Depending on your dining scene, have you ever noticed the sheer size of “individual” portions when you’re out to eat? Sure, there are exceptions to the rule – like the fancy schmancy places with multiple courses who seem to be feeding the birds – or maybe even the baby birds – and once you leave your pocketbook is empty and you are absolutely starving!! But, for the most part, portion sizes when eating out has gotten out of control.
Over the last twenty years, the American diet has changed dramatically both in terms of the quantity and quality of our food intake. In 1970, Americans took in an average of 2,160 calories per day. Today, it has skyrocketed to 2,673 daily calories per person. We are now eating 20-25% more calories than we 30-50 years ago.
How did this happen? Well, we live a society where the phrase, “get the most bang for your buck,” is highly valued. We want the biggest and the best deals. All you can eat buffet for $5.99? Yes please!!! “Supersized” for only $.50 more? Well, of course!
This mindset has warped our idea (and sometimes our tummy) of what a proper and healthy serving size really is. In fact, if you investigate the nutritional data for most restaurants, what we believe to be our single meal we’ve ordered, may actually consist of several servings and consuming the entire plate (who is a member of the Clean Plate Club?) can actually put us far over the recommended DAILY amount we need to be eating.
Ugh.
So, one answer could be to stop eating out. Well, that would save us all some pocket change, right? Or not.
As I said, our minds are skewed now – we don’t really know what proper portion sizes are or should be.
Protein: the size of your palm.
Starch: baseball size.
Vegetables: two baseballs.
Fat: a thumb-size.
Whose hand are we referencing and what brand of baseball – is it a baseball or a softball? Does anybody really know.
These terms and recommendations are rather ambiguous – not to mention inappropriate as a blanket recommendation. (Some of us NEED way more food than others…just a side note…if you can hork the food down (and need to), you already know who you are).
So, another option could be life-saving: Meal Delivery Kits.
Not only do these simple little inventions take the guessing out of portion sizes for you and your family, they also take away the inconvenience of shopping, recipe searching, or even deciding WHAT to make! These services are fresh, healthy, appropriately sized, and can accommodate just about any diet (Low Carb, Low Fat, Paleo, Keto, Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-Free, etc.) – oh, and they are super-duper easy to prepare – minimal cooking skills are required.
How does it work:
You order want you want from a list of weekly options (and how many meals and how many servings). You pay. The box arrives at your door each week. You assemble the meals. And, you end up with a happy belly (satiated) and a super big smile on your face.
Oh, and you train your body and your mind about the amounts of food that are more appropriate for this day and age (unless you are a bottomless pit, like me!).
Some of the greatest options available today, in terms of meal delivery services, are:
Green Chef
HelloFresh
Sun Basket
Home Chef
BlueApron
Purple Carrot
And, with the opportunity to prepare a home-cooked meal, you are blessed with the opportunity to create communityaround the table. WIN-WIN!!
