You already know that a healthy diet is not only about what you eat, but how much you eat. So your best weight loss efforts will pay off all the more if you find new ways to minimize those extra calories that you don’t need and that you won’t miss.

These favorite kitchen gadgets will assist in cutting calories and controlling your ingredients and meals.

Strategy 1: Cut the Fat

Dietary fats are essential and health-supporting — in small amounts! Fats are high in calories, with over twice the calories as protein or carbohydrates per weight. That means it’s easy to overdo and not feel full. For example, a tablespoon of oil, a 100% fat, contains 120 calories. So when we’re cooking, it pays to minimize the amount of oil while keeping the flavor and quality of the recipe the same. Here are some ways to do just that.

Pastry Brush: If you’re used to pouring oil in a pan and swirling it around before sautéing or stir frying, this tool is for you. Put a small amount of cooking oil in a bowl, dip in the brush, and coat the pan with a fraction of the oil and calories. Amazing! I like the silicone type (it is easier to clean and I don’t get “hairs” in my food), but a traditional pastry brush works as well. I also use my pastry brush to “paint” an ultrathin coat of oil onto vegetables prior to roasting. Speaking of roasting vegetables…

Silicone Mat: Traditionally used as a nonstick surface for baking (which works great, by the way), these mats also allow you to roast veggies with less fat and no sticking. I recently tried this strategy with asparagus, peppers, brussels sprouts, and onions and had impressive results — with a combination of this mat and my pastry brush, I used about a third of the amount of oil I used to, with no change in flavor or quality, and no sticking!

Bell peppers with less than 1 teaspoon of olive oil (applied with a pastry brush), black pepper, and sea salt

Asparagus with less than 1 teaspoon of olive oil (applied with a pastry brush) and dried herbs

Olive Oil Mister or Sprayer: Small amounts of good-quality olive oil is part of many high-quality diets, but it’s easy to overdo. An oil mister, made of stainless steel or glass, helps you distribute a minimal amount of oil to food in order to prevent sticking, provide delicious flavor, and develop that crispiness or chewiness that steaming, no-oil baking, or boiling just can’t accomplish. You can buy canned cooking spray ready to go, but this gadget is a far greener choice — it is reusable and doesn’t require hydrocarbons. And over time, it is more economical.

Strategy 2: Reapportion Portion Distortion

Food Scale or Measuring Cups/Spoons: A food scale is handy for recipes that specify weights, and measuring cups and spoons are cooking essentials, but I also like to use them as a reality check tool for myself and my kids.

When you pour cereal into a bowl, do you know how many “servings” you’re actually getting? Do you cross check with the nutrition facts label for the recommended serving size? I’m not advising that you weigh and measure everything you’re eating or count calories. Measuring food is an educational tool — a great way to stay on track with your portions if you feel like you’re gaining weight and not sure why, even after you’ve improved the quality of your diet. For example, If you’re thinking that you’re doing great because your breakfast cereal has only 140 calories per serving, that means nothing unless you ate the actual corresponding serving size.

It’s fine to eat more than the recommended amount if it fits in your diet; the exercise is about awareness. For example, I had a teenage client recently who was shocked to discover that she was eating four times more cereal than the "serving size” on the label! So for her, multiplying the nutrition facts by 4 provided valuable information about just how much added sugar she was eating first thing in the morning. Another client was aware of the health benefits of almonds, so grabbed several handfuls throughout the day. After weeks of frustration and not losing weight, we figured out that he was consuming about 700 calories worth of almonds every day! Too much of a good thing? You bet!

So the next time you take a handful of nuts or pour out breakfast cereal, take what you usually do, but before you eat it, go ahead and measure it out to see if it jives with the recommended serving size on the label. If not, adjust the numbers accordingly so you stay on track.

Scooper

These gadgets look like ice cream scoopers, and some are sturdy enough for that job but most are used for things like standardizing muffins and cookies. I use them for portion control. I have four different sizes, so they’re like measuring cups and spoons, but easier (and more fun) to use because they easily scoop up and empty out food. These are terrific for portioning out grains and beans, pancake and dosa batter, nut butters, oils, condiments, treats, and of course for baking with uniform sizes.

Muffin Tins

Muffin tins are a handy way to stretch out foods into desired number of portions, and help you prepare foods in the perfect amounts. In case you missed it, check out our post on the magic of muffin tins.

Spaghetti Portioner: If there’s one thing that tops most people’s “overdo” list, it’s pasta. After all, we rarely make one serving at a time, restaurant portions are often enough for a family of four, so we’ve lost sight of what a “normal” pasta portion is. That’s why I love these servers that double as a measuring tool. Just use the hole in the server that corresponds to the number of servings you want to make, and stay on track while managing waste too! You can also buy a measuring tool without the server part, which comes in metal, wood, or plastic, in many shapes and sizes. If macaroni or ziti is more your speed, use a measuring cup or scale.

Eating the right amounts is less about willpower and more about skillpower! Keep the inspiration and creativity flowing when managing portions and increasing awareness of serving sizes. Every little bit helps you stick to your healthy eating plan.