Extreme Makeover, Kitchen Edition

From the food you stock in the freezer to the silverware you put on the table, your kitchen is your partner in health. When you fill your kitchen with the right tools and foods, you reap the benefits.

If your kitchen isn't your ally, changing it may be easier than you think.

The foods you should stock—fruits, vegetables, fish, poultry, and whole grains—taste just as good and can be cooked just as quickly as less wholesome choices that lurk in your cupboard and refrigerator. Updating cookware—by trading the deep fryer for a slow cooker, for instance—can aid healthy cooking, too.

In fact, you can redo every nook and cranny of your kitchen. Here's how.

Tableware

When you're faced with larger portions, you're more apt to overeat. Your dinnerware may be one of the culprits, says Lisa R. Young, Ph.D., R.D.

"Plates have gotten 25 percent bigger over the past few decades. When you eat off a bigger plate you don't realize you've eaten more food," says Dr. Young, author of The Portion Teller. "People who eat one big bowl of cereal don't feel as if they've eaten much. But that one jumbo bowl can be equal to five small ones. My research shows that when you eat from a smaller bowl, you feel full with less."

With glassware, even the shape matters, she says. "You're better off using tall thin glasses than big wide ones. The thin glass gives the illusion you're getting more."

Cookware

If you cook with fat so your food doesn't stick, trade up to nonstick cookware. You can get the flavor of fat with far fewer calories by adding a little olive oil cooking spray to nonstick cookware, says David Grotto, R.D., a Chicago-area spokesman for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). A bit of vegetable broth can also take the place of oil.

Match the capacity of your cookware to your family size. If you use a large pot for a twosome, you may be tempted to cook, and eat, more food.

Slow cookers are a boon to your health because you don't have to brown food in fat before cooking, as some of us do for taste and appearance. If cooking in the evening leads to unwanted snacking, use your slow cooker during the day so you'll have a wholesome meal waiting for you.

Cupboard

Government dietary guidelines call for eating 2 cups of fruit and 2-1/2 cups of vegetables a day. Along with dark green and orange vegetables, add beans to your menus.

With canned or frozen fruits and vegetables, and beans on hand, you're set for instant dinners. "Mix a variety of beans, add some vegetables and spices, and you have a quick meal," says ADA spokeswoman Dee Sandquist, R.D., a dietitian in Vancouver, Wash. Read labels on cans to avoid high sodium and sugar levels.

Snack shelf

Small changes can bring big results, Sandquist says. You may not be willing to get rid of cookies, but you can keep healthier varieties on hand. "A good snack would be gingersnaps, graham crackers, or vanilla wafers," she says.

Avoid crackers, cookies, and chips made with saturated or hydrogenated fats. A lot of food makers have changed formulas to remove unhealthy fats, Grotto says.

Refrigerator

Stock your refrigerator with low-fat dairy foods and keep high-sodium processed meat to a minimum.

You may have to choose between more prep time or more expensive cleaned and pared fruits and vegetables. It's up to you whether the money matters more than the convenience. But Grotto warns: "The more work you have to do to get food ready to eat, the less likely you are to eat it."

Freezer

Frozen dinners may be one of your evening mainstays. You don't have to give them up as long as you select varieties low in sodium and fat. "If you read the label, you can buy a sensible frozen dinner," says Sandquist. "A frozen dinner may be a good way to learn portion control, but not necessarily so."

You can also assemble a fast meal if you have frozen vegetables, such as broccoli and carrots, along with frozen fish fillets, she says.