listen Here.  Lena was going to go out for takeout but got inspired by my soup recipe and decided to stay home and make her own.  She substituted wildly (using what she had on hand and what her tastebuds fancied).  She loved it…you can hear it in her voice.  Listen Here.

This is the picture she sent showing her delicious version.  Click on the picture to see a larger view.  Yummy!

If you missed my Wellness Soup recipe, get it here.

And don’t forget to check out my other soup secrets!

Wellness Soup Recipe

Jan 12th, 2009

While at a local coffee shop with friends, we interviewed each other about our Wild Wellness action.  Here’s one they recorded of me describing Cheryl’s Wellness Soup (50 seconds).

Now here’s a recipe for my Wellness Soup.   If you’re thinking about being healthier and losing weight, this soup will serve you well!

I love to make soup without a recipe.  I call it intuitive cooking.  Here’s a great soup I just made and ate – two bowls!  It was particularly satisfying and yummy–that’s why I’m calling it Wellness Soup.

If you don’t have all of the ingredients, feel free to substitute wildly.  I did not measure anything when I made this soup, but I’ve tried to give you approximate measurements.

Use your intuition (and what you have on hand) to select ingredients that will provide you with optimal wellness–that means it must be soothing, satisfying, and tasty!

CHERYL’S WELLNESS SOUP

Medium sized soup pot
Saute in 2 TBS olive oil (3-4 minutes – onion will look semi transparent)

*2 cloves of garlic
*1 whole onion – sliced or diced
*Portabella mushrooms – sliced or diced

Add broth (I used a 1 quart box of Imagine Organic, Free Range Chicken Broth).  Add an additional couple of cups of water.

Chop vegetables roughly and add to the soup pot (medium to medium high heat):

*Celery – 2 -3 stalks
*Carrots – 2 carrots or a handful of baby carrots – chopped
*Small head of Bok Choy (or other greens like spinach)
*1 zucchini (or summer squash)
*1 can black eyed peas (or other bean)

Cook for 20 minutes or so on medium heat.  The veggies will be soft but not soggy.

You can make a strictly veggie version of this soup or add some spicy Italian sausage.

BTW – some people say that eating black eyed peas and greens makes for a healthy, prosperous new year.

Let me know how you like it!  I’m still smiling and satisfied.

Say, maybe you’d be interested in knowing about Cheryl’s Soup Kitchen.  I loved creating this program.  It’s two audios and an ebook.  We just revamped the web site – check it out here!

In Cheryl’s Soup Kitchen, not only do you get fabulous soup and side dish recipes, but you also learn exactly how to streamline your kitchen, keep a kitchen journal, plan meals and efficiently prepare foods–soups and side dishes in particular.  You get shopping lists, food pantry suggestions, and tons of suggestions for improving your efficiency so you don’t have to spend so much time in the kitchen.

Find out all my soup secrets here.

Stay warm!

P.S. This post inspired Lena West to make her own version of this Wellness Soup. Listen in here.

7 Foods to Never Eat

Jan 6th, 2007

By Jaclyn Johnson
eDiets.com Staff Writer
visit www.ediets.com

There will always be those fattening foods that are easy to make, easy to get, and easy to crave. You think “OK, I know this is bad but it can’t be that bad!” Think again. Here are the top seven foods you should never ever feed your family or yourself!

1. Doughnuts It’s hard to resist the smell of a Krispy Kreme doughnut, which is why I never step foot in the store. Doughnuts are fried chock-full of sugar and white flour and loads of trans fat.

According to the Krispy Kreme website, an average 3.5-ounce sugar doughnut weighs in with about 400 calories and contains few other nutrients besides fat. These sugary treats may satisfy your craving but it won’t satisfy your hunger as most of the calories come from fat.

“Eating a lot of refined sugar contributes to blood sugar ‘swings’ or extreme fluctuations,” eDiets Chief Nutritionist Susan Burke said.

