Cleanup Your Pantry, Increase Your Stamina

Dec 6

It’s pretty straightforward, right? Cleanup your fridge and pantry and you’ll quickly transform your health, increase your energy and boost your athletic performance.

But we all know it’s not quite that easy. So, in order to avoid self-sabotage in the kitchen, start by removing any unhealthy, tempting foods from reach and set yourself up for success by getting honest with yourself. Because if you have the bag of munchies in the pantry, chances are you’re gonna eat them!

As a holistic performance coach, I teach my athletes and clients how to eat clean and fuel their performance with whole, fresh foods. What does that mean? It means I teach you how to make eating healthy, whole foods a natural part of your diet as opposed to focusing on eating a specific thing (for example, less calories or more protein).

And really, it’s as simple as eating more whole, real foods in their natural form - vegetables, fruits, whole grains, protein, nuts, seeds and oil - and minimizing processed, packaged foods - bagged snacks, sweet treats, take out, etc..

So cooking at home and having the right kind of ingredients within reach is super important. Start by removing the old stuff and make space for the whole, natural stuff.

Follow the 5 steps below and you’ll breeze through this exercise - not to mention you and your kitchen space will feel so much better!

1) Remove everything from your fridge and pantry and wipe down your shelves.

Now this can sound overwhelming but I promise if you take it one shelf or section at a time, you’ll get into a flow and maybe even enjoy it. Hey, cleaning helps relax some folks!

2. THROW AWAY old leftovers, old condiments and any foods that you KNOW, intuitively, are unhealthy for you.

No cheating here. Get honest with yourself, and if you have to question whether it’s good or not for you, throw it out.

3. Invest in clear organizing drawers and segment your spaces into the following - or find your own system that works best for your style!

Oils and sauces
Vegetables and fruits
Dairy or non-dairy milk, yogurt and cheese
Dried goods (rice, quinoa, lentils, oatmeal)
Spices and salt
Miscellaneous

4. Now it’s time to do one last processed and packaged “throw it away” sweep. Toss the following from your fridge and pantry:

White starches and breads (if the first ingredient is “enriched” toss it!)
Frozen pizzas and pizza puffs
Hot pockets
Lean cuisines, frozen burritos, etc.
Candy
Anything processed that needs to be thrown in a freezer or lives in a bag on the pantry shelf (think Doritos, Cheez Its, Fruit Roll-Ups)
Anything that’s remade and frozen (fries, tater tots, etc)
American cheese and deli meat (unless it’s low-sodium turkey or chicken)

5. Create your grocery list and head to the store to restock!

If you haven’t downloaded my 5-day veggie meal plan guide with grocery list - click here to download.

Looking for a deeper level of 1-on-1 coaching support. Schedule a free discovery call by clicking here. I’d love to learn how I can help you.

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