Let’s Get Playin’ In the Kitchen!

Remember when you were a kid and playing in the kitchen was a blast?  Many of us had fake plastic foods and toy ovens.  Sometimes Mom or Dad would have us help out when making a special treat and around the holidays?  Time spent in the kitchen was fun and full of wonder… let’s keep that goin’!

If like me, you’ve decided to take charge of what you’re eating (whether we’re talking raw foods, whole foods or healthier cooked options) you may find yourself spending more time in the kitchen as you’re  working with the raw ingredients to create dishes that are not only healthy, but freakin’ delicious!  Now I’m a hardcore foodie and love goofing off in the kitchen, but I know that most people aren’t as fond of the kitchen as I am so let’s take a look at some ways we can make our time in the kitchen more enjoyable!

First thing we can do is to pimp out our lil’ culinary creation stations!  Best way to start is to do some de-cluttering.  I like to empty out the kitchen drawers, cabinets and closet so I can see what I got to work with!  You may find you have ten of the same wooden spatula or enough pots and pans to cover five stove tops.  In this case gather up your essentials and favorites and donate the rest to your local goodwill!  My rule of thumb is if I haven’t used the item in the last five months…its fair game for giving away!  Now we got some breathing room and we know where everything is so putting together our favorite recipes is going to be a lot easier and more fun!

 Let’s bring in some things that really make the kitchen our own.  Artwork and photos of things that inspire us, scenes of nature, colorful abstracts or breathtaking pictures of people doing things we’re working towards are great reminders of why we are so passionate about being healthy!  I also like to have a centerpiece of beautiful produce that doesn’t require refrigeration and have fresh flowers around whenever possible!  Set yourself up with a warm friendly atmosphere and you’ll find your kitchen a more inviting place to not only whip up tasty eats, but to chill in and enjoy them!

Owl City.. one of my fave bands to groove to in and out of the kitchen!

Another thing that can’t be overestimated is the power of music!  Listening to music carries me through even the most tedious of kitchen tasks… like dishes!  Whatever you love rock it out!  I feel a boom box is an essential piece of kitchen equipment, but if your neighbors disapprove, an mp3 player loaded with your favorite stuff can be a great alternative!  Speaking of mp3’s there are so many amazing educational podcasts and audio learning programs  available out there that you can be learning more about healthy living, raw foods, meditation or even a new language all while goofing off making food!  And in the name of really goofing off don’t forget comedy albums.  George Carlin, Eddie Izzard and Tommy Tiernan are some of my favorite comedians.  Nothing makes any job go faster than some good laughs!

Let’s all get rockin’ in our kitchens and take away that stigma of the kitchen being a place of work and start transforming them into our own lil’ creative culinary art studios and alchemical nutrition laboratories where we concoct delicious, artful and ridiculously healthy eats for ourselves and our loved ones!

Keep playin’ in your kitchen my friends! ~ Rory :0)