I. Kitchen Pantry Renovation

II. Food Planning and Prep

III. Mindful and Connected Meals

I. Kitchen Renovation

I love all those home renovation shows, don’t you? I mean we get to live vicariously through other people’s projects, pick up clever design ideas, and learn how to avoid costly pitfalls. It’s inspiring and entertaining without having to spend a dime!

Well good news is you don’t need to wait around for that show or even go through a literal full kitchen renovation to begin implementing healthy habits at home that will help your daughter or son with their weight and food struggles, right now.

Even if your family already eats pretty well and has healthy habits, read on.

Teens often create beliefs and habits based on what they experience and see through social media, friends and, at home.

This article provides a few helpful tips that can help counter-balance those influences for healthier outcomes.

Following are easy kitchen rehab changes that can benefit your teen in their journey to manage their relationship with food and make good choices for themself. Regardless if she wants to lose or gain weight, end cravings, or stop overeating, teens often make choices because it simply tastes good to them (e.g. sugar, salt and fatty foods), because it’s easy and convenient, or because of beliefs they’ve picked up from friends and social. This is where you can establish a safe place at home where their choices are simple and you’re setting the foundation for a healthy way of eating.

1. Clean out the (Pantry) Clutter - Take a look at your kitchen cabinets or walk-in pantry and see if it could use a little renovating. Do a full assessment of what stays and what goes. This is where you’ll need to make hard decisions that can make all the difference in how and what your daughter or son eats on a daily basis. It set’s the foundation for learning and embracing what is healthy for ourselves and our lives.

Logical, right? But not always easy, I get it! For starters, Dad wants his favorite chips, and the kids want their favorite munchies and you have tried-and-true recipes that rely on some of the ingredients. Well you don’t have to throw out everything and live a stark life of celery sticks and seeds. But you will need to make choices about the types of foods you stock from basic cooking ingredients to ready-to-eat packaged foods.

First, start with old and expired items. Toss them and evaluate if you need to replace them or not. Is there a healthier alternative? How often do you use it and can you do without?

Next, evaluate the grains, starches and sugars. To put is simply, you’ll want to reduce or eliminate simple carbohydrates and white sugar first. These are the ingredients that spike your teen’s blood sugar, create energy crashes, and can leave them grumpy and moody (definitely something a parent can do without!). Evaluate grains and starches like rice and pasta. Go with whole grains (e.g. brown rice, quinoa and buckwheat) over stripped and ultra-processed (white rice, white all-purpose flour and regular pasta).

Now remove processed, packaged foods wherever possible. If it’s a prepared meal or snack in a box, bag or can, check the nutrition label for total calories as well as the amount of sugar. Does it comprise a large portion of the product’s calories or the percent daily value in one serving? What about sodium, is it high in sodium? Seriously evaluate the snacks lurking in your pantry. Replace processed snacks with similar alternatives with fewer ingredients, less sugar, sodium and fat and, free of additives like dyes and flavoring agents and other chemicals.

Next, check for the type of oil and avoid processed, hydrogenated ones like vegetable oils. Toss out your bottle of vegetable oil, making room for healthier versions like olive, avocado and walnut oil. You might be surprised by how easy this one is. Avocado oil for example is light, has little flavor and is highly versatile, it also has a higher smoke point than many other oils which means it’s safer to use for stovetop cooking.

Taking these simple steps will help to evaluate which stays and which you’re better off without.

Take another look. What’s missing or could be added? Like healthy spices that add flavor, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

Now you’re ready to create your restock list!

2. Restock with healthy alternatives - The key is removing any highly processed ingredients and swapping in more natural, whole grain, fiber and nutrient rich, sustainable and organic foods. You may not be able to create a completely transformed pantry in one go of it, but any changes will make a difference. Doing it gradually can also make it easier.

A few rules to be aware of when shopping and stocking your pantry:

Ø Many packaged goods at the market today can appear healthy on the surface but be sure to read the ingredient label before buying. Look for how much sugar, sodium and unhealthy fats make up that product. Check the fiber, is there any at all? Do all the calories come from sugar? What forms of sugar (did you know there are about 61 different names for sugar?!)

Ø Checking the ingredient list, can you read all the names of the ingredients? Do you know what they are or even how to pronounce them? Basic rule with ingredients is the less in the list, the better and if most of the ingredients sound like a scientific or chemical name, don’t buy it.

