Made spaghetti and meatballs tonight.... Portion so small!

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TimeFourMe
TimeFourMe Posts: 104 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Three small meatballs, 3 oz of pasta, and less than half a cup of sauce was 525 calories! I used to eat three to four times that amount of pasta or more. It looked ridiculously small but I am satisfied. I still want more... But I will use a great deal of will power not to eat as I am putting the leftovers away. Wish my hubby were home so I could have him put it away. That has always been a bad habit for me. :(

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  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
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    Me too! Putting away leftovers is a minefield for me!

    Sometimes I'm astounded by how small my portions look, but it makes me feel really good to eat them and then stop.
  • esutka
    esutka Posts: 15 Member
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    Might sound weird but I have been known to put things on smaller plates so it takes up more of the plate :)
  • saraann4
    saraann4 Posts: 1,312 Member
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    have a small side salad with it!
  • 130annie
    130annie Posts: 339 Member
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    I usually get a bowl. Line it with salad, lettuce tomato, onion cuke, then put on my pasta and sauce..I doesn't look so small then.
  • TimeFourMe
    TimeFourMe Posts: 104 Member
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    Might sound weird but I have been known to put things on smaller plates so it takes up more of the plate :)

    I did that... Knew it was going to be small. Used an oval small dish. Was pretty to look at. Drank water inbetween each bite and savored every morsel. Even used the meatball to scrape the sides to gett all the sauce. Yum!
  • Molly_Maguire
    Molly_Maguire Posts: 1,103 Member
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    have a small side salad with it!

    No, have a BIG side salad with it! As long as you're using a reasonable amount of a low-cal dressing, salads are a great way to fill you up, esp when you load up on extra green peppers, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc!
  • TimeFourMe
    TimeFourMe Posts: 104 Member
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    I usually get a bowl. Line it with salad, lettuce tomato, onion cuke, then put on my pasta and sauce..I doesn't look so small then.

    Interesting! I think I could have done that with spinach. Good idea.
  • like_milk
    like_milk Posts: 79 Member
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    A raw spinach salad is wonderful. With meals like that I like to cover over half my plate with salad and then when I eat the salad I dab it in the sauce so I don't have to dress it.

    Also, follow the meal with a piece of fruit, I know it's more calories but it will help fill you up.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    Spinach is a great idea. I lined my gnocchi bowl with lettuce last night but spinach would have been better!
  • corneredbycorn
    corneredbycorn Posts: 267 Member
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    Might sound weird but I have been known to put things on smaller plates so it takes up more of the plate :)

    I use small plates all the time. It helps me a ton! Totally psychological, but it works.
  • boatsie77
    boatsie77 Posts: 480 Member
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    Use about 1 oz of penne pasta; then cut up a boat-load of veggies in chunks (onion, peppers, zukes, carrots, cherry tomato) toss lightly with olive oil and garlic and roast in HOT oven tossing every 10 - 15 mins till lightly carmelized and sweet. Combine with cooked penne pasta, meat & sauce in large bowl...sprinkle with some parm cheese, enjoy.
  • angeleyes1015
    angeleyes1015 Posts: 7 Member
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    satisfying and less calories if instead of pasta use speghetti squash - get a vegetable in at the same time
  • kandilynn03
    kandilynn03 Posts: 110 Member
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    I had a pasta-y meal tonight, I filled over half the small plate with salad, then put the noodles and chicken and sauce on the other side. The salad was very filling, too.

    When I make spaghetti, I use meat sauce instead of meat balls, because then I can fill it with veggies like onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, and zucchini and the sauce goes a lot further, especially if I use whole wheat noodles. (Actually, I use barilla plus noodles, they taste better than most whole wheat noodles.)
  • Me88881234
    Me88881234 Posts: 6
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    Might sound weird but I have been known to put things on smaller plates so it takes up more of the plate :)

    There has been a lot of research into the effect of smaller plates and fullness, and if your plate is smaller you do eat less and feel fuller. It is weird, but it works.
  • crunchybubblez
    crunchybubblez Posts: 387 Member
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    Three small meatballs, 3 oz of pasta, and less than half a cup of sauce was 525 calories! I used to eat three to four times that amount of pasta or more. It looked ridiculously small but I am satisfied. I still want more... But I will use a great deal of will power not to eat as I am putting the leftovers away. Wish my hubby were home so I could have him put it away. That has always been a bad habit for me. :(

    Have you tried using an alternative pasta?
    I like using sh*take, quinoa, or brown rice pastas.
    They're more filling thand normal pasta.
    Butternut squash pasta is supposedly really good too.
  • tcatcarson
    tcatcarson Posts: 227 Member
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    "Me too! Putting away leftovers is a minefield for me!"

    Part of your retraining needs to be making the right amount of food to avoid leftovers in the first place! Saves money too...
  • beccamh
    beccamh Posts: 85 Member
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    Try spaghetti squash! We made this last night and I ate 1.5 cups of "pasta", .5 cup sauce and 5 turkey meatballs for around 250 calories. So good!

    Cut the squash in half and bake @ 375 for 45min or so until you can pierce the skin easily with a fork. Then just scoop out the "pasta".
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
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    I had spaghetti and meatballs last night too! I agree that it did seem a bit small at first, especially the sauce but once I mixed it all together and took my time eating it, it was just right. It certainly helps that I pre-logged everything so I already knew what it was adding up to. That really helps me not grab an extra piece of garlic bread or slap an extra meatball on my plate.

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