A Kitchen’s Diet
posted in Health |Interesting statistics from the September 2007 edition of Health magazine:
$6,100 – Average amount the United States spends on health (per person) each year.
$2,700 – Average amount spent by the other leading industrialized countries.
31 – Percentage of Americans who are obese.
15 – Percentage who are obese (on average) in the other industrialized countries.
So, it seems safe to say that being obese costs more than your health, it also costs you dollars. Not a surprise, but interesting nonetheless.
In the same issue of Health magazine an articles titled “Get yourself a skinny kitchen” discusses ways in which your decorating style may be setting traps for your health. The article states, for example, that bright lighting puts you in the mood to race through meals. On the flip side, dim lighting can mask the feelings of fullness and loosen inhibitions. The solution: use 60- to 75-watt bulbs and check often for feelings of fullness while eating.
Another trap people unknowingly set for themselves … storing munchies and snacks in clear containers. The power of suggestion is strong. Just eying the snacks will often trigger feelings of hunger. The solution: store food in opaque containers or foil.
The article goes on to discuss “Tricks at the table”, “Dish do’s and don’ts”, “A healthier fridge” and “Pantry picks”. All suggestions of value.
Over the past year or so I’ve taught myself to implement many of these ideas just by being aware of my food triggers. For instance, when my daughter bakes cookies she knows she must package and freeze them as soon as they are cooled. By doing so the cookies are out of sight and not a temptation for me, but easily accessible by her. In fact, this method works perfectly because she can put a frozen cookie in her lunch in the morning and by the time she is ready to eat it it is thawed, but not melted.
Something else we’ve learned (it’s sad that my daughter had to learn this, but having a food addict as a mom brings tough lessons) is that when she bakes something that doesn’t freeze well, muffins for example, she packages them in individual servings and hides them in the back of the pantry without telling me where they are. Again, out of sight, out of mind for me, but ready to go for her.
Another “trick” I’ve learned is to NEVER buy food-scented candles, the ones that are pumpkin pie or sugar cookie fragrances, for example. The only thing those do is stir my cravings, bring images of desserts to my mind and make me falsely hungry – all things I try to avoid. A funny anecdote- the home scents tactic was one our realtor taught us when we were selling our home several years ago. Whenever we had an open house planned we baked cookies or a pie just before the open house was to begin. The scent of dessert was supposed to make people feel relaxed and “at home”. If there wasn’t time to bake, I’d light one of those food-scented candles for the same reason. Now I only light aromatherapy candles.
Becoming conscientious of our surroundings is just one more way we can Choose a Better Life by choosing good health. Take a few minutes and stroll through your kitchen. Are there temptations causing you to stumble? Do you have food traps that are just waiting to sabotage your good health? If so, take a few minutes to rearrange things. It will be a small investment of time with a large, long-term payoff.