Or, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. . .
Portion sizes have increased dramatically in our country in the past several decades – you can look at your grandmother’s plates and bowls to see the truth in this. Everything from hamburgers to soda pop to bagels are now 2-5x larger than they used to be.
It turns out kids eat more when they are offered a larger portion to begin with, so by offering less, you can help your kids not to overeat. It is important to make seconds available if they ask for them, however – it does not work to keep kids hungry (they tend to sneak food and can even develop eating disorders if food is restricted too tightly.)
Some tips:
Use smaller plates and bowls- Divide up your plate: ½ the plate should be fruits and vegetables, ¼ grains, ¼ lean protein
- Look at the serving size on the Nutrition Facts label on the products you buy – you may realize you are routinely eating or offering 3 or 4 “servings” each time you serve them
- At restaurants, send half your plate back to the kitchen to be wrapped up as soon as you can without being rude
- At fast food restaurants, order a child’s portion for an adult or order regular portions and split them between two people
- Take out your measuring cups to train yourself using dry rice or beans to know what recommended portion sizes look like in your everyday bowls.
- Cancel your child’s membership to the “clean plate club” – let them eat what they want and leave the rest.
Eyeballing Portions:
Tips: Use what you have “on hand”
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| Meat | 2-3 ounces | Your palm (no fingers) or a deck of cards |
| Pasta or rice, vegetables, fruit | ½ Cup | Tennis ball, ½ baseball |
| Bread, ½ bagel, pancake | 1 slice | Computer disc |
| Peanut butter | 2 Tablespoons | Ping Pong Ball |
| Cheese | 1 ounce | Your Thumb, or 4 dice |
See the following tips on how much your children should be eating each day, depending on their age.
| Food |
Daily Portion Size/Age |
|||
| Age | 2 years | 4 years | 6 years | 10 years |
| Calories/Sex | 1000 both | 1400 both | 1600 M1400 F | 1800 both |
| Grains (at least half whole grains) | 2 oz | 5 oz | 5 oz | 6 oz |
| Vegetables | 1 cup | 1 ½ Cups | 2 Cups M1 ½ C F | 2 ½ Cups |
| Fruits | 1 cup | 1 ½ Cups | 1 ½ Cups | 2 Cups |
| Milk/Yogurt/Cheese¯ | 2 cups | 2 cups | 3 cups M2 cups F | 3 cups |
| Meat, poultry, fish, beans and peas, eggs and nuts | 2 oz | 4 oz | 5 oz M4 oz F | 5 oz |
| Extra fats and sugars – limit to | <165 cal/d | <170 cal/d | <130M<170 F | <265 cal/d |
| Oils | 3 tsp/d | 4 tsp/d | 5M/4F tsp/d | 6 tsp/d |
Grain portions: 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of ready-to-eat cereal, or ½ cup of cooked rice, cooked pasta, or cooked cereal can be considered as 1 ounce equivalent
**Milk/Yogurt/Cheese portions: 1 cup of milk or yogurt, 1 ½ ounces of natural cheese, or 2 ounces of processed cheese can be considered as 1 cup from the milk group.
Meat, poultry, fish, beans and peas, eggs and nuts: 1 ounce of meat, poultry or fish, ¼ cup cooked, dried beans, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, or ½ ounce of nuts or seeds can be considered as 1 ounce equivalent from the meat and beans group.
**Many of us think that extra portions of beans, peas, eggs, and nuts can be substituted for some servings of dairy.
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