If you dine out regularly, you know that the most important thing is portion control- not so much what you eat, but HOW MUCH you eat. These days, as America’s collective waistline get bigger, our plates and portions get bigger as well. When I was kid, I remember dining out with my family getting desert. Why? Because we weren’t soooo full that we felt like we were going to burst. The portions were smaller then, and we rarely took home leftovers. Appetizers were a small basket of fries or maybe some bread. Nowadays, the appetizers are as big as the main courses used to be. It’s no wonder that we are all getting bigger. Combine that with a more sedentary lifestyle, and it’s obvious why we are having weight issues.
Whenever I dine out and see the ginormous portions, I’m reminded of a South Park parody of Suzanne Struthers’ campaign to feed children in Africa. Due to a shipping mistake, the boys in South Park receive an African child instead of the watch they should have received. At one point in the show, they take the child to a restaurant, at try to explain the concept of an appetizer. As Eric Cartman explains it, “This is what you eat before you eat, so that you’ll be more hungry.” I couldn’t find the scene in question online, but I found a synopsis of the episode at tv.com.
Kimberly Palmer, on U.S. News’ Alpha Consumer blog, has the same idea.
As I found myself purchasing a monstrous 24-ounce smoothie yesterday, I had to wonder: When did 24 ounces become a “normal”-size drink?
We Americans must train ourselves to feel full on smaller portions, but we need the restaurant industry to help us out. So to the restaurant industry I say this, “Throw us a bone, here! Help us out!” (But not a large bone, or one inside a 20-ounce T-bone.)
Hefty Portions Hurt Waists and Wallets - Alpha Consumer (usnews.com)