7 Ways to Make Your Kitchen Healthier

Sure, being healthy in the kitchen means selecting nourishing foods, cooking balanced meals, and washing your hands and surfaces again and again (we all recently got a crash course on the importance of that last part). They’re all key daily moves, but there are ways you can actually engineer health and safety right into the design of your kitchen. From refrigerators and freezers that preserve the nutrients in what you pick up at the farmer’s market to countertop surfaces, fixtures, and even walls that cut down on bacteria, the right elements can pick up where your food choices leave off. Browse them all below, and cheers to your health.

1. French Three-Door Stainless Steel Refrigerator

For most of us, a counter-depth refrigerator gives that built-in look without a full gut renovation. But buying a fridge isn’t just about looking good and keeping your food cool: It’s also about preserving your groceries so when you make that salad, the lettuce is still crisp and your veggies are still ripe. Beko’s EverFresh+ technology keeps produce fresh up to 30 days so you get all those  good-for-you vitamins and nutrients out of your next trip to the farmer’s market.

2. Silgranit Sinks

Generally speaking, your hardworking sink is—sad to say—one of the least hygienic places in your whole kitchen. Stainless steel sinks are a popular option that have been in kitchens for over a century, but they can be prone to scratches and abrasions over time. For an alternative option, consider one made of a hard, smooth, and long-lasting material like these engineered stone sinks from Blanco. On top of hugely reducing bacteria growth, they’re just gorgeous and come in a range of colors.

3. SuperPaint Interior Latex

There are more ways to healthy up your kitchen than just installing gleaming, techy appliances. With paints from this sanitizing line from Sherwin-Williams, even your walls can help keep things clean and safe. On top of killing over 90 percent of the E. coli, MRSA, Staph, and other bacteria that lands on it, it comes in all the amazing colors you’d expect from Sherwin-Williams—no style concessions here! If air purification is more your thing than sanitization, the brand also has a paint for that too.

4. Tall Tub WiFi Connected Carbon Fiber Dishwasher

Now more than ever, you want to know that what you eat and drink from has been properly cleaned. And a lot of that comes down to the dishwasher you choose. The AquaIntense technology Beko has packed into this one uses an intense water pressure to break up food particles to provide five times better cleaning. You’d think with all this pressure inside, the noise outside would be an issue, but the dishwasher is only 39db — quiet enough you might forget it’s on. By the way, it can handle 16 place settings at once, so go ahead and plan that dinner party.

5. Sleek Chrome Smart Faucet

Cleaning your hands is a huge part of kitchen hygiene, but doesn’t that mean your faucet and knobs are getting covered in whatever you’re washing off your mitts? Not if you can wave your germy, chicken-drenched hands over the sensor of this smart faucet for a blast of hot water without needing to touch a thing. You can also set the faucet up so it will automatically run for the right amount of time to get your hands clean (no more counting off in your head) and will automatically shut off if it’s been running too long—a nice note for water conservation too! Also, it’s a sleek upgrade to your space. (If this one isn’t to your taste, Moen has plenty more.)

6. Quartz Countertop

Bottom line: You need to know your prep surface isn’t harboring any germs in its tiny, almost invisible nooks and crannies. Just like a sink, a porous countertop can be a playground for bacteria, no matter how much bleach you use. Caesarstone’s recycled quartz material is both durable and non-toxic, it doesn’t require sealants or wax, and it’s entirely non-porous. Oh, and it’s environmentally friendly too (made with recycled and sustainably sourced quartz) and comes in a fantastic selection of styles and colors.

7. Stainless Steel Upright Freezer

Aside from being a gorgeous freezer for your home, this might be the nicest one out there for garages. It’s able to handle extreme temperature fluctuations from sweltering summers to frigid winters. For most of us, the bonus of having a standalone freezer is really about being able to buy either in bulk or freeze seasonal produce for when it’s no longer in season. This freezer’s frost-free technology, coupled with its quick freeze, means your food will still have all those essential vitamins and nutrients when it’s finally time to eat your bounty.

Source: House.com, Carisha Swanson