2. Cheeseburger with fries The age-old classic may be delicious but think twice before sinking your teeth into that Big Mac. The saturated fat found in cheese burgers has been linked to heart attacks, strokes and some types of cancer.

“In fact, fast-food portions are gargantuan, almost double the calories per meal compared to 20 years ago,” Susan says. “Twenty years ago the average fast-food cheeseburger had about 300 calories. Today’s BK Whopper with cheese has 720. To burn the excess 420 calories, you’d have to run for 40 minutes. For example, in 1985 a medium French fry had 240 calories, 2.4 ounces. Today’s ‘medium’ is 6.9 ounces and 610 calories.

“This fast-food meal of cheeseburger and fries has way too many calories and fat grams, not to mention grams of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol and sodium.”

Let’s break down this meal. First, take the white-flour bun (refined carbohydrates), then add some processed cheese (saturated fat and trans fat, plus lots of additives and preservatives) and then top off with fried red meat (cholesterol and saturated fats). And let’s not forget about the condiments such as the always fattening mayonnaise.

Not sounding so appetizing anymore, huh? Oh, and let’s not forget about the infamous side dish. You cheeseburger will most likely come with a side of French fries, which is sadly the most popular vegetable dish in the U.S. Don’t kid yourself, French fries are not vegetables, they are extremely high in fat and contain a tiny amount of nutrients.

3. Fried Chicken and Chicken Nuggets With the recent class-action lawsuit between The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and KFC, the health risks posed by fried foods are becoming more public. The CSPI is suing the food chain for their use of cooking oil containing unhealthy trans fats. The lawsuit seeks to order KFC to use other types of cooking oils and to inform customers how much trans fats KFC’s food contains.

Foods cooked in highly heated oils (most notably partially hydrogenated oil) have been known to cause cancer, weight gain and other serious health risks if ingested regularly. A 10-piece chicken McNugget from McDonald’s has 420 calories, 24 grams of fat and 1120 milligrams of sodium. One Extra Crispy Chicken Breast from KFC has around 420 calories and eight grams of saturated fat. So unless you want to super size yourself, it’s best to make a clean break with fried foods.

4. Oscar Mayer’s Lunchables Sure they are convenient and easy, but boy are they unhealthy! These kid-marketed lunches are loaded with saturated fat and sodium. They usually contain highly processed meats and cheeses, white flour crackers and sugary treats. Lunchables get two-thirds of their calories from fat and sugar. And they provide lopsided nutrition since they contain no fruits or vegetables.

“They insidiously promote obesity by making kids think that lunch normally comes in a cellophane-wrapped box,” Susan says. “Parents are promoting their children’s obesity by buying these items. They’re expensive, too. Pack a sandwich and save dollars and health.”

5. Sugary Cereal Not all cereals are created equally. And while your kids might beg for the latest cookie or marshmallow chocolate surprise cereals, it is a safe bet they are about as healthy as a dessert. Keywords to look out for are puffed, dyed and sweetened.

Most kids’ cereals are so highly processed they no longer look like the grains they were originally made from. A healthy alternative is oatmeal. Although, if you are buying pre-packaged oatmeal make sure to check the label and see how much sugar it contains, you might be surprised.

“A little sugar isn’t a problem but when the first ingredient on the box is sugar, then watch out,” she said. “There is no fruit in Froot Loops. But the unsweetened original Cheerios or Rice Krispies are fine, and you can sweeten them naturally with blueberries and strawberries.”

6. Processed Meats. What falls under the category of processed meats? Hot dogs, sausage, jerky, bacon, certain lunch meats and meats used in canned soup products. Almost all processed meats have sodium nitrite added as a preservative.

A recent study conducted at the University of Hawaii found that sodium nitrite can act as “a precursor to highly carcinogenic nitrosamines — potent cancer-causing chemicals that accelerate the formation and growth of cancer cells throughout the body.” So eliminate these meats from your diet before they eliminate you!

