Since the calendar rolled over to 2010, I find myself in a clean-out mode.  I’ve been dumping out drawers and organizing cupboards that haven’t been looked into for a while.  Like many of you, I have set resolutions to unclutter, simplify, get healthier, eat better… you know the routine!  So since we’re in the mood, why not venture into the pantry for a healthy makeover?  If your pantry is filled with high calorie, low-nutrient foods (like the one in the picture) it’s definitely the time for an intervention.  When you’re hungry, you will grab what you have on hand… so it’s time for a meal plan and a pantry stocked with healthy foods.  Recent research has indicated that we can significantly reduce our risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers by choosing nutrient-rich foods.  What better incentive do we need!

Let’s start with weekly meal planning. I know this seems time consuming, but if you take an hour to plan out healthful dinner meals each week you will definitely save time and money during the week.  Every night you come home you’ll have all the ingredients for a quick meal and will avoid a fast food supper.  For inspiration you might want to visit www.meijermealbox.com to search for recipes or click on the Healthy Living weekly menus (they are based on sale items).  Your menu does not have to be fancy.  Even a bagged salad and a frozen veggie pizza can be part of the solution.

Time for the shopping list. Once your menu plan is set, make a healthy ingredient shopping list.  Try to organize it by departments at your grocery store to save time and focus on nutrient-rich foods (those that provide a lot of nutrients for the calories).   Include lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy, lean meats, beans, fish and poultry.  Many stores now have nutrition scoring systems that help you identify healthier choices.  Meijer has the NuVal system which scores each item from 1-100 on the shelf tag.  The higher the score, the more nutritious the food so you can compare pasta, for example, and see that regular pasta scores around 55 and Barilla Plus or whole grain pasta is a score of 91.  You may then want to “trade up” to the healthier option.

Don’t forget portion control. Even if you are eating healthy you still need to watch portions to maintain a healthy weight.  Avoid “portion distortion” and look at the nutrition facts panel and use measuring cups to become familiar with serving sizes.

Get your family involved and start your meal planning, pantry clean out this week.  Once this new habit is formed you’ll enjoy the healthy life-long benefits!