Portion control

RestoringRyan
RestoringRyan Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I’m trying to work on my portion control so I can continue to enjoy the foods I love in moderation. Ie: sliders instead of burgers. Does anyone have any ideas on foods you can buy mini versions or individual portions of?
Thanks in advance

Replies

  • RestoringRyan
    RestoringRyan Posts: 4 Member
    I think it’s a great idea. Sometimes you can settle a craving for donut by eating a donut hole. It doesn’t cost any money and it’s way less calories
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    edited February 2019
    I often find it best to make a batch of my own in portions I prefer (and with full control) and freeze in portions in these cases. Depending where you live, one may not find a lot of smaller portioned items to buy.

    I also have zero issues sometimes spending a wee bit more to buy the smaller portions to help keep me on track on some products.

    you could buy normal size and pre-cut everything (some things may cut ok frozen?)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,412 Member
    RestoringRyan wrote: »
    I think it’s a great idea. Sometimes you can settle a craving for donut by eating a donut hole. It doesn’t cost any money and it’s way less calories

    Wait. Who can eat one donut hole? :lol:

    My strategy is to have many different meals and snacks of which I already know the macros and calories. I try to have my three meals a day and a snack/dessert after dinner and I know from experience what different foods will fit depending on what I need.

    I think it's just about practicing and studying the FOOD diary. Most of my meals are between 300-500 calories, and I probably have a hundred or so saved to MEALS. It's easy for me to just move things around until they fit.
  • wandering44
    wandering44 Posts: 27 Member
    We purchased a high end kitchen scale several years ago. When I cook, especially a casserole, I weight/measure all ingredients. I weigh the end dish and figure out how many servings are in the dish and split that up based on the overall weight. I have a dish with 1 lb of ground hamburger - so that is 4 servings based on the weight. I input the ingredients on MFP's website which gives me the nutritional values of each serving also. Hope this helps. It is really a time saver to "batch".
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    edited February 2019
    I buy a 2 pound salmon filet and cut into 4 ounce portions. From Sams Club that's $4 per serving.

    Freeze them and bring them out one at a time. 40 calories per ounce skinless. 1/2 tbsp of butter in the saute pan, brown on both sides, cover and cook on low for a couple of minutes, serve with salad or rice. Hard to get to 300 calories in a salad.
  • egbert2016
    egbert2016 Posts: 37 Member
    Portion control is a big issue for me. So I love individualized portions of food and I use them a lot. I find it makes my life easier because they are easy to track and they are easy to take on the go. It is also easier for meal planning/prepping because they have a longer shelf life and I can buy enough to last the week (or longer) without worrying about them spoiling and going to waste. I also like that I have several "go to" meals/snacks that I already know the calorie counts.

    Here are some of my favorites:

    *Good Foods Avocado Smash Singles (90 calories each - I make avocado toast by spreading this on a slice of Sesame Ezekiel bread toast)
    *Kirkland Red Grapefruit Cup (110 calories per cup - each cup contains 2 servings of 55 calories each, but I eat an entire cup at a time. This is a sweet, satisfying treat.)
    *Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt cups (80 calories, many flavors to choose from)
    *Good Foods Tzatziki Style Chicken Salad ( 150 calories per cup - I like to eat this with Trader Joe's Rice crackers. I count out 8 rice crackers and put the in a baggie to take with me)
    *Skinny Pop popcorn (100 calories per bag)
    *Aldi Fit & Actice Baked Chocolate Wafers (100 calories per bag)

    I am also a strong advocate of using pre-measuring items and setting them aside for myself to use in meal prep. For example, I will buy a large bag of Aldi Cheddar Rice cakes and make little bags with 8 rice cakes each (70 calories). I make myself 3 or 4 portions for the week and then let the kids eat the rest for snacks or lunches. I do the same thing with meals I cook myself. If I make a batch of spaghetti or soup or whatever, I make enough to serve the entire family and also have left overs. I will use my food scale to measure out some individual servings and package them up separately and put them in the fridge or freezer for future meals. If they go in the freezer, I write the date and calorie count so it's easy to track. I think of these as my homemade "frozen dinners."

    In the beginning, I did a lot more meal prepping and planning ahead of exactly what I would eat. That structure was helpful for me in the beginning because I needed the restriction. Now that I've been at it for a couple of months, I have a better handle on my hunger and I give myself a little freedom of choice. If I get a little hungry in the late afternoon and I want a snack, I have several options to choose from that I know are in the 80-250 calorie range. If I had a light lunch, I'll have a heavier snack and vice versa. The pre-portioned servings helps me to have a little treat without going overboard and eating the entire bag/box/cake!



  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,091 Member
    RestoringRyan wrote: »
    I think it’s a great idea. Sometimes you can settle a craving for donut by eating a donut hole. It doesn’t cost any money and it’s way less calories

    Where are they handing out donut holes for free? Can I get in on this?
  • RestoringRyan
    RestoringRyan Posts: 4 Member
    Lmao 😂 I meant to say they don’t cost any more.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,091 Member
    RestoringRyan wrote: »
    Lmao 😂 I meant to say they don’t cost any more.

    Sorry. In my neck of the woods, if you're buying a type of donut that has a hole in it, you don't get the dough that was in the hole. They sell donut holes separately. So they do cost more.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,091 Member
    crazyravr wrote: »
    RestoringRyan wrote: »
    Lmao 😂 I meant to say they don’t cost any more.

    My point exactly. Buy the donut, cut into 4 and have 4 donut "holes" for the price of one.

    Those quarters, sir, are not donut holes. Donut holes have fried crusty exteriors all the way around, not exposed crumb.

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