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Home » Giveaways » 6 Tips for Perfect Portioning #GiveUpBinningFood

6 Tips for Perfect Portioning #GiveUpBinningFood

Paid Partnership

Published on March 22, 2017 by Elizabeth Atia 112 Comments
Last Updated on March 30, 2017

In collaboration with Love Food Hate Waste.

shutterstock_340562492 By Stasique

Hand’s up, who else is terrible at gauging how much pasta to cook, how many potatoes will feed the family and how much rice is needed? Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve been cooking regularly since I was 12, and I am still rubbish at measuring out these ingredients by eye! I either make way too much or far too little. There’s no in between.

It’s a good thing we love leftovers in our house! I rely on my digital scales to weigh out nearly everything. This helps prevent food waste, and it also helps me keep track of what I’m eating so that I don’t pile on the pounds! 

Korean Beef Bibimbap

Korean Beef Bibimbap – uses up leftover rice and vegetables

This week, for the 40-day Give Up Binning Food challenge for Lent with Love Food Hate Waste, we’re sharing our top tips to working out correct portions because enough is enough. Bigger is not always better. In fact, it’s very much the opposite when it comes to food. Food waste is heavily impacted by the lure of ‘bigger’. It starts with overbuying as we fall for the endless, seemingly good value supermarket deals; continues in the kitchen with portioning errors during cooking; and ends with oversized meals that we just can’t finish. I’m reminded of my grandfather’s observation that ‘my eyes were bigger than my belly’ at the dinner table. As a result, we throw out lots of perfectly good food which could have been avoided with just a bit more thought. The key is understanding when enough is… enough.

Table of Contents

  • 10 TIPS FOR PERFECT PORTIONING
  • JOIN US WITH THE NO WASTE FOOD CHALLENGE!
  • HOW TO ENTER
  • TERMS & CONDITIONS

10 TIPS FOR PERFECT PORTIONING

  • An average single portion of spaghetti should easily be able to fill up the space of a one penny coin. This weighs between 70-80 grams for dried (100-110 grams for fresh pasta) per person. Have you cooked too much pasta? No worries, simply rinse with cold water and freeze! Or, why not use it up in a Spaghetti Carbonara Frittata.
  • An average single portion of rice is measured by filling a small yogurt pot with uncooked rice. Alternatively, weigh out between 60-90 grams, depending on how hungry you are. Alternatively, if you’re pressed for time, pre-packaged rice portions are very convenient. Leftover rice is incredibly versatile, I like mine