7. Canned soup. Sometimes regarded as a healthy food, soups can be very deceiving. You must stay on your guard because many canned soups have high levels of trans fats, sodium and artificial preservatives such as MSG. Just one serving (which is roughly one cup) can have almost 1,000 milligrams of salt. Also, steer clear of soups that are cream-based, they can be high in calories and fat.

Susan says it is important to “read labels from back to front. Ignore the health claims, and instead focus on the ingredients and serving size. Watch out for hydrogenated fat (trans fat) and sodium. If you’re buying bread to go with you soup, the first ingredient should be whole grain — either whole wheat, rye or other grain. If it just says ‘wheat bread,’ that doesn’t mean whole wheat.”

We all want our family to be healthy and happy, so steer clear of these foods.

Cheryl’s comment:  Or eat them on occasion.  Never say never is my motto.

Stop the Habit of Mindless Munching

Nov 26th, 2006

By Creating a Single-Serving Snack Environment

If you’re like me, it’s dangerous to open a bag of chips or cookies and sit down to watch TV. Unconscious snacking can destroy your efforts to cut back on calories and foods low in nutrition. It also reduces your enjoyment of eating because you hardly taste the food you’re mindlessly munching. So you keep eating in order to get the pleasure you were seeking when you started snacking.

That’s why I take a few minutes each weekend (and sometimes mid week) to create my own single serving snack packs.

Let me explain. As soon as I get home from the grocery store, I make a variety of healthy snack packs to bring to the office. It takes just minutes.

Here are several snacks I packed for the week:

• baggies of cut up veggies – to have with a ranch dip or humus spread

• baggies of hard pretzels – single serving sizes so I don’t overdo the carbs

• containers of whole grain dry cereal with nuts, seeds, and dried cranberries

• containers of skim milk mixed 50/50 with Rice Dream rice milk to put on the cereal

• whole grain crackers to have with the humus spread

• a piece of fruit is usually a single serving

I made all of these snack packs lickity split while listening to National Public Radio (NPR) Celtic and blue grass music – a total good time, not like working hard in the kitchen.

My Assembly Line Production of Snack Packs

These single servings can be packaged really quickly if you set up an assembly-line style of packaging them. Here’s how I do it:

1. I line up the plastic baggies and put a few of the veggies in each bag and seal.

2. I pour a little dressing in a small container, seal it, and use it all week (if you want to take it to work).

3. I decide how many containers of dry cereal I want for the week, set them out on the counter, and put a little of each kind of cereal (I mix them) in each container and top them with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit.

When packaging processed snack foods like pretzels and crackers, I read the label to see what the serving size is, and I pack that much in each baggie. And I’m in the process of reducing and hopefully eliminating processed foods of all kinds.

I fill reusable containers with any liquids I want to bring to the office for the week – milk, juice, soup.

Simple dimple! Try it, you’ll like it.

Want to Use this Article for Your Web Page?

You may publish this article free of charge in your ezine, web site, ebook or print publication so long as the copyright notice and the author information below are included without change:

Cheryl Miller is a wellness expert and life coach. She specializes in helping people take action to live a healthy, happy life . . . in this lifetime.

Visit www.cherylmillerville.com for practical advice, inspiration and action steps for making healthy changes you desire. Be sure to get the FREE Wellness Pack:  http://cherylmillerville.com/wellness-pack 

© 2005 Cheryl Miller, www.cherylmillerville.com. All rights reserved.

Let us know where any of these articles have been published by sending an email to us with a link to your publication.

What's for Lunch?

Nov 26th, 2006

We all get tired of cooking. If you’re like me, you run a streak of eating out. The good news is that even if you eat out frequently, you can limit the negative side effects and make the next day’s lunch even more pleasurable.

Would you agree that foods prepared in restaurants are usually higher in fat, salt, sweeteners, and additives – to make them taste better? If we eat less restaurant food, we’re better off physically. Emotionally, though, these kinds of foods have a big-bang payoff, and we want to get our money’s worth.

