Everyday Systems

Do any of you have guidelines for when you eat without using a plate? I’ve noticed a lot of my food I eat is in bowls—salads, stews, etc—and I’m wondering what other people do in these situations.

I noticed today that I didn’t eat a single meal where I used a plate: for breakfast I had hardboiled eggs and a protein bar I make myself—no plate was used; for lunch I had a stew that I had packed into a canning jar—no plate was used; and for dinner I had salad and a stir fry and ate both out of bowls.

Does anyone have general rules they use when eating food that isn’t plated? Or should I be trying to plate these things if at all possible, at least in the beginning to see what they would look like on a plate? I guess stew can be plated even if it’s messy and not very much fun to eat that way.

The idea is to define the meal in some way even though it may not be on a plate. I think the key is to have portions which you can look at and judge that it is a reasonable meal. In other words, assemble your meal and set it all in front of you, and you will know if it is excessive or not. Then eat only that, no seconds.

I like to spread my salads on a plate so I can drizzle my salad dressing over it more evenly than you can in a bowl. Of course I will then have a separate bowl or plate with perhaps soup or a sandwich.

r.jean wrote: assemble your meal and set it all in front of you, and you will know if it is excessive or not. Then eat only that, no seconds.

I second that as the essence of the one plate rule.

So I put everything on a plate. If I have a bowl of something, I put it on a plate. If I had a granola bar and a hardboiled egg, Id put it on a plate before eating. A lot of times, I'll put everything on a plate like a yogurt, an apple and a salad and then I'll take the apple and yogurt off once I start eating.

That's just me though. I use it as a kind of measuring device though. I guess I just like strict definitions. Or at least I think it's important in the beginning.

I, too, would put the things on a plate on N days at least, just to get a sense of their volume. I'm one who likes salad stuff on my plate because I often prefer to eat bites of my main food with a bit of salad, no dressing, though I vary that. Anything that really needs to not touch other food, I'd put in a small bowl on the plate. If I didn't like my food touching, I think I'd still put it on the plate for visuals and then separate it.

Eventually, you can learn how your "bowled" food compares to plated food and just use your bowls.

Come to think of it, since I do like my dense food with a lot of salad and veggies, I sometimes cut it up and mix it all up in a big shallow soup bowl that I consider analogous to a plate. It's just deep enough to hold the volume a bit better than a flat plate.

I agree with previous posters on simply putting it all out in front of me to really get a visual of what I'm eating.

I've noticed that I've never need to eat more than what I can pile up on my hands and carry around. Not that I'm doing this, just an observation.

Of course, it depends on what I'm eating, but even if I'm eating a salad topped with chicken and bread, I would be able to carry it around in my two hands.

I generally go with one bowl being interchangeable with one plate. However, I recently realised that I was overeating pretty substantially when using our big bowls for dense foods like pasta with bolognese or stir fry with rice. So, I got out plates instead, and experimented a bit. It turns out that one of our big bowls holds a bit too much for me - you can fit the same amount on a plate, but it is piled pretty high and definitely looks like too much!

So yeah, don't worry about bowls, but remember that with denser foods deep bowls may be a little deceptive.

Plate or bowl, most people will need to use discretion regarding dense food.

I struggled with the plate or bowl servings because I either like everything mixed together or completely separate—depending on what I am eating. I find it easiest to just use my digital scale to measure out my calorie-dense foods. Less anxiety for me.

I've used my scale or a measuring cup as a "serving" spoon. (I eat alone most of the time, so.) It's not forbidden by any means. If that's sustainable for you, mazel tov. (But it's good to get at least a little good at visuals for when you eat out.)

Also, I am still focusing on how I *feel* after I eat. If I eat a bowl of pasta, I'm going to feel differently than if I ate a portabello salad.

The goal here is to step away feeling satisfied without stuffed.