Plating Up and Portion Size

The very words bring tears to my eyes.

As a small child, it was drummed into me about finishing my dinner. Waste was a sin, because there were little African children who were dying of hunger. I always wanted to post them my vegetables. My parents came through war-time rationing, and while meat was sometimes scarce when I was a child, there were always heaps of potatoes, and bread and butter to make up, the plates were full. They were responsible for making me fat, and I often cast this up to my mother!
With my own children, I followed the parental model, and they were required to clear their plates too. Have I made them fat? No, that was my mother's fault, but yes, they are a tad overweight.
It begins during the preparation. If I'm cooking something familiar, like spag bol, I always make too much. I should put it in a tupperware for the next day, but I just share the extra out, and we all end up eating too much!
I think it's safe to say, my relationship with food requires some analysis. An organised person would know what weight of dried spaghetti was in a portion and measure it out, but that is maybe a little too organised for me. BUT, if the plates were smaller, I couldn't fit so much on them, and to the eye, they would still look full.
As usual, there are plenty of articles for hints and tips. I like this one.


Top 10 Ways to Control Portions 
by Jennifer R Scott
Ask anyone who has achieved long-term weight loss how they did it and they're sure to mention portion control. In fact, it can make or break your weight loss efforts.
1 Break leftovers down
2 Say yes to salads
3 Single out trigger foods
4 Master mini meals
5 Keep seconds out of sight
6 Make meat a side dish
7 Meet yourself half way
8 Be a kid at heart(or tummy?)
9 Serving standards
10 Treat yourself

Read the rest of the article here:
http://weightloss.about.com/od/eatsmart/tp/aa030405a.htm

It has some great content, some of which I can bring to my diet, not the kiddie meal though! I have noticed that some restaurants  now offer half size meals, I am always put off, thinking I will leave hungry! I do need to get a grip, educate my stomach and save money at the same time.
 It would seem that the problem of portion size is global, so my mother isn't to blame entirely. This next article explains that we are all being subjected to much larger everything, and now expect it.

Portion Size, Then v's Now
by Liz Monte

Over the past few decades, portion sizes of everything from muffins to sandwiches have grown considerably. Unfortunately, America’s waistbands have reacted accordingly. In the 1970s, around 47 percent of Americans were overweight or obese; now 66 percent of us are. In addition, the number of just obese people has doubled, from 15 percent of our population to 30 percent.

Two Slices of Pizza

                     

Twenty years ago                                                    Today
500 calories                                                             850 calories                         

When our parents ordered a coffee two decades ago, they weren’t given as many size options—a standard cup of joe was eight ounces, the size of a small coffee cup. Nowadays, most of us feel like we don’t get our money’s worth unless the cup is at least twelve ounces; it’s not unusual to see thirty-two ounce coffee cups, four times the size they used to be. When made into a mocha, the morning coffee has as many calories as a full meal.It’s not just food portions that have increased; plate, bowl, and cup sizes have as well. In the early 1990s, the standard size of a dinner plate increased from 10 to 12 inches; cup and bowl sizes also increased. Larger eating containers can influence how much people eat. A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that when people were given larger bowls and spoons they served themselves larger portions of ice cream and tended to eat the whole portion.

Read more: http://www.divinecaroline.com/79975/49492-portion-size-vs-now#ixzz1HWNkLFt1

That says it all, doesn't it?

Having said that, no one forces it down our throats. Should we avoid eating out? I don't think avoiding it is the answer, I also don't think it is realistic.

Should there be a lobby against these huge portions? Just think of the evilness of it all, after all there are people starving in this world. If we were served smaller portions, we might be thinner, there would be less waste, let's face it. Oh, I could go on all day, if the manufacturers sold us smaller portions, their profits would increase, using less energy to transport less bulk, and less fuel needed to cook it, etc etc etc.

What do you think?

Love, Peg