But once the emotional need is met and we’ve overeaten, restaurant foods can leave us dragging and searching for a caffeinated beverage or some other personal favorite. Mine is high fat ice cream. Conditioning is king. That’s why we need good conditioning, but I’ll leave that for another article.

Do you feel that you eat out too much sometimes?

Yah, me too. So how do we make the most of a streak of eating out too much? I’ve got an idea. You ask for a to-go box before you start eating. This sounds like something you’ve heard before. But read on. Don’t wait until you’ve started. Don’t take one bite before the box comes. You may have to train the wait person and ask them more than once saying “I’m not going to eat one bite until I get my box!” Of course I’m exaggerating. But because they’re trained (conditioned) to bring the box at the end of the meal, they might not think you really mean “Bring it Now!!”

Sometimes you have to really ask for what you want.

It’s not a negative thing. It’s worth it. If we all start doing it, bringing the box at the start of a meal will be a conditioned response for the wait person. You might tease them saying you promised your kid you’d bring half back and you can’t be trusted unless you get a box up front. Make it fun and light. Or tell them it’s a weight loss strategy. Maybe they’ll adopt it too.

On to the Particulars

You cut the serving in half or whatever proportion seems right, and put that amount in the box immediately. If you’re like me, you can’t stand to give away the last bite of a tasty meal or to leave something on your plate. Call it programming or a survival urge, it’s pretty common to protect and defend the last bite.

How many times have you polished off a meal even though you got full at the ¾ mark? You thought, gosh, that’s not enough to box up. I’ll just eat it. Been there, done that. And then you kick yourself when you need to take an antacid swearing you’ll never do that again, until the next time.

So try cutting off a nice amount that you can eat the next day for lunch or for a snack. A side of pasta with a small side salad or cut up veggies is a real treat. I love it when I’m wise enough to box up the excess for another meal. And there IS a lot of excess in portion sizes at most restaurants. No wonder our bodies have been supersized. We love to get our money’s worth, so large portions are appealing to us. Capitalize on the large portion and box up the excess for the next day. You can split it with another person….but then you won’t have the other half for a lunch or snack See how I am?

Here’s another secret.

When I visit a restaurant that has an “endless” salad, breadsticks and an entre, for example at an Italian restaurant, I fill up on salad and eat a small amount of the entre – less than half. Then I have almost a full meal the next day. It also feels kinda naughty to cheat the system and get two meals for the price of one. Try it if you’re as naughty as I am. It will help your waistline too.

A small side salad sounds a lot more appealing if I know there’s a portion of yummy pasta to go with it. Leftovers can fit really nicely into a healthy meal plan. In fact, they’re a healthy pleasure. And if there’s no pleasure in it, it’s not food. So there.

Want to Use this Article for Your Web Page?

You may publish this article free of charge in your ezine, web site, ebook or print publication so long as the copyright notice and the author information below are included without change:

Cheryl Miller is a wellness expert and life coach. She specializes in helping people take action to live a healthy, happy life . . . in this lifetime.

Visit www.cherylmillerville.com for practical advice, inspiration and action steps for making healthy changes you desire. Be sure to get the FREE Wellness Pack:  http://cherylmillerville.com/wellness-pack 

© 2005 Cheryl Miller, www.cherylmillerville.com. All rights reserved.

Let us know where any of these articles have been published by sending an email to us with a link to your publication.

How to Create Single-Serving Breakfast Meal Kits

Nov 25th, 2006

How to Create Single-Serving Breakfast Meal Kits . . . for on-the-go Good Nutrition We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Yet we get busy, rushed, and head out the door thinking we can catch something on the way to work. And that usually means fast food or junk food snacks.

