Portion Control ~ How many servings are you ACTUALLY eating? ~ Use these easy tricks to help eyeball hard-to-measure foods, determine portions and prevent overeating. | 1 tsp. salad dressing = the size of a half-dollar | | 1 oz. chunk of cheese = your thumb or two dominoes | | 1-1/2 oz. hard roll = a bar of soap | | 3 oz. meat = package of carry-around tissues, deck of cards | | 3 oz. fish = eyeglass case | | 1/2 cup rice = custard cup | | 1 oz. nuts = 2 shot glasses full | | 1 oz. of chocolate = 1 package of dental floss | | 1 1/2 oz. raisins = 1 soup ladle full | | 1 cup dry cereal = 1 wine glass or 2 soup ladles full | | 1 tsp. peanut butter or cream cheese = a lipstick cap | | 1 cup pasta = 1 baseball | | 3/4 cup frozen yogurt = 1 tennis ball | | 1/4 cup sour cream = 1 golf ball | | 1/2 tsp. oil = 1 thimble | Portions and Your Plate Another way to control portions is using your plate as a guide. Imagine your plate is a clock and the time is 3 p.m. The section between the numbers 12 and 3, bordered by the big and little hands, should be filled by your meat or dairy servings for that meal. At dinner, this might be a piece of chicken or fish; at breakfast, a serving of yogurt or a cup of milk. If your meat or dairy portion is larger than the space on your plate, you're eating too much. The rest of your plate should be rounded out with servings of grains, fruit and vegetables. Besides reading labels and weighing and measuring foods, practice these portion control techniques:
- Don't put more on the table than what you want to eat. If a recipe serves four and there's only two of you, cut the recipe in half before you cook or divide it into four portions after you cook; store the extra servings in containers for tomorrow's lunch.
- When dining out, request foods that need to be measured on the side. You can't measure salad dressing once it's poured on your greens, but you can spoon out a portion when it's served on the side. This works for sour cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, pancake syrup, etc.
- At restaurants, don't be afraid to ask. Find out how many eggs are in an omelette. If they usually make it with three or four, you can request one or two. If a waiter brings your entree and the steak is larger than a deck of cards or a serving of pasta is bigger than a baseball, ask the waiter to half the portion immediately and have it wrapped to take home. If you know a restaurant serves big portions, split entrees with a friend. Just order an extra side of vegetables or salad to supplement your meal.
- Look at your food. Measure out snack foods like popcorn and pretzels before you put them into serving bowls. Then take a mental picture of how much room they take up in your bowl, so you don’t eat more than a serving. When you make dips for raw vegetables, measure out one serving into a smaller bowl, so you won't overdip.
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