Avoid going to battle every day with unhealthy choices. Learn your own strengths and weaknesses. If you are more likely to chop veggies after shopping than after coming home from work, do this after shopping and store in clear containers. If having visible candy is tempting, keep it in a tin in the basement, out of sight and inconvenient.
Dish Cupboards
* Stock small bowls and plates on easy-to-reach shelves. Put large plates and bowls in a hard-to-reach place or in another closet in the house.
* Put smaller wine glasses in front of larger ones. Use tall, narrow glasses for non-water drinks.
* Make it easier to cook. Have a blender on the counter and organize your pots and pans to make it easy to pull out a frying pan or pot.
Use a smaller plate (9-10 inches) and downsize your cereal bowl. This helps reduce portion sizes, even if what is on your plate has not changed.
Use dessert forks, appetizer forks, or child-sized utensils to eat your meals. This will help you take smaller bites and eat slower. You may find you feel full before you’ve finished your meal! You may also be satisfied with less.
Counter Tops & Kitchen Space
* Add a fruit bowl to the counter with two or more fruits. Tomatoes can go in here too! Roma tomatoes can make for a refreshing, convenient, and filling snack!
* Organize counter tops and decrease kitchen clutter-even on the refrigerator door.
* Take out the lounge factor-no TV, tablets, comfy chairs, etc. Spending extra time in the kitchen could lead to munching and eating when you are not hungry.
* Don’t sit down to a meal unless it includes a fruit or vegetable.
Pantry
* Keep healthy choices at eye level-oatmeal, quinoa, nut butters, beans, canned fruit in water or juice, whole grain pasta, rice, etc.
* Move foods you want to eat less of to a less convenient location (like in a cupboard you need a stool to reach) or to a different place in the house where you do not go as often (like the basement or laundry room).
* Store packaged, processed foods in solid-colored bins in a closed pantry or closet.
* Make less healthy foods less visible and harder to reach. Make healthy foods more visible and easier to reach.
Now Go! Take a Look
* Is there food sitting out in the open in your kitchen? If so, what is visible (e.g., bags of chips or boxes of cereal on top of the fridge, bowl of fruit on the table)?
* Where do you keep “treat” foods (desserts, sweet snacks, chips, etc.)?
* How quickly can you reach for these? Is it easy?
* Where else can you store highly processed snacks and high-sugar treats? If options are limited, put them in a solid-colored plastic container or put them on a shelf that is not at eye level. These changes might help everyone else in your household too!
* When you drink water, do you prefer filtered, chilled water, or tap water? Is your preferred water easily accessible?
