Day 29: How big are your plates?
Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet
Today’s task in 31 Days to a Better Diet is one way of controlling the size of the portions of food you eat.
Not so long ago it seemed everyone was buying big white plates and bowls.
Presented on gleaming white plates, food does look beautiful. White plates highlight the colours and textures of what you’re eating, making herbs look greener, tomatoes brighter and citrus even more luscious.
However at home, big plates and bowls can encourage you to eat more.
A normal portion of food can get lost on a big plate, so you add a bit more and a bit more – until you’re eating far more than you need. The more you do this, the more this larger amount of food becomes “normal”.
Over the last couple of years I’ve been down-sizing the plates and bowls I use.
- We still have some large white plates, but instead of putting dinner on them I use them for a plate of vegetables to share.
- I use our large pasta bowls for salads at lunch-time when I can fill the cavernous space with vegetables.
- In contrast I often use dessert bowls for pasta – it’s a much better portion of food for me.
- I bought some small bowls, which have about a one cup (250ml) capacity. I use these for breakfast and fruit with yoghurt after dinner.
- If I’m making a dessert I’ll reduce the portion size and use small ramekins, cups or glasses. So you still get the flavour and delicious-ness, but without going overboard on the kilojoules
Do you need to down-size your plates?
Scales photograph by Benjamin Earwacker and bowls photograph by Marc Garrido i Puig.
29 August, 2008
Comments
I’ve just decided I need to be more aware of portions. Last night I made a fruit salad that fit into one of my huge soup bowls before I divided it into two, one for me and one for my partner. Then I did a double take and divided that up again – so now we each have a nice snack for at work.
The big plates aren’t generally a problem as my most usual dinner has a suitable sized piece of meat, chicken or fish, plus as many veggies as I feel hungry for. I really do have to be careful with those soup bowls though, curries, stews and stirfrys are easy to go overboard on.
I’ve also realised that many of the plastic boxes I take leftovers in to work for lunch are way too big. Not a problem for a bit of leftover veg or salad, but I’m going to have to remember to use the smaller ones for curry etc.
My mum has these enormous restaurant style pasta bowls, they must hold at least 1.5L each. If I had them at home I’d have to only use them for salad serving bowls… it’s almost impossible to judge a serve in them and a half cup pasta looks so silly languishing in the bottom!
Gwyneth, your comment has just made me go and check the capacity of the rest of my bowls:
The right serve of pasta would look pitiful in the larger bowl – which would make me add more. Whereas it fits well into the dessert bowl.
I usually eat my dinner out of a bowl (a dessert size bowl) to limit portion size. Though you have to be careful you don’t stack your meal up in the bowl so that there is more! Or, if I use a dinner plate, I keep my meal within the “line” – you know where the flat bit of the plate connects to the ledge of the plate (silly description I know!). I also make sure that at least half my plate or bowl is vegetables or salad. Sometimes, when I am being really strict, I get out my measuring cups to measure the amount of carbs, vegetables, protein etc.
our bowls have been getting bigger every year. there is something comforting about a big bowl of (pasta, soup, stew, rice)
i try to put less food in them for me but i dont think it works. I think it is time to buy some new bowls
So true – I’ve been known to ‘dish-up’ according to the size of the crockery. It’s also a handy trick for when you are serving guests – using the smaller dishes gives the appearance of fullness.
I’ve just written a post on my blog about deserts, in that I’m not a massive fan of them and portion sizes can put me off, but if I use a ramekin or a small sauce dish, I can handle the thought of it! Psychology of space hey?
My grandmother recommends a side plate on which to serve dinner, which really cuts down on the portions sizes! It’s a great idea in theory, though in practice …
I’ve been doing Weight Watchers and this is a fab “diet” in learning how recognise the correct portion sizes. I was so off, and big dinner plates definitely don’t help.
i find this stuff really interesting. i remember lots of shocking research findings in The Ethics of What We Eat about portion sizes.
a couple of things which work well for me (but i don’t necessarily always follow!):
+ using ramekins all the time. for scoops of icecream, for serving dips, for holding nuts and crackers. ramekins are such a nice size and they look nice, which makes it FEEL nice to eat out of them as opposed to a big heavy bowl.
+ using side plates as dinner plates (as Em suggests). this works well, but only for certain meals. sometimes we’ll have our salad in a separate bowl to maximise veggie intake!
Jenaveve: saw your blog post and like your portion size!
Ran: while I agree there’s something comforting about a big bowl of stew, the bigger the bowl the more likely you are to fill it up. And a small amount of stew in a big bowl can leave you feeling a bit deprived.
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