#WorldMentalHealthDay is the perfect opportunity to consider the old adage ‘you are what you eat’. But have you ever thought about what a difference your kitchen layout can make to your eating habits and your mental health?

The great news is that most of the top 10 of raw fruits and vegetables found to be associated with better mental health and fewer symptoms of depression work really well for juicing or smoothies. Designing your kitchen so the ingredients you need are easily to hand and close to a juice blender will make speedy work of adding them into your diet – even on the busiest mornings!

The ‘better mental health top 10’ includes carrots, dark leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce, cucumber, apples, bananas, grapefruit, other citrus fruits, fresh berries, and kiwifruit. So here are our top design tips for making it easier to incorporate fresh fruit and vegetables into your diet….

1. Have fresh fruit on display

Your kitchen island is the perfect place for a tempting bowl of fresh fruit that will encourage your family to snack healthily.

2. Keep everything close together

Find a location for your juice blender that’s close to the larder, fridge, freezer, work surface and sink. Why? Because if it’s hidden away at the back of a cupboard and it’s an effort to get it out and put it away again you simply won’t use it regularly.

3. Make space for a pantry or larder cupboard

Pantries and larders are brilliant for keeping all your loose ingredients close together so you only have to make one trip to find everything you need. For vegetable storage in cold larders we often use perforated bain-marie tins on runners – they’re a great size and easily washed so they’re a perfect solution. A large larder shelf can also be a great place for storing your juice blender, creating a dedicated juicing station.

4. Have an easily accessible peelings bin

Preparing fruit and vegetables creates peelings and you don’t want those to go to waste. We design dedicated peelings bins to go under the worktop, often in a kitchen island, close to your chopping board and knife storage. This makes it quick and easy to swipe peelings from your prep area into the bin, ready to go straight out for composting.

5. Use a fridge with variable temperature-controlled zones

Different fruits and vegetables like to be stored at different temperatures. We always favour Liebherr appliances and their Monolith series features three separate drawers, each with independent climate control. Perfect for making sure the berries stay cooler than the cucumbers!

6. Make good use of your freezer

Planning ahead and freezing batches of smoothies or cut fruit ready for blending is a great way to fit fresh fruit into a busy morning routine.

7. Think about vacuum-wrapping for reducing wastage

Vacuum-wrapping is a great way to store fruit and vegetables if you have a glut. Miele has come up with an incredibly stylish vacuum drawer which means you can easily vacuum-wrap all manner of fruits and vegetables for freezing. Vacuum-wrapping also enables you to cook ‘sous-vide’ in a steam oven – the low heat and longer cooking duration means all the important nutrients and flavours are retained.

If you’d like to find out more about how our lead designer, Giles Slater, could build healthy-eating solutions like these into your dream kitchen, please get in touch.

You are what you eat – design tips to promote healthier eating and better mental health