How Many Portions Are on Your Plate?
Is Bigger Always Better?
The portions, servings, helpings, slices, and amounts of what we eat have grown dramatically over the past two decades.
Consequently, the bigger-is-better motto has taken over the food industry, in conjunction with mass marketing to convince us to buy bigger sizes as a result of saving money. We had a client that told us she “always gets the Taco Bell Value Meal” because it comes with 3 tacos and a large soda which costs less than one taco and a large soda”.
Supermarkets and restaurants use the promise of better value as a way of pushing extra food onto consumers.
Bigger portions mean we eat more than we need. When a larger portion is placed in front of us, we tend to eat 30% to 50% more! Most often, we don’t even realize that we are eating more. In a recent study, women ate 31% more and men ate 56% more as a result of being served a 12-inch sub sandwich instead of a 6-inch sandwich.
How can you curb your portions 4 Better Health?
- Use smaller plates (dessert plates are perfect)
- 1/2 of your plate should be veggies
- A meat portion should be the size of a deck of cards (or the palm of your hand)
- A fish portion is the size of your checkbook
- Grain or starch portions (rice, quinoa, pasta, potato) should be the size of a tennis ball
- A slice of bread should be the size of a cassette tape
- A pancake (or waffle) portion is the size of ONE cd or DVD
- A fruit portion is the size of a baseball
- A cheese portion is the size of 5 dice
- An ice cream portion is the size of a baseball
- Dried fruits and nut portions are the sizes of a golf ball
- A cereal portion is typically 1/2 cup… we dare you to measure yours tomorrow!