Making Your Kitchen A Healthy Eating Ally

If you want to eat healthier, turn the kitchen into your ally.

Human thoughts and feelings are greatly influenced by the environment, and the tools we use for daily living. So, making simple changes in the way we maintain, stock, and utilize our kitchen can help us make and maintain healthy eating choices.

Make It Pleasant For Cooking & Consuming

Clear counters. It is more pleasant, and more convenient, to prepare food on kitchen counters that are clear of clutter. Free your food prep areas of papers, books, bags, and rarely used gadgets.

The right tools. Though clear countertops are inviting, make sure your kitchen drawers or cupboards contain the basic tools necessary for food preparation. Invest in quality bowls, pans, knives, and utensils since they will serve you well for years.

Where you eat. If your kitchen looks inviting it will be easier to decide that you will only eat in the kitchen or dining area. Habitually eating in other parts of the house causes us to associate food with activities such as watching TV or being on the computer. This association can lead to unhealthy snacking.

Make Healthy Choices Visible and Convenient

In plain sight. Keep healthy snacks such as fruits and veggies in plain sight. A bowl of fruit on the kitchen table is both handy and beautiful. In the refrigerator, put preferred snack foods at eye level, in clear containers. Since out of sight often means out of mind, do not put healthy snacks in opaque crisper drawers where they will grow old and mold.

Ready to grab. If you do not want to buy single serving portions of healthy snacks, which tend to be pricey, create them yourself. For instance, you can wash and cut up raw vegetables and divvy them into small, clear containers, or place single servings of whole grain crackers or nuts in snack size baggies.

Give leftovers the freeze. While keeping your healthy snacks visible, store your meal leftovers in the freezer to thaw for another day. When yummy leftovers are tossed in the fridge they too often become an easy grab, more-than-is-necessary snack.

Make Healthy Portions Easier

Small plate, healthy portion. How much we eat and drink is influenced by the size or our dinnerware. Most of us tend to fill our plate and eat what is on it—using large plates means eating large portions.

So, if you think using smaller plates and bowls will help you consistently eat healthy-size portions, purchasing new dinnerware might be a worthy investment.

Source: Prevent Disease
Photo credit: Ann Gordon