Are you somebody who thinks you should eat breakfast but have a hard time sticking with a regular breakfast routine because you’re short of time or uninspired? If you like cereal, you’ll like this breakfast meal kit idea. Making meal kits ahead of time takes away the biggest obstacles to eating breakfast. If you have kids or a spouse, they’ll love them too. Kids will be more inclined to eat their cereal breakfast kits if they can make them themselves with the cereals and toppers they like. Teach them about the single serving concept and provide healthy options for the contents.

Packaging the Cereal

1. As soon as you get home from the grocery store, open your cereal boxes or bags and measure single servings into light weight to-go containers. Look on the box for the serving size. It’s usually ¾ cup.
2. If you like to mix your cereals, pour the different kinds into a large container to blend.
3. Place as many plastic containers on the counter as you need in order to package up all of the opened cereal.
4. After you add any optional toppers from the next step, put the lids on and stack them in your pantry for home use or take them to work for your “food drawer.” Note: I like to mix a couple of cereals for variety. This week I mixed these two: Go Lean (small amount for crunch and sweetness) Organic Flax Plus from Nature’s Path – This cereal has no chemicals, no synthetic additives or preservatives. Serving size ¾ cup 100 calories 140 calories with fortified skim milk

Adding Optional Toppers

1. Rough chop walnuts, pecans, or almonds and place a small handful in each container.
2. Chop dried fruit (papaya, banana, etc) and put a small amount in each container.
3. Add dried cranberries, raisins or any other dried fruit.
4. You can top with a small amount of higher calorie cereals like granola just to add a little sweetness and crunch. Sprinkling a little of this on top is better than mixing the two in bulk so that you can have better control over the amount you use. Note: I sometimes include a fat date or fig to eat on the side or for a later break that day. Sticking one in the kit makes it more likely that I’ll eat it at some point during the day.

Packaging Milk Options

1. Fill your single-serving containers with milk using recycled glass bottles, plastic juice containers, or small canning jars with screw tight lids. You can skip this step if you plan to eat your meal kits at home rather than transport them to work.
2. If you’re lactose intolerant or want to try something different, stock your pantry with quart-size boxes of rice or soy milk to keep in the refrigerator at home or work. The quart-size box doesn’t take up much room in the fridge and chances are nobody at work will “steal” it. You can find these boxed drinks at your whole foods or conventional grocery stores. Another brand that is growing in popularity is Silk Soymilk in a half-gallon size.

Note: I like Rice Dream and was surprised that I also liked WestSoy Lite Vanilla. I tried it at a taste test at our local whole foods store and was surprised I liked it because I don’t usually like soy milk. WestSoy Lite Vanilla Soymilk at 110 calories per cup – 15 calories from fat supplies Because it’s fortified a cup supplies 30% of the daily calcium needs based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Where can you go wrong with meal kits?

1. including things that you don’t like and probably won’t eat.
2. using low quality ingredients – low on fiber and nutrition and high on preservatives and additives
3. putting the groceries away thinking you’ll make them up later and later doesn’t come.
4. not measuring a single serving size – it’s easy to overeat prepackaged foods, so be sure to package yours according to typical serving sizes

Ready, Set, Go Now it’s your turn to make some meal kits. If you feel that stopping long enough to open a box of cereal, get a bowl out of the cabinet, get the nuts out of the fridge, and open a box of raisins is sometimes four steps more than you think you have time to take, just reach for a breakfast meal kit and pour on the milk.

Try this Breakfast Experiment Are you eating the kind of breakfast that works best for you? My colleague Christi Lehner has a breakfast experiment for you to try to determine your best breakfast choices.

Want to Use this Article for Your Web Page?

You may publish this article free of charge in your ezine, web site, ebook or print publication so long as the copyright notice and the author information below are included without change:

Cheryl Miller is a wellness expert and life coach. She specializes in helping people take action to live a healthy, happy life . . . in this lifetime.

