Seven Steps To A Skinnier Kitchen

Perhaps you've never realized it, but your current kitchen may keep you rutted in your old eating ways. Try out the following seven steps for a "skinny kitchen" that helps you cook and eat healthier:

1. Splurge on cookware. With the right pots and pans, you can cook with significantly less fat. Treat yourself to at least one stellar quality nonstick saute pan, and a nonstick stock pot if you can.

2. Downsize serving dishes. Does a full-sized dinner plate make you feel deprived when you serve up the portions your body needs? Use a large salad plate instead. Similarly, switch to 8-ounce rather than 12-ounce milk and juice glasses.

   

3. Dedicate a refrigerator shelf to calorie-free drinks. Many dieters mistake thirst for hunger. Stock your refrigerator with no less than 64 ounces of icy, calorie-free beverages each day. Make at least half water, in sipping containers you can grab. Brew caffeine-free teas and ice them, chill seltzer water.

4. Measures abound. Portion control is the best kept secret to weighing what you want to. Stay in control of your portions by serving your food with measuring cups and spoons. Purchase excellent quality, long-handled metal measuring cups and spoons, and leave them out in a basket on the kitchen counter.

5. Dispatch distractions. Do the bread basket, cookie jar, candy jar call your name? Clean off your counters and silence them.

6. Invest in essences. Double strength vanilla, richly brewed balsamic vinegar, top-pressed olive oil, a pot of fresh basil, rum extract. Whatever flavors tickle your tastebuds, stock your kitchen with them, in a readily available place.

7. Use strongly flavored ingredients wisely. Feta and excellent quality Parmesan cheeses add that missing dimension to so-called diet food, as do imported olives. Buy an ounce or two from the deli, and enjoy weekly.

8. Buy tools wisely. You deserve a fabulously sharp chef's knife, the best vegetable peeler, a wonderful container for microwaving, steaming, and a food processor. These are the tools that allow you to cook the vegetables your slim figures craves.