Trying to lose weight? Consumer Reports ShopSmart says try “scaling back” your kitchen!

The obvious first move: Get fattening snacks like chips and cookies off the counter and out of sight. ShopSmart says your next move is to rearrange the food in your cupboards! You want to move the healthy stuff to the front and the fattening stuff to the back.

Next stop, your refrigerator. Crisper drawers are great for keeping fruits and veggies fresher a little longer, but you can’t always see the food that’s in them. So you want to take that stuff and move it to where you can see it. And put fresh fruit out on the counter in plain sight. A pretty bowl will make it that much more appealing.

As for that crisper drawer, use it to tuck more fattening foods out of sight. You want to apply the same idea to leftovers. Use foil or containers that you can’t see through to hide the fattening stuff. And then use see-through bags and containers for the healthy things.

ShopSmart says trim down your freezer, too. Rather than freeze big portions of food, like a whole pan of lasagna, freeze food in individual portions, like a piece of chicken. It’s ready to cook when you are, but you’re not forced to cook a whole lot of it.

When it’s time to eat, scale back there too, using smaller dishes. They encourage smaller portions. And forget serving food family-style. Only the salad bowl should be welcome at the dinner table!

Then when you’re eating, lower the lights and the air conditioning. Bright lights and cooler temperatures can increase your appetite. And it’s important to focus on the food you’re eating--forget watching TV or reading. Instead, watch the clock. Eating more slowly can also help you cut down on how much you eat.