Everyday Systems

how much of each one seems ok to eat at dinner?

Your mileage will vary.

Basic rules - no more than one plateful of all food. Divided as you will.

If you're new, go with that until you get the desire to eat "forbidden" food out of your system, then moderate however it seems sensible to you. Silliness will be evident and embarrassing over time.

(My own personal apportionment is approximately 1/2 plate fruit/veg, 1/4 lean protein, 1/4 carbs... adjusted for combo foods like a pasta entree. But that's what I LIKE and feel good on. Some people have figured out that they can't handle carbs and cut further; others love them and make space for them on the plate.)

Well, there are really three answers here:

1. As much as you want. Most traditional diets around the world are based on a starch and filled in with vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, dairy and eggs as they are available and affordable. The Italian diet includes lots of pasta and the Peruvian diet has been based on potatoes. The Japanese eat tons of white rice. As Sophia Loren said, "Everything you see here I owe to spaghetti."

There was a segment on The Potato Diet on the Today Show recently about The Potato Diet. As the man who did the experiment says, it's not meant to be the next fad diet, but an experiment to show that potatoes are a nutritious food and part of a healthy diet. It's not the first time something like this has been done and the results were the same.

When I'm feeling poor, my diet becomes heavily potato-based filled in with the other things as I can afford them. Never fails -- I lose weight.

2. 1/4 of your plate when pasta or potatoes are a side dish. The remainder of the plate is 1/4 meat/fish/poultry and 1/2 vegetables.

3. 1/3 of your plate when the main dish is a mixed dish. The remaining 2/3 should be vegetables and/or fruit.

But, as KCCC said, one plate of food divided as you choose. It can be very heavy on potatoes or pasta if you choose.

The plate should not be piled so high that you can't carry it to the table without spilling it.

Nicest of the Damned wrote:The plate should not be piled so high that you can't carry it to the table without spilling it.

This!

I won't get too specific, but just for me, I find that if I put a reasonable amount of the other stuff, like salad and veg on the plate first, then the amount of pasta and sauce that fits is just about right. If I start with the pasta or potatoes, I find the plate takes on a very heavy feel , and there is really not much room left for the more "healthy" stuff.