It is very pleasant to gather with the whole family after a tiring day and to have a delicious meal. We should concentrate on our family and what we put on the plate.  In fact, not only what you put on your plate, but how much you choose to put there.

A classic family dinner requires 3 serving dishes: protein, starch, vegetable; some may add a bread basket, others a salad bowl. But by placing those serving dishes on the table, you run the danger of taking more food than you or your waistline necessitate. Actually, if you leave those serving bowls in the kitchen, you are likely to eat 20 percent less food than if they make their way around the table.

Professor Brian Wansink of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, performed a small research observing the number of portions taken from serving dishes, both from the table and the kitchen. After the study, he made the following conclusion: men ate about 29 percent less calories, and applicants ate 20 percent less overall. 

For many people around the world accessibility to food is a problem. Widespread wisdom dictates that food on the table is meant to be eaten, hungry or not. Keeping it out of sight keeps you from eating more. The same is true of cupboards and refrigerators. Tempting treats should not be stored in the front where is a jump out at you every time you open a door, begging to be eaten.

Each of us should try keeping healthier snacks, raw almonds, trail mix, popcorn, in the front of cabinets, and fresh fruit, cut up veggies, or string cheese at the front of the refrigerator. Adding a fruit bowl to the counter is ideal, perfuming your kitchen with the smells of peaches, bananas, plums.