The Clutter Free Kitchen

When it comes to sticking with your weight loss program, setting yourself up for success is half of the battle. By planning ahead you can avoid troubling scenarios like deciding between cooking and grabbing takeout. Preparing a simple, healthy meal in a matter of minutes is easy with a little organization and planning.

This is the benefit of having a strongly organized kitchen, and as you lose weight it can mean the difference between searching through an over-packed pantry night after night, and the ease of getting dinner on the table without having to look at the snacks your children or spouse tuck away.

Organizing your kitchen might be easier than you think. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

• Buy healthy ingredients: An organized kitchen won’t do you any good if the ingredients you fill it with are poor food choices. Set yourself up for weight loss success by loading your kitchen with fruits, vegetables, herbs and other healthy, wholesome foods.
• Pre-set portions: When you buy meat, produce or anything else, package it in your fridge in individual portions. When it is time to cook you can pull out the number of portions you need without having to think twice. This is especially great for freezing meat. Don’t just freeze the package of chicken as you bought it. Take out each piece of protein and wrap it in plastic individually, then put it all in a freezer-safe bag.
• Clear the countertops: If it isn’t going to help you prepare a meal then it doesn’t belong on the counter. This means that everything from backpacks to yesterday’s mail needs to have a home of its own so your counters can stay clutter free.
• Arrange the pantry by meal: Most people use certain items during breakfast, other items to prepare lunch and then other items during dinner. Instead of organizing your pantry by container (canned goods vs. boxes), go ahead and organize it by category. This will make it much easier for you to find what you are looking for when preparing a certain type of dish.

Organizing your kitchen in this way can help you spend less time preparing meals, which might reduce the amount of mindless eating you engage in. Create a healthy environment in your kitchen that will set you up for long-term weight loss success.