Looking to makeover your diet?  Start by making over your kitchen!

It is a well known feature of human nature that if you have food in your possession, you will eventually eat it.  So why keep food items that are not conducive to your healthy eating habits in your house?  Some may say the junk food is only for special occasions, some may say the items were on sale and they couldn’t pass them up, but whatever the reason, keeping these items in the house is dietary sabotage!

Sabotage!

The first step to an extreme kitchen makeover is to simply get rid of all the unhealthy foods in your house.  This is no easy task and may leave you staring into your pantry wondering what the heck to throw away.  Here’s a little checklist to get you started:

• Potato or corn chips
• Chocolates or candy
• Granola or fruit bars
• Breakfast cereals
• Soft drinks or fruit juices
• Regular or low-fat cookies
• Instant foods (cake mixes, mashed potatoes, etc.)
• Regular peanut butter
• Bread crumbs, croutons, other dried bread products
• Frozen Dinners
• Breads and Bagels that are not whole wheat
• Pasta
• Margarine
• Baked goods

Now, although this is certainly not an extensive list, it should at least get you started on throwing away the items that are most detrimental to your healthy eating habits.  Try not to make excuses for these foods.  If they are non-perishable items, donate them to a homeless shelter.  If they are pure junk, just throw them away!  They are only keeping you from your goals and making it harder for you to stick to a healthy diet.

Once you’ve parted ways with your junk foods, the fun begins!  Now it’s time to go shopping for the foods that are going to keep you healthy, energized, and on track toward a better you.  It’s time to replace the cookies and crackers with fruits and vegetables, the frozen dinners with lean meats and proteins, and the breakfast cereals with eggs and rolled oats.  Here’s a quick list of healthy items that you will want to purchase when restocking your kitchen:

• Vegetables (spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, peppers, etc.)
• Fruits (oranges, apples, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.)
• Lean Proteins (93% or higher lean beef, turkey, chicken, fish, eggs and egg whites, low-fat dairy items (cottage cheese, yogurt, milk), tofu, soy burgers, whey protein supplements)
• Unsalted/Unflavored nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews; almond butters, natural peanut butters)
• Whole Grains (quinoa, brown rice, sprouted grain breads, oats)

YUM!

Once again, this is not an extensive list, but it should provide you with enough ideas to re-fill your kitchen with healthy foods that will keep you on the right track.  Now you don’t have to worry about the fact that if there are foods in your possession you will eventually eat them, because you only have foods that you should be eating!

Making over your kitchen is a foolproof way to maintain your healthy eating habits and reach your goals.  Stay tuned for some great food preparation and recipe ideas in future posts.  In the meantime, enjoy your new kitchen!

Eat well,

Lauren P.