Organizing Your Kitchen to Fuel Your Weight Loss Efforts

Hey Angels and Alphas,

Did you know the Japanese practice of oosouji – also known as the Japanese art of Spring cleaning – may be exactly what your weight loss journey is missing to achieve results much faster?

Oosouji is a concept all about cleaning and organizing, getting rid of what no longer serves us, and tidying up what we already have and value for the next cooking year to come.

And whether you’re someone who just wants to lose weight or someone looking to kickstart their new healthy cooking regimen in the New Year, practicing oosouji to make your kitchen a healthy and productive place will instantly skyrocket your momentum toward your goal.

Here are the 3 best ways you can instantly apply this concept into your fitness and nutrition journey and reap massive weight loss benefits: 

#1 START CLEANING YOUR WEIGHT LOSS DIET BY CLEANING OUT YOUR FRIDGE

Clear your schedule out for one day, take out a couple of hours of that day, and clean your fridge. Every single piece of it.

1. Set aside a staging area.
2. Take everything out of your fridge.
3. Wipe down your shelves, walls, doors, and drawers.
4. Use an anti-bacterial spray to clean and use toothpicks to chisel out any dry dirt.

After all of this is done, take a look at the items you removed. Anything that doesn’t look perfect, anything that you haven’t touched in months, and anything that’s unidentified should instantly get thrown out.

Once you complete this task, make sure to set your intention that you’re going to keep your fridge a clean and pristine place. Here are a few tips to do exactly that:

• Keep everything clear. Clear, glass bowls that keep all your veggies and fruits visible and accessible are a must.
• Bag your produce correctly: You can store your produce in muslin bags (they keep food protected for longer.) Greens go in separate bags, just like fruits and root veggies. Fresh herbs should always be stored in some water (because they’re budding plants.)
• Label everything. When you use clear glass jars or storage containers for last night’s leftovers, make sure to add a name and a label on everything (maybe even a date.)
• Stay consistent with it. Commit to this practice by spending 20 minutes once every week on clearing your fridge out of mystery foods.

#2 DIVING INTRO YOUR PANTRY IS A MASSIVE WEIGHT LOSS HACK

Let’s just get one thing out of the way. If your pantry feels like a bottomless pit full of randomness, just know you’re not alone.

What usually happens is all sorts of plastic bags, boxes, and leftovers get thrown in there. Few things can really seal or stack in there, creating a cabinet full of chaos and opened boxes.

That’s why you should treat your pantry the same way you treated your fridge. Take everything out, clean it, and reorganize. Toss out the ragged bags or items that you know have no place there. Sweep the entire pantry.

Finally, when your pantry is as clean and organized as it should be, give yourself the massive pleasure of pantry containers. They’ll add a new dimension to your cooking efforts all while making the entire process much, much easier.

(Pro tip: Make a pantry snack box. Yes, you read that right. Make a little box in your pantry specifically designed to hold chocolate bars, candy, and sweet things you can grab on-the-go.)

#3 TURN YOUR FREEZER INTO YOUR WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY’S BEST FRIEND

Organizing and cleaning your freezer might seem daunting at first – but it’s quite an adventure.

Your freezer can easily become your weight loss journey’s best friend, as it is the perfect place to store the majority of healthy food options. Especially in a worldwide pandemic, when you don’t want to go to the store every single day.

Just like you did with the pantry and fridge, you’re going to take everything out, clean the walls and doors, and then optimize the freezer contents. Again, remove anything unlabeled or old, and then take an entire inventory.

Here’s how to make the most out of it:

• Flat freezing. Instead of freezing cooked grains, rice, sauces, soups, and beans, just freeze them on a sheet pan. When they become solid, line them up in your freezer basically like little magazines. This strategy is a massive space saver and allows you to see what you have on your hands every time you open your freezer.
• Use your freezer zones! Create, in your mind, designated zones of your freezer for different items. Get a shelf for seafood and meat, one for ice cream, one for flours, one for frozen fruits, you get the idea.
• Don’t forget the ice. Your ice cube trays are perhaps one of the greatest tools for freezing miniature items such as broth, wine, stock, milk, pesto, etc. Freeze them into cubes and store them in little baggies for single-serving purposes!

Blanch! Do you want to keep your greens readily available? Blanch your greens, squeeze the excess water off them, and put them into little balls (and freeze them on a sheet pan.) If you freeze your greens in solid form, store them in baggies and you’ll be able to easily pluck the perfect serving out for your pastas, soups, omelets, and more.

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