II. Food Planning & Prep

1. Plan and Prep Family Meals in advance – this gives you a few benefits:

Ø Discuss meals in advance with your teen. This helps him see how making mindful choices can ensure healthy eating. It shows him how advance planning can establish healthy habits and avoid thoughtless snacking or just eating anything in sight because a meal wasn’t planned.

Ø You’ll save time when you need to cook. After a busy day, trying to prep, cook and get a meal on the table at a reasonable time is stressful and difficult. Prepping over the weekend, in the morning or the night before are all methods that can get the initial step out of the way and reduce mealtime stress and delay.

Ø Prep for the Munchies – Yep, the dreaded munchies can bring teens to their knees when trying to eat well, so head them off before they arrive. Teens don’t have time or don’t want to take time to make a healthy snack. They’ll reach for the quickest and easiest. Prepping heathy options in advance will help bypass the chips and make the choice easier. It also eliminates the tendency to snack too much on empty calories and then not eat a meal because they’re full or feel bad and don’t want to eat. An unhealthy cycle that many teens fall into.

Ø It may take repeated attempts but keep trying. Talk to your daughter or son about what fresh fruits, veggies, nuts or all natural, plant-based snacks they like and have those ready to eat. If you’re working, have a full schedule and time is tight for you to prep, try doing it at night when you’re making dinner or before you go to bed. Prep for few days at a time or even better, have your teen do it with you so she’s selected what she’ll eat and put the effort in. She’ll be less likely to skip it or opt for unhealthy options the next day. Teaching your teen to plan food will make him more mindful of his choices and increase his chances for success.

2. Prepare for On-the-Go Eating – Life for a teen or young adult is a series of activities and often, a lot of running from one place to the next. Even hanging out with friends provides situations where they’ll need or want to eat away from home. Arming them with healthy options will help make it easier. No, I don’t mean sending them off with baggies of veggies and fruit like a toddler on a playdate! There’s plenty of healthy options, even at convenience stores, if you know what to look for. Start by helping your teen identify when and where they may be eating out. Sometimes just reviewing a restaurant menu and making a meal choice in advance can help eliminate poor choices in the moment. Discuss common places she and her friends like to eat. What options are better than others?

Can she split with a friend versus eating it all or can she bring some home and eat for a second meal the next day? Help her consider options and choices that will reduce or eliminate overeating, anxiety or eating foods that leave her feeling bloated, low energy and unhappy with herself.

When he does make healthy choices and is successful in meeting his goals, recognize his efforts, ask him how he feels about doing it and how it’s different than when he makes choices that make him feel bad. Getting him to acknowledge his successes and evaluate the difference in feelings will help to reinforce continued healthy decisions.

III. Mindful and Connected Meals

For many years, research has consistently shown that children who eat dinner with their families are more confident, connected and less likely to smoke or develop harmful behaviors like substance abuse. Eating together also creates opportunities to introduce healthy eating and habits. I don’t just mean food. What’s important with meal time is also emulating and promoting healthy behaviors around how we eat, not just what we eat.

A few techniques can go a long way to improve eating. Consider portion size, how quickly food is eaten and knowing when to stop. Also take a look at proportions on the plate. Is it balanced with protein, healthy carbs and healthy fats or is heavily weighted towards one?

Promote mindful eating which includes being more present when eating, paying attention to how and where you eat, what it tastes like and when you’re full. Comment on how good certain foods taste to help her pay attention to what she’s eating versus just inhaling. Establish most meals as eaten together at the table versus standing or on the go, as much as possible. Turn off the tv, ban phones and other distracting gadgets from the table. Create mealtime rules and stick to them. Even when dining out. It’s only a short time in the day when you have the opportunity to connect as a family. With consistency your teen will realize she can survive without it and may even grow to like the time without her phone.

Slow down how quickly everyone eats by having conversation between bites, chewing each bite a little more, and putting down the fork or spoon and pausing. This will help make mealtime more relaxed and less hurried or stressful. Even serving food in courses, like at bigger family holiday meals, can make a big difference. The benefits help improve digestion and allow our stomach time to signal it’s full, reducing the tendency to overeat.

An important note is to avoid criticizing eating habits that can cause your teen to feel worse about herself and stop eating around you. Instead emulate mindful eating, discuss benefits as informative facts and get her feedback on what is helpful for her as she makes healthy changes to reach her goals. Taking this approach will help her understand you’re there to support and see her succeed.

Kitchen Pantry Reno Chart

If you’d like a little guidance on swapping out common pantry ingredients for healthier versions, check out this chart I created!

Pantry cheat sheet