According to Emma's timeline we are going to work on assessing her readiness and kitchen this week, so when we met this morning we made an assessment of her current situation. This is a critical step since we need to know where we are starting and where we need to go.
First we reviewed and filled out a Readiness Awareness Assessment Form. I do this for all my Clients to ensure that they are ready for the Health Journey. We went through questions like "has your doctor ever told you that you have a heart condition" and "do you feel pain in your chest when you do physical activities". Emma's assessment showed that she doesn't have any history of high blood pressure or a heart condition, and she is ready for physical activities
Next we went through a Kitchen Assessment to make sure Emma has the right set-up for healthy living. Your kitchen plays a major role in your health. It stands to reason that how we fill our kitchen -- the pantry, refrigerator or freezer -- sets the pattern for what we eat. If you stock your kitchen with nutritious whole foods, that is what your family will eat most of the time.
We went through a list of questions which helped me determine how healthy Emma's kitchen is right now. Is her pantry filled with foods like almonds and olive oil, or chips and crackers? We determined that Emma has too much processed foods at home right now and that we will focus this week on switching out unhealthy foods for healthy foods.
Emma's current kitchen set-up with pots and pans etc and is really good. She has the right cooking tools such as sharp knifes, measuring cups, a slow cooker, blender etc. Having the right tools makes it easier and more fun to cook, which is going to encourage healthy cooking and prevent eating out too often.
This is Emma's homework for the week
- Clean out her pantry of all the processed foods
- Shop healthy snacks - almonds, cheese sticks, eggs
- Organize her kitchen and create an area
- Create a shelf in her fridge for leftover so that Emma has easy access to pack lunch for the next day and wont' waste any healthy food
Is your kitchen setting you up for success? Make an assessment of your pots and pans, knifes etc. Cooking is more fun with the right tools!
