Kitchen Makeover - Ways to make your kitchen healthier

some of the foods in my own kitchen: whole wheat cous cous, rice milk, high fiber cereal, quinoa, turbinado sugar, granola, and whole-wheat pasta

A great way to get you to eat healthier and develop a healthy lifestyle is to start by having your kitchen in your home aid you in your efforts. You want to set your self up for success, and having tempting foods around in your kitchen is not going to help you! Instead you want your home to be supportive of your healthy life style efforts.


In a study, people followed healthy tips that altered their environment the most over tips that altered their behavior. This shows us that when trying to lose weight and be healthy we should begin with altering our environment first. What I mean by that is this: it can be very hard to alter your behavior, for example to not eat a piece of cake when it is right in front of you. It is much easier to alter your environment, for example, if you do not have cake at home to begin with - it will be easier not to eat it. 


1. Make healthy food ahead of time so they are ready to be warmed up and eaten when hungry! - When you are hungry you will grab whatever if around, so make sure what is around is healthy! You can make a batch of brown rice or beans for the week and put in the refrigerator. Pre-make your salad for the following day just don't add the dressing- add it right before serving (and by dressing I mean balsamic and olive oil or lemon and olive oil.)  


2. Avoid buying cake, cookies, and chips for the house - Enjoy these foods once in a while when eating out, but avoid having it in front of your eyes and around you all the time which will encourage consumption. If you crave a snack like I do, have strawberries with low-fat whipped cream, popcorn, freeze-dried fruit, or 100-calorie pack of cookies. Make sure you take one bag and hide the rest in the cabinet, eat far from the kitchen - so you only eat one bag! If you can't cut out all snacks and cookies, then make sure there isn't so much. There should be a lot more fresh food then these unhealthy snacks. Cut out the amount you buy little by little.  


3. Fill your house with in-season fruits and vegetables that YOU LIKE- Buy in season to get the best price and best quality of fruit and veggies. Buy enough for one week, fruits and vegetables should last that long with out rotting. Pre-wash fruits and have them on the counter ready to be eaten (make sure to dry very well so the fruit will not rot.) Also, buy fruits and veggies that you like! Get your favorite fruit, you will be more likely to eat it! 


Source: seasonal fruits and veggies calendar

Source: Full size image

4. Buy frozen vegetables - Frozen vegetables are great! They are cheap, don't have sodium like canned vegetables, you can buy out of season, it lasts longer, and fast to make. Try frozen green beans, corn, carrot & pea, broccoli florets (that's some of my favorite.)


5. Switch out white sugar or brown sugar for turbinado sugar - I made the swap a few years ago, turbinado sugar is a raw cane sugar that is less refined than white sugar or brown sugar and tastes great. But remember, sugar is still sugar so try to lower your intake (I only use 1 teaspoon for my coffee or tea, and I did that by lowering the amount little by little over the course of two weeks.) 


6. Shop with Dr.Oz's shopping list - Download Dr. Oz's shopping list and highlight the foods that you like and buy those. No need to go out and buy everything, choose what works for you and get that. For example, if you never bake (like me) you don't need to purchase whole-wheat flour, because it will just sit there collecting dust. Remember switch out the alternatives (white rice for brown rice, ect.) 
From the list below avoid: butter, soy milk, and red meat such as burger meat and pork (enjoy when eating out.) 

for full size printable version: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/100-foods-dr-oz-wants-your-shopping-cart

7. Switch to filtered tap water over bottled water - I swapped out plastic water bottles for a Brita water filter. The water tastes great, its cheaper, and you help the environment by producing less plastic waste!  
click here for more cool info about the facts about bottled water: http://www.onlineeducation.net/bottled_water  
Try to cut down on juice and soda consumption and increase your water intake, cutting out liquid calories is a quick way to slash your calorie intake. 


8. Buy whole-wheat pasta and tomato sauce - Whole-wheat pasta such as Barilla Plus tastes great and is high in fiber, omega 3, and protein. It is cheap and lasts long so it's a good idea to always have 2 boxes on hand. I make the pasta and toss in a tomato sauce with steamed broccoli. Buy a tomato sauce that is natural, no added sugar, and no more than 5 ingredients or better yet make your own sauce and refrigerate. This can be a healthy meal when consumed one serving of pasta with a side of salad.  

9. Stock up on beans - All beans (black, pinto, white) are very healthy. They are high in fiber, protein, and are cheap. Buy your favorite beans, and prepare ahead for a few days. If you buy cans (since its a lot quicker to make) make sure you drain the beans in fresh water to get rid of some of the sodium. 


10. Buy yogurt & kefir for a quick healthy snack - When you are hungry for something small have plain yogurt or drinkable activia.  


Please share additional ideas in the comment section :)