Clean Out Your Kitchen For Healthy Cooking

Give your kitchen a makeover in nutrition with these tips:

• Read the labels. Be on the lookout for partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup; avoid these!
• Choose items that are high in fiber, don't contain white flour, are low in sugar grams and fat grams (especially saturated fat).
• Be sure to look at the recommended portion sizes when you are assessing the item.
• Don't keep the unhealthy stuff for the "rest of the family." They need to eat healthy too! Remember, the time to create good eating habits is when you are young. Exposure to healthy foods will become their preference, so if you keep exposing your kids to sugar cereals and French fries, you are teaching them to enjoy it!
• To sauté with lots of flavor and hardly any fat, mist your veggies lightly with olive oil using a mister and then sauté in a pan, adding chicken broth as needed to prevent sticking.
• After cooking the leanest ground beef (96% lean), chicken or turkey, run it under water in a colander to rinse off the rest of the fat.
• Get your protein in consistently. Protein helps keep you fuller longer and releases the hormone glucagon which balances out insulin.
• Use fruit to taper off sugar. Keep grapes in the freezer and pop one in your mouth when you get a craving.