When you're trying to lose weight, it's helpful to have your kitchen stocked and ready.

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Here's what your pantry should look like, says the American Cancer Society in an attempt to get people eating in the healthiest manner possible. A clean, nutritious diet can help prevent cancer, after all.

• Line your shelves with beans, rice, and dried, whole-wheat pasta.
• Devote a shelf to canned vegetables and soups, (not the creamy kind), broths, and dried fruit, like raisins.
  
• Throw in some canned tuna, salmon, and chicken -- a fast way to add protein to your meals.
• Add healthy oils and vinegar to add a zip to your dishes.

Want more ideas? Check out this shopping list, featuring the basic ingredients for a healthy cupboard, refrigerator, and freezer.

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Small changes sometimes inspire me. A new candle burning on my kitchen counter, a new pair of pants with perfect slimming capabilities, and the always-thrilling new running shoes that all but bounce me out the door and onto the streets. Today, my inspiring change comes in the form of a new refrigerator.

My new Kenmore stainless steel fridge with French doors and a bottom freezer will arrive today to take the place of an old, dumpy white fridge with barely enough space to contain the food for our family of four. What space this rickety old thing does have is not very useful -- anything that sits at the back of the fridge ends up frozen. The freezer is crowded too. Pieces are falling off here and there. And a light inside just burned out. Clearly, this new fridge is in order.

I can't wait to stock my new beauty. First, I plan to rummage through everything I've got in my old model and pitch anything that doesn't fit my newish healthy lifestyle. Salad dressings that haven't been used in ages: Gone. Two half-used containers of chocolate frosting: Right to the trash. A coffee energy drink (energy is code for caffeine and sugar): To be dumped and recycled. Anything of a questionable nutritional nature will be ditched. All healthy items -- fruits, veggies, low-fat cheese sticks, chicken breasts, fresh fish -- will be rewarded with a new spot in a new fridge. I may even buy some new healthy stuff to fill the space of this seemingly gigantic appliance.

Yep, small changes (not inexpensive, just small compared to all things large and monumental) sometimes do the trick for me. Who knew? A fridge. How inspiring.

The average family open the fridge 22 times a day. Each time, cold air barrels out and warm air takes its place, making the appliance use extra electricity to cool itself back down.

If you're a frequent fridge opener and closer, you can save energy by practicing this four-step process:

• Decide what you want

• Open the fridge

• Grab your goods

• Shut the door

No lingering, no browsing, no shopping around. Just get what you want and be done with it. While you're at it, make sure your refrigerator is set to its proper temperature. To increase efficiency, be sure your fridge has tight seals and clean coils.

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I wish someone would design a refrigerator that doesn't allow things to be pushed to the back. Out of sight equals out of mind at our house -- at least when it comes to leftovers. I subscribe to the theory "when in doubt, throw it out," but this chart takes all the guesswork out of whether something you "found" in the back of your fridge is safe to eat. Some things -- like chili -- just taste better the second time you serve them, but some leftovers are better suited for the garbage can!

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I love summer salads, but I don't eat as many of them as I'd like to because it's so hard for me to keep lettuce and salad greens fresh in the refrigerator for more than 1 day at a time. But it seems FitSugar has the answer, and who knew it would be so easy? Just put your greens in a plastic bag, breathe a puff of air into it (for the carbon dioxide) and tie it at the top. Of course it will take up more space in your fridge this way and I'd make sure your family isn't sensitive about people breathing on each other's food, but if this works (I'm totally trying it) what an awesome trick!

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