Plating dilemmas

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Imogen Morley
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Plating dilemmas

Post by Imogen Morley » Wed Jul 10, 2013 7:49 am

I've got a couple of plating dilemmas, and could use your advice, guys.
1) Typical sandwiches require virtual stacking - do you put two separate pieces of bread on a plate to fit them properly?
2) Soup - should I put the bowl on a plate and try to fit the rest of my dinner around it or treat it as a meal in itself?
I've been trying to follow the "portion control plate rule": 1/4 grains, 1/4 protein, 1/2 fruit&veg, which makes plating even more confusing.

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Jammin' Jan
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Post by Jammin' Jan » Wed Jul 10, 2013 10:37 am

I used to wonder about this, too, and I'm sure others will post some excellent advice for you, but my own suggestion is this: Don't over-think the No-S rules. You get a plate of food. Aim for moderation, right in the middle between pigging out and deprivation. Enjoy your lunch!
"Self-denial's a great sweetener of pleasure."
(Patrick McGoohan's "The Prisoner")

wosnes
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Re: Plating dilemmas

Post by wosnes » Wed Jul 10, 2013 10:38 am

Imogen Morley wrote:I've got a couple of plating dilemmas, and could use your advice, guys.
1) Typical sandwiches require virtual stacking - do you put two separate pieces of bread on a plate to fit them properly?
2) Soup - should I put the bowl on a plate and try to fit the rest of my dinner around it or treat it as a meal in itself?
I've been trying to follow the "portion control plate rule": 1/4 grains, 1/4 protein, 1/2 fruit&veg, which makes plating even more confusing.
I'm not sure I understand what you're asking about the sandwich, but the finished sandwich goes on the plate, not the individual ingredients. Putting the individual ingredients on would be like putting the individual ingredient for lasagna or another casserole on the plate. You'd end up with not much to eat!

I put the soup bowl on the plate and fit the rest of the meal around it. Soup can be difficult because of size and shape of bowls. I can put the same serving of soup into 3 different sized bowls and they range from taking up about 1/3 of the plate to nearly all of the plate with barely enough room left for bread/crackers. I try not to use that large bowl.

I try to follow the 1/2 vegetable/fruit, 1/4 starch, 1/4 protein advice, too, but I find it only works well for one meal daily for me. It doesn't work at all for most breakfasts. It might work for lunch, but usually it doesn't. Dinner, or the main meal of the day, is the only meal that formula usually works, but there are plenty of times it doesn't work well for that, either. So I don't worry about it.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

jw
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Post by jw » Wed Jul 10, 2013 11:51 am

Thanks for asking that, Imogen Morley -- I had the same questions and I am happy to read the relaxed responses!

Imogen Morley
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Post by Imogen Morley » Wed Jul 10, 2013 12:26 pm

Thanks, wosnes, I always enjoy hearing from you :) Whenever I try to keep the proportions right, I end up completely confused. I eat a lot of mixed dishes like stir fries and noodles, and always wonder about the proper serving size. Any ideas here? Putting rice, meat, and veggies separately on a plate would be silly and pretty tiresome. I'm very short (5' 1"), and eyeballing "normal serving" or comparing to fellow eaters usually backfires - taller, larger people can simply eat more.

wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Wed Jul 10, 2013 1:17 pm

Imogen Morley wrote:Thanks, wosnes, I always enjoy hearing from you :) Whenever I try to keep the proportions right, I end up completely confused. I eat a lot of mixed dishes like stir fries and noodles, and always wonder about the proper serving size. Any ideas here? Putting rice, meat, and veggies separately on a plate would be silly and pretty tiresome. I'm very short (5' 1"), and eyeballing "normal serving" or comparing to fellow eaters usually backfires - taller, larger people can simply eat more.
When doing things like stir-fries with rice, use about a standard serving of rice (1/2 cup) and about 1 - 1 1/2 cups of the stir fry. With things like lasagna and casseroles, I allow about 1/3 of the plate for that aim that the remainder is divided between vegetables and fruit.

I've been doing some Asian noodle dishes recently and depending on how many vegetables are in it, I may just add some fruit to the meal.

Truly, I don't look at one meal any more and not even one day's meals. I'll have meals that are more meat-centered and meals that are more vegetable or starch-centered. As long as I get variety over the course of a few days, I think it all balances out in the end. I'm not going to worry about it.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

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Blithe Morning
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Post by Blithe Morning » Wed Jul 10, 2013 3:07 pm

Oh, those mixed meals can be so challenging to those of us who like the 1/4, 1/4, 1/2 guideline.

