Here at Roundhouse HQ, we all try to eat healthily. We don’t always succeed but the good intentions are there, and January is always a great time to double-down on our efforts. While we may have the occasional cakecident, as kitchen designers, one thing we do understand is the role a well-planned custom kitchen can play in maintaining healthy eating goals throughout the year. Here are our experts’ top kitchen design tips to help you make smarter food choices in 2024.

Grow fresh herbs

Fresh herbs bring all the flavour to healthy dishes, zhuzhing up salads and smoothies and enlivening slow-cooked soups and stews. While herbs are not hard to keep alive, you can boost your chances of success by requesting a dedicated built-in herb trough in your next luxury kitchen remodel. The best examples are created using a stainless-steel trough sink, with access to a tap for easy watering. Plumbed into a drain, excess water will flow away, reducing waterlogging issues for herbs hosted in these modern kitchen sinks. Some of our favourite (and easiest) herbs to grow indoors include basil, rosemary, coriander and parsley.

Reorganise your pantry

Establish good snack habits at the start of the year by reorganising your larder room to make the most nutritional options easiest to find. Start with a really good clear-out, and also consider investing in smart storage containers for your healthiest ingredients. The easier they are to find, and pour out, the more likely you’ll be to reach for them. We like glass canisters with air-tight lids, which are more eco-friendly than plastic and quick to clean.

The benefit of a kitchen pantry cupboard or walk in larder unit is everything is visible in one glance, but that can also be a negative if your food stores are full of sugary treats. Put the vitamin-packed, low-sugar choices at eye-level and move treats up to the highest shelves, or behind closed doors, so you’re not tempted every time you enter your kitchen pantry cabinet. 

Upgrade your fridge

When choosing cooling appliances for your new kitchen, it’s worth seeking out the latest technology geared towards extended food preservation. Fresh food can quickly lose its nutritional value, not to mention flavour, if not stored correctly. Brands such as Gaggenau and Miele are our go-to when it comes to extending the lifespan of fresh produce. Miele’s PerfectFresh Active technology, for example, sprays a fine mist into the crisper drawer every 90 minutes to keep contents fresh for up to five times longer than a fridge without this feature.  

Using stackable containers to store freshly prepped fruit and veg can help reduce cross-contamination of bacteria. A vacuum system like Zwilling’s Fresh & Save, which takes the air out using a handheld electric pump, is brilliant for keeping fresh and healthy snacks ready-to-go. 

Keep spices in date

Spices not only dial up the taste-levels when cooking but many come laden with long established health benefits. For example, turmeric is a powerful antioxidant, ginger is anti-inflammatory, and basil helps boost immunity. Hot spices, like chilli and cayenne pepper are thought to suppress the appetite.

There are several ways to organise herbs and spices in your kitchen, but the priority is to focus on easy access and visibility, which is crucial to ensuring stocks are in-date. Otherwise, you’re essentially adding dust to your dinner! ‘A spice rack or two to the back of larders doors means the jars sit at eye level with the labels facing out and clearly visible,’ says Roundhouse designer Sam Hart. ‘I also recommend organising spices within under cabinet drawers, with the jars laid flat to show the labels. Positioned close to the hob, they’ll be easily accessible when cooking.’

How do I organize my refrigerator for healthy eating?

While most modern fridges have vastly improved cooling functionality, including built-in fans that help prevent hot spots, it still helps to acknowledge the basic principle that hot air rises. Stack your produce accordingly with raw meats and fish on the lowest, coolest shelves, and cooked foods like deli ingredients on the top shelves.

Understanding how to use humidity and crisper drawers effectively is also important – most new appliances will include guidance in the user manual. These drawers are designed to extend the lifespan of fresh fruit and vegetables, which shouldn’t be stored together. Vegetables, especially anything that wilts like leafy greens, fair better in high humidity (vents closed), while anything that moulds, like skinned fruit, will last longer in low humidity (vents open). 

What are your New Years’ resolutions?

Our expert kitchen designers can help you make the best choices for your Roundhouse bespoke kitchen, furniture or wardrobes. Visit any of our seven Roundhouse showrooms; Wigmore St, Clapham, Fulham, Richmond, Cambridge, Guildford & Cheltenham and get planning!