Is Your Kitchen Sabotaging Your Diet?
See how your kitchen's appliances and gadgets can help or hurt a healthy diet.
Related To:
Photo By: Artem Efimov
Photo By: kostsov
Photo By: li chaoshu
Photo By: Dio5050
Photo By: Scott Rothstein
Photo By: Hemera Technologies ©(c) Hemera Technologies
Photo By: Kitchner Bain
Photo By: Maksym Bondarchuk
Photo By: Ashley Whitworth
Photo By: Marilyn Barbone
How Not to Let Your Kitchen Sabotage Your Diet
It's one thing to buy healthy food. It's another to actually get into the kitchen, prepare it, cook it and eat it. And seemingly innocent appliances — not to mention dishes, cutlery and tools — may actually be working against you when it comes to healthy eating. Here, the mistakes you and your kitchen may be making — and how to fix them.
Beware the Deep Fridge
Watch Out for Oversize Dishes (and Supersize Portions)
If you're trying to eat less, you might want to take a look at your dishes. Research has shown that people tend to pile on more food when they have a plate or bowl that has extra room. If you don't want to buy all new dishes, consider using salad plates for a main course and cereal bowls for your pasta.
Also see: Portion Sizes and Portion Control Tips
Break Out the Blender
Keep this handy appliance on the counter instead of tucked away in a hard-to-reach cabinet. That way, it will be readily available for whipping up healthy smoothies (a great way to use up any fruit or veggies that may be starting to wilt), purees and soups.
See: How to Make the Healthiest Smoothie
Don't Guess When Meat Is Cooked
Invest a few dollars and you can get a meat thermometer that will tell you not only when meat is safe (undercooked poultry can transmit salmonella) but also when it's going to be the tastiest. If you overcook that good-for-you piece of salmon, it will be dried out and much less appealing.
Cook in a Cast-Iron Skillet
A cast-iron skillet "lets you cook with less oil once your pan is well-seasoned," says Tara Gidus, R.D., sports nutritionist and team dietitian for the Orlando Magic. "And cooking with cast iron can leach some iron into your food, which is a good thing because 10 percent of American women are iron deficient."
See: 10 Things to Cook in a Cast-Iron Skillet
Get the Slow Cooker Out of Hiding
If a slow cooker makes you think of something your parents would have gotten as a wedding gift, it's time to reconsider. You can fill the appliance with healthy veggies — plus beef, pork or chicken — and let it slow-cook all day. "Having that meal cooking while you're at work and coming home to dinner ready is almost as good as having a personal chef," says Kristine Clark, Ph.D., R.D., director of sports nutrition, Penn State University.
See: Healthy Slow-Cooker Recipes