Food & Fitness

Take a closer look at the foods you keep in your kitchen. What do you find in your cabinets and refrigerator? If there are mostly foods from the best choices lists , you are doing a good job. But for most of us, that is usually not the case.

When your home supports a healthy lifestyle, it will be easier for you to meet your health goals. Use this home inventory to explore the foods you keep in your home.

Where do your current food choices rank from a scale of 1 to 5?

• If you rank 1 – Congratulations, the food you are purchasing will help you meet healthy lifestyle choices and goals.
• If you rank 3 – You are on your way. For many people, the best way to success is to provide yourself with mostly healthy foods and to limit junk foods. Remember - if it’s not there, you can’t eat it!
• If you rank 5 – Think about whether you can reach your health goals with the food choices available to you. Make a list of foods you are going to toss out, or simply stop buying from the store that are keeping you from achieving you weight loss goals.

What NOT to buy

List foods that are so irresistible that you cannot help but overeat when they are in the house:

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Remember the foods above. Keep them off your grocery list from now on. Our sample shopping list may help you get started buying healthier foods.

Here are some other tips that may be helpful for cutting back on portions and cooking healthier at home.

Portion control tools

Get familiar with your glasses and dishware:

• Measure glasses and record the number of ounces each glass holds
• Measure bowls for reference—get familiar with how 4 ounces,(1/2 cup), 6 ounces (3/4 cup), and 8 ounces (1 cup) looks
• Look at the plates in your kitchen—get a sense of how much 4 ounces of meat looks on a plate
• Review Create Your Plate

Your Kitchen

Cooking pans, pots and utensils

Stock your kitchen with the basic equipment you need to prepare meals at home. What do you already have? What do you still need to get?

• Knives—3 or 4 inch paring knife, serrated knife and 6 or 10 inch chef’s knife
• Soup ladle and large spoons—slotted, wooded, and sturdy metal spoons
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Mixing utensils—hand held electric mixer and wire whisks
• Spatulas
• Cutting boards
• Nonstick pots and pans
• Vegetable peeler and cheese grater
• Can opener

Kitchen clean up

Set aside some time to clean out your kitchen. Inventory food stored in cabinets and your pantry. Get rid of any foods that you don’t want around. Clean out the fridge, throwing out food that is expired. Below is a list of how long certain foods should be stored in the refrigerator:

• Fresh fish – 1 to 2 days if stored on ice and wrapped tightly
• Fresh poultry – 1 to 2 days; 1 day if cut into pieces
• Beef or Pork – 3 to 5 days; if ground or chopped, use within 2 days
• Cream, half-and-half – 3 to 4 days
• Luncheon meats – 3 to 5 days after opening, 2 weeks if unopened
• Milk – 5 to 7 days after the sell-by date
• Soft cheese – 1 week, if stored in an airtight container (discard if mold develops)
• Hot Dogs – 7 days after sell-by date
• Cream cheese – 1 to 2 weeks
• Butter – 3 weeks if covered, 1 to 3 months unopened
• Hard cheese – 3 to 4 weeks opened (6 months unopened)
• Eggs in the shell – 3 to 5 weeks if purchased before the date on the carton