Weekend Cooking: Slim By Design and What Not to Bake- If You Want to Stay Slim

I've been reading Slim by Design on and off for the past month now.  Brian Wansink, Ph.D., has some great advice and ideas for weight management (or weight loss depending on how you look at it).

He addresses a variety of places where decisions about foods are made: restaurants, grocery stores, and your kitchen for example, and then gives suggestions as to how to approach these spaces in order to make smart decisions about eating.

At home, keeping food put away is important - sort of the "out of sight, out of mind" theory.  Homes where cereal is out and visible have residents who weigh more.  

Open candy dishes on desks at work are more tempting than candy dishes that are opaque, and storing candy in a desk drawer is the best solution (aside from not having candy at work at all).  

Looking over the food at a buffet before going through the buffet line and loading up your plate helps people select only things they really like, therefore reducing the amount of food you are taking, and eating.

Wansink has a wealth of small changes that can be made when it comes to food and eating.  He is quick to explain as well that no one person is meant to make all the changes because they are overwhelming and no one person can make that many changes at once and continue them - as they are meant to be continued- in their lifetime. Instead, find one or two changes that you can consistently make to continue.  

I loved reading these ideas and the statistics and research behind them. Although there is no easy formula for everyone to control their eating, there are some changes I am happy to incorporate, not only for weight management for also for health reasons.

Of course, that doesn't mean I'm totally giving up all my unhealthy habits....because when I saw this cookie recipe, I couldn't pass it up.

Iowa Girl Eats posted these on her blog a few weeks ago, and anything with peanut butter sounds like a winner to me. These will not disappoint.

I love baking (which is rather unfortunate since it means I like eating, too), so I made a batch of these, let my family eat what they wanted and then froze the rest as a treat I can get out once in a while (I'm trying out the "out of sight, out of mind" idea on myself).

What's been happening in your kitchen this week?

Head on over to Beth Fish Reads and check out the other food-related posts on her Weekend Cooking meme.