Reducing stress in the kitchen

September 17th, 2012

Appliance Talk Kitchen Ovens & Cooking

We’ve talked about spring cleaning your home to improve your everyday routine.  We’ve talked about spring cleaning your body through healthy eating and drinking.

Now what about spring cleaning your mind?  How can your kitchen and its appliances help you manage your stress levels?

Order your thoughts through cooking

We often stress and generally freak out when life spirals out of control in way we don’t expect.  Fortunately, in the kitchen you can achieve total mastery of your domain.

Reading a recipe, following its directions, measuring ingredients and more are all ways to give our actions structure, meaning and purpose, which isn’t always possible in everyday life.

Getting into a rhythm chopping veggies, counting down the seconds on the microwave, and waiting patiently for ingredients to make their transformation into food can be a very theraputic form of meditation for some people, and in some cases, similar mental processes can be applied to solving other life problems as well.

Take out your rage on food

Sometimes when we’re angry, we just feel like hitting something.  Instead of going out and doing some property damage, why not massacre a bag of carrots instead?

“HULK JULIENNE!”

It’s the same principle as giving the old punching bag a hammering or jumping on the exercise bike when you’re feeling frustrated, with the bonus that afterwards, you’ll have something delicious to chomp on.

Plus, you won’t be all sweaty, unless you REALLY get into it.

Let food calm you

Different foods can relieve stress, whether through their smell, taste or texture.

According to Marie Claire, stress-relieving foods include Oranges (packed with vitamin C), Sweet Potatoes (forget the haters – carbs and fibre are important!), Apricots (magnesium), Almonds, Pistachios and Walnuts (vitamins B and E), Turkey (amino acids), Spinach (more magnesium), Avocados (monounsaturated fats and potassium), and Green Vegetables (all manner of vitamins).

Different scents in your home can also affect your moods.  To improve your mental state, try doing some impromptu aromatherapy by adding citrus fruits, or aromatic herbs to your cooking.  You can get a few ideas at Lifehack.org.

Healthy body, healthy mind

There may be an element of truth behind this old saying.  When you’re under pressure, you may feel tempted to gorge on comfort food, get drunk, or overdose on coffees.

However, the fats, sugars and caffeine in these foods are more likely to increase your jitteriness than calm you down.  And while alcohol may be calming to a degree, it comes with an array of unpleasant side effects.

Take note of some of our previous advice and use water, tea, or juice to refresh your body and mind.

Let your appliances help you

We don’t all use our kitchen appliances to their fullest potential.  Often they come packed full of features that we never end up using.  I know that instead of using any of the cooking, defrosting, or reheating programs on my microwave, I just enter a time, press start and pray.

That’s… a lot of buttons.

Appliances in your kitchen are meant to make your life easier.  Try to take the time to read through your appliance manuals (if you can’t find it, a lot of them are available on the product pages of Appliances Online) and learn what all of its special features can do.  Next time you’re cooking, give them a go and see if they can relieve some of the pressure when you’re trying to create a delicious meal.

And finally…

If you have ongoing problems with stress of other mental issues, don’t be afraid to seek professional help.  You’re not alone.

Do you find cooking to be a relaxing, stress-relieving activity?  Or do you panic at the sight of a saucepan?