Like Wosnes, I try not to over think it. If it's a one dish veggie/meat,/starch combo, I put it on the plate and that's that. Ideally, veggies will be the greatest percentage of the three but if not don't worry. As long as you are eating fruit and veg at most meals over the course of a week, I think you are ok.

I like Wosne's suggestion about portions for noodle and rice dishes. Measuring out servings doesn't have to be difficult. Just use a measuring cup as your serving spoon.

With soup, it depends on the soup and the meal. A really hearty dinner soup gets a half plate of salad and maybe a chunk of bread. A lighter soup, like plain tomato, gets a sandwich and maybe a few chips. For lunch, I just might have a cup of soup and crackers or bread. Essentially at dinner I eat soup and a very full half plate, at lunch it's just the soup with whatever I can fit on top on the rim.

This may sound complicated but it's based on my family norms and I don't have to think about it. It's just the way it is with soup around here.

wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Wed Jul 10, 2013 5:38 pm

Blithe Morning wrote:
I like Wosne's suggestion about portions for noodle and rice dishes. Measuring out servings doesn't have to be difficult. Just use a measuring cup as your serving spoon.
I might measure once or twice, then I eyeball it. As long as my plate isn't too full (with rare exceptions), I'm good.

One of those exceptions is Salad Niçoise, or something like it. I can fill my plate with that and 1) not be overly full, and 2) not consume too many calories.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

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Jethro
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Post by Jethro » Thu Jul 11, 2013 12:04 am

Place your bowl on the normal plate you usually use. Put a cover on the bowl of soup and put on top of it whatever else you intend to it.

If it looks to you like too much food, congratulations.

NOS one plate no seconds rule is intended for you to become visually aware of how much you are eating and reduce the volume if it looks like too much.
"Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence."
- Vince Lombardi

Sometimes you need to take one step back for every two steps forward.

Time heals everything!

90% of a diet is 60% mental

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Thu Jul 11, 2013 12:36 am

I, too, use various bowl sizes for soup or "wet" things, and vary what I add to the plate according to the density of the foods.

I've always roughed out the volume of the servings of things by using my hand: the palm is a serving of protein, the fist is a serving of starch or fruit, two fists is a serving of veggie, a thumb is a serving of fat. I never have more than one serving of protein, but I may of starch, and certainly of veggie. Yes, it can get a little fuzzy when the foods are mixed up, but I've combined the parts myself so often that I have a ballpark idea of what they look like in about those ratios. If I'm eating out, I err on the side of a less than more because the foods are normally richer and I'll feel too full later if I eat the same volume. It does mean I have to take my time more with the meal, but I am already a slow eater by design, and I eat out normally with others, so I let conversation slow things further.

But if you are going by your own hand to guide you, it should help mitigate the height factor.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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Jethro
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Post by Jethro » Thu Jul 11, 2013 2:42 pm

oolala53 wrote:I've always roughed out the volume of the servings of things by using my hand: the palm is a serving of protein, the fist is a serving of starch or fruit, two fists is a serving of veggie, a thumb is a serving of fat. I never have more than one serving of protein, but I may of starch, and certainly of veggie. Yes, it can get a little fuzzy when the foods are mixed up, but I've combined the parts myself so often that I have a ballpark idea of what they look like in about those ratios. If I'm eating out, I err on the side of a less than more because the foods are normally richer and I'll feel too full later if I eat the same volume. It does mean I have to take my time more with the meal, but I am already a slow eater by design, and I eat out normally with others, so I let conversation slow things further.

But if you are going by your own hand to guide you, it should help mitigate the height factor.
Excellent points!

Is this eating style what's taken you to your healthy weight?

Do you include your palm fingers in your measure?

Does it vary on S days?
"Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence."
- Vince Lombardi

Sometimes you need to take one step back for every two steps forward.

Time heals everything!

90% of a diet is 60% mental

oolala53
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Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Sat Jul 13, 2013 4:46 am

I don't use my fingers for measurement, but maybe in the future?

I had actually been eating meals similar to this for several years, but I was a terrible binger.

On weekends, at this point, I actually often eat even less in volume because I eat out some and food at restaurants is richer. I certainly can't eat a whole plate of restaurant meals. I probably could find lighter foods out, but they aren't usually as good! I also had wild S days for over 2 years, but I finally got tired of them.

It's actually hard to eat as little as I'm hungry for on weekends. If I have lunch out, I probably won't get really hungry for a meal again that day, but I'll still wish that I would. I will often choose to eat either a plate of raw vegetables or vegetable soup. It gives me a chance to chew without getting too full. I wish that my desire for food matched my true hunger. But it's not over.

Don't mean to hijack this thread.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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