Visit www.cherylmillerville.com for practical advice, inspiration and action steps for making healthy changes you desire. Be sure to get the FREE Wellness Pack:  http://cherylmillerville.com/wellness-pack 

© 2005 Cheryl Miller, www.cherylmillerville.com. All rights reserved.

Let us know where any of these articles have been published by sending an email to us with a link to your publication.

Messy Counter Tops are a Big Barrier to Cooking & Eating at Home

Nov 25th, 2006

Here’s Help!

Almost everyone has messy counter tops sometimes, if not all the time. When our counter tops are full, we can’t easily prepare foods and clean up. I think full counter tops is the #1 barrier to cooking and eating at home. Well, maybe it’s tied with having a clean, well-organized refrigerator.

How Do Counter Tops Get Filled Up?

This will be a long list. Have you ever noticed that horizontal surfaces are really inviting? They say, “hey, set that thing down here, it’s easy, there’s room.” Here are some of the things we “set down” on kitchen countertops and islands:

• backpacks
• homework
• bills
• groceries
• purses
• junk from your pockets
• loot from shopping
• recycling
• dirty dishes, pots, and pans
• books you want to read
• tools
• things you don’t know what they are or what they go to
• things that might be useful if you had a minute
• projects you want to do
• pet supplies
• mending
• appliances and gadgets
• decorative platters, vases, and mug wracks
• broiler ovens, microwaves, and juicers
• leftovers
• baskets of produce (yes, make room for these)
• fresh flowers (and these)
• vitamins and other supplements
• magnifying glass

I think you’re getting the picture that I could go on, and on. Open spaces invite you to set things down….for now. But “for now” can turn into weeks and months.

What Do We Need Counter Space For?

Counter space is prime real estate. If you don’t have open space for a few really important items, your kitchen won’t be able to do the great work it’s designed to do. Here are some things we need to make space for:

• showcasing baskets of produce (to encourage munching and cooking)

• inviting nature into your kitchen through bouquets of fresh flowers and plants (to encourage enjoyment)

• setting down bags of gorgeous groceries you just brought home from the farmers’ market or grocery store

• providing a landing space for things you’re taking out of the refrigerator or pantry so you can prepare a healthy, fast, delicious meal
• washing, cutting and chopping produce
• filling and emptying the dishwasher – this is really important because most people don’t like to empty the dishwasher (kids especially hate this job for some reason). A crowded counter top make this task really repulsive. If you don’t empty it, you can’t fill it. And if you can’t fill it, the counter tops get full. It’s an endless closed loop unless you always empty the dish washer… and keep your counter tops clear and clean.

If you have an inefficient kitchen, you’ll be much much much more likely to go out for fast food. Trust me, I’ve been there, done that. Consider clean counter tops a top priority and you’ll be almost home free!

How Can You Succeed at Keeping Your Counter Tops Clean?

• Evaluate all of your counter-top appliances. If you don’t use them often, they aren’t earning their keep. Consider storing them someplace else, selling them, using them, or freecycling them.

• Make a house rule, that most nights, (perfection will age you prematurely) the dishes get washed and put away, the dishwasher gets emptied, and anything else on the counter top that shouldn’t be there gets put away. If you keep this system up, these tasks will be easy to do.

• If there are other family members in the household, give them these tasks and pair them with a nod of appreciation, allowance, and reciprocal thoughtfulness.

Want to Use this Article for Your Web Page?

You may publish this article free of charge in your ezine, web site, ebook or print publication so long as the copyright notice and the author information below are included without change:

Cheryl Miller is a wellness expert and life coach. She specializes in helping people take action to live a healthy, happy life . . . in this lifetime.

Visit www.cherylmillerville.com for practical advice, inspiration and action steps for making healthy changes you desire. Be sure to get the FREE Wellness Pack:  http://cherylmillerville.com/wellness-pack 

© 2005 Cheryl Miller, www.cherylmillerville.com. All rights reserved.

Let us know where any of these articles have been published by sending an email to us with a link to your publication.