Everyday Systems

Playing around with our ideas of what makes a satisfying meal, my daughter and I were discussing what makes a meal satisfying. We came up with some things that make it enjoyable for us but while we were at it and experimenting with different kinds of meals, we did notice one thing you may be interested in.

We seem to like a meal with variety. Often our meals in the past were a couple of different items. Believe it or not, one of my daughter's favorite meals is Nancy Drew's Favorite Chicken and Rice casserole (vegetarian style, of course!) with a veggie. That's pretty much just two items served. Or her favorite lunch was pasta and a veggie. again, just two items. Maybe breakfast would be a deviled egg and toast. Yes, you can count, two items. Somehow we always have two items. Soup and bread, casserole and a veggie, et c.

Playing around with things, though, we've discovered that we much prefer a meal built of several items that may be very different but still delicious. For example, for lunch, one of my daughter's favorites is canned ravioli. This is a treat she almost never gets so when she does get it, she's kind of excited. Previously she'd eat almost the whole can and a veggie (if I made her). Now, she would prefer to have a small serving of ravioli, an apple, a muffin cup with a dollop of yogurt and honey, and a handful of nuts. She finds this more enjoyable to eat and longer lasting in her tummy. So, I tried this out for myself and I do, too!

Lately now, we've been having our meals like this. Instead of every meal always being those two standard items, we've been building our meals with many more components. Even my husband noticed and seems to like it better.


It's still easy. Yesterday we had a deviled egg, a muffin cup with warm peanut butter and cold jelly (a strange favorite of my daughter), a handful of nuts and dried cherries, and a small apple. It was very satisfying and kept us full till lunch and was just somehow better than having more of one or two things. Less of several seems to satisfy us better.


So, just a little food for thought . . . you might like to try it out.

You're probably on to something important.

When I make bento, I do have little bits and bites of several different kinds of foods. They're incredibly satisfying little meals.

That's why I don't like chopped mixed salads like Cobb. Every bite tastes the same and it gets boring after a while.

Funny you should mention that, MR. Yesterday I couldn't decide what I wanted for lunch, so I had a plate with a piece of sourdough bread, one small chunk each of two different kinds of cheese, a small bunch of concord grapes and a piece of a banana with peanut butter on top. It was probably one of the most satisfying meals I've had in a long time. How odd.

that's kind of how we stumbled on it . . . we had some *delicious* tomato soup left over. It wasn't really enough for two full (if you know what I mean )servings but just enough for each of us to have a bit. We rounded it out with some manchego ch, a couple of slices each of smoked tempeh, and an apple. It was so satisfying. Then when my daughter had her much coveted can of ravioli, she decided to do that, too. Mostly, I think, so her ravioli would last longer. From there we began to see a little pattern and . . . we like it!

guadopt1997 wrote:That's why I don't like chopped mixed salads like Cobb. Every bite tastes the same and it gets boring after a while.

I like Cobb salad, but you could do it more like a Nicoise with everything separate and enjoy the different tastes.

I totally agree. Three items seems to be the magic number for me - less than that and I'm just not satisfied. (I often have more variety.)

And I've noticed - particularly with pasta - that the portions of "the main thing" have shrunk considerably over time. I eat a LOT more salad than I used to, and am not happy if my veggie intake falls too low. (Something to remember on S-days, lol!)

One of my favorite meals when I go to IHOP is to get One Cheese Blintz with apples; One Slice French Toast and Two eggs scrambled. (Definite S day meal) I get a small portion of two of my favorites, plus the eggs for good protein. A very satisfying and filling meal.

Yes, this is a great way to eat! I figured this out on my own when I was first starting No S a few months ago, because I was trying to fill my plate in such a way that would keep me satisfied for several hours. Now, I usually have 3-4 things with each meal. I find that if I have more than 4, the meal gets too overwhelming.
Just to give an example, my dinner tonight was a chicken patty with barbecue sauce, macaroni and cheese, and green beans with almonds. It was SO good!

This is what my lunch is like most days:

Two or three of these - 1 tomato / chunk cucumber / carrot / peas in pods / beetroot / veggies in general

One or two of these - 1 apple / grapes / peach / pear / pawpaw / banana / mango

Protein of some kind - yoghurt / cheese / cold meat / tuna / nuts / eggs

I cut them all up at work and have them nicely placed on a plate and it fills me for the day.

KCCC wrote:I totally agree. Three items seems to be the magic number for me - less than that and I'm just not satisfied. (I often have more variety.)

That's me too - three items! I realized this a long time ago on my first round with NoS when someone (maybe it was you, KCCC!) posted about needing three items on their plate at lunch to feel satisfied...I started paying attention and noticed that I did too! On the days when my lunch had three items, I was less likely to be *searching* for something else in the afternoon...funny!

Mimi

I wonder why, though. Why is less overall but more variety be more satisfying than more overall but less variety.

I can see that it's true, I just wonder why.

It's a mystery! Doesn't really make any sense...

Can anyone shed some light on this?

Actually, it probably is rooted in nutritional variety, Mimi. Wider range of foods certainly would mean more opportunities to get a wider range of vitamins.

When marketing very processed food, one important technique is to make sure there's several layers of tastes. Think of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Most flavors have many flavors IN them.

Mounted Ranger! wrote:I wonder why, though. Why is less overall but more variety be more satisfying than more overall but less variety.

I can see that it's true, I just wonder why.

Because it looks like you ate more? How full you feel doesn't necessarily have to do with the calories or the volume or the weight of the food you ate, I guess - when you have a bigger meal, you usually include more variety, so when you have a smaller meal but still have more variety, it looks like a bigger meal - same thing with smaller plates etc. It's a way to trick yourself.

This reminds me a lot of simple lunches -- bread, cheese, fruit, and raw vegetables. Simple and simply satisfying.