Over the Valentines Day weekend, my husband bought a large heart-shaped box of chocolates for a costume (that will be another blog) and placed the chocolates on our kitchen counter. Over the next three days, our family ate way too many chocolates. Every time we passed the counter (the kitchen is the central hub of our house), we grabbed one or two chocolates. On Monday morning, I took all of the chocolates left and put them in a bag and put them out of reach. Oh how I wish I would have done that on Friday evening.
The foods that we see are the foods we grab. Having bowls of candy on your desk or a cookie jar on your counter increases the likelihood that you will grab a treat when you are hungry. Make an effort not to buy unhealthy foods, but if splurge foods make it into your house (like around holidays) do not put the foods on the counter for all to see!
On the flip side, keeping healthy foods on display encourages healthy eating. We have a fruit bowl on our kitchen table which reminds all of us and visitors to our home (like our children’s friends) to eat more fruits. I keep baby carrots and other cut-up vegetables in the refrigerator. When I buy grapes, I wash them and put them in a bowl that everyone can see when they open the fridge. It’s so easy to grab a handful of clean grapes which makes healthy eating easy.
Please learn from our mistake and keep unhealthy foods off the counter and off your desk at work. Display the fruits and vegetables you are going to eat at your desk instead, and you’ll make eating healthy easy.