Kitchen Makeover
Do you know the most important tools for nutrition success?
Planning, preparing, and action!
Planning ahead, preparing you for the day/week/month, and taking action! When doing these things consistently, habits are formed to keep you on track no matter what time of year it is.
Now we all know what’s coming next! Spring and summer are on their way! I don’t know about anyone else, but I am extremely excited for summer! I love being outside, the heat, the sun, the views, it’s all marvelous!
To help you become more efficient at planning, preparing and action, especially with a lot of summer activities coming up, today I wanted to introduce to you how to make over your kitchen…nutritionally.
According to Dr. Berardi from Precision Nutrition:
“If a food is in your house or possession, either you, someone you love, or someone you marginally tolerate, will eventually eat it.”
BUT ALSO…
“If a healthy food is in your house or possession, either you, someone you love, or someone you marginally tolerate, will eventually eat it.”
So why a kitchen makeover you ask?
*Gets rid of the non-nutritious stuff and/or foods that you’ve collected through the cold winter months that trigger you to make poor eating choices.
*Helps you stay in control and on track.
*Helps you plan and structure healthy eating.
Did you know healthy eating doesn’t just happen by accident?!
STEP 1
Prepare
Your tools
Big trash bags and maybe a compost bin if you have one
STEP 2
Prepare
Your mind
What’s “healthy” and “unhealthy”?
Red light foods
Are just bad news for you. Maybe they make you feel sick, they trigger you to eat too much, or you know they’re an unhealthy choice for you. Think of all the “siren calls” that confront you ever day constantly testing your willpower and discipline: chips, dips, crackers, brownies, cookies, cakes, pizza, hot dogs, donuts, soda, sweetened drinks, juices, alcohol, instant mixes , frozen dinners, candy…etc. Red means NO GO!
Yellow light foods
Are foods that are sometimes OK, sometimes not. Maybe you can eat a little bit without feeling ill, or you can eat them sanely at a restaurant with others but not at home alone, or you can have them as an occasional treat like: sweetended yogurt, frozen yogurt, breads and bagels not made exclusively with grains, baked goods, breakfast cereals, fruit bars, granola bars, regular peanut butter, fruit juice, baked potato chips…etc. Yellow means approach with caution.
Don’t forget about those that fly under the radar…like sauces, mustards, ketchup, salad dressings, bread crumbs, croutons, processed meats, cream cheeses.
Green light foods
Foods that make you feel good mentally and physically, and that you can eat normally, slowly, like fruits, vegetables, lean protein, legumes, etc. Green means go for it!
STEP 3
Prepare
Others
If you live with other people, you might need to sit down and have an open respectful discussion about what you are doing and why.
If those living with you are not following the same healthy changes you are making for yourself, you may need to discuss a designated “shelf” for them and their stuff or vice versa.
Discuss how you can get what YOU need to succeed while still respecting other’s needs and wishes.
STEP 4
Start the makeover process (fridge and pantry)
Red foods: TERMINATE with extreme prejudice
Yellow foods: BE CAUTIOUS
Green foods: Keep a hold of these gold stars!
STEP 5
Stay tuned for next week’s blog on what to add to your kitchen and how to shop for them!
Until next time!
Hayley Jones, BS, CSCS, Pn1
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