Is there too much on your plate?

I love the social media world of Pinterest. I always find great recipes and helpful hints.  Last night thanks to a Pin from ALW, I saw a perfect tool for my kitchen and maybe for yours too.  She always pins great healthy recipes and workout ideas!

One of the biggest problems with eating healthfully is portion control.  Despite my efforts to promote it, most people do not measure their food or weigh it.  It isn't always easy. Even as a dietitian, I will admit that when I am in a hurry the last thing that I want to do if measure my food.  I do measure it when I feel my portions are creeping up in size.  After measuring for a week or so, I get back into the routine of using the right amount.

I have given out portion plates that I got from nutrition education catalogs or trade shows too. The ones with dividers or odd pictures of dancing vegetables to show where the vegetables go.  I have used them too. I like the ones with lids that I can take for lunch. More for the convenience of them because I love the fact I can bring different foods, have them separated and cover them with a lid.

There is one big problem with those plates.  They are not very attractive and don't help with food presentation at home. I like to sit down with my family, have a nice dinner on real plates with real silverware!  Call me old-fashioned, but we even eat at the dining room table and these plastic plates just aren't going to cut it. But someone figured out a way to create a set of dishes that allow you to have a nice dinner and learn to control your portions.  You can see ALW's pin is a perfect solution to my aversion of plastic dinnerware.  The vine design separates your portions with the larger section being for veggies.  The bowls even use the vines to help you see your portions inside.

I did some searching and found a few others as well.  I found a set of Slimware dishes on Amazon that are cute as well.  And was a little disappointed that they were melamine but with just a little more searching, I found they also make ceramic Slimware Dishes! 

Ceramic Slimware Dishes

If you don't really want to buy the portion dishes and you still want to keep perfect portions, there is one last option outside of weighing and measuring that I will share. This one is probably my favorite, mostly because you don't need to invest in a whole new set of dinnerware.  The Meal Measure Portion Control Tool gives you the same visual tool but once you have served yourself, you just pull it off the plate and have a beautiful appetizing meal.  The price is right too!

Getting your portions in shape doesn't have to be difficult and these tools can really help you to get started.  Thanks ALW for a great Pin! I hope it will inspire others to think about how much food they are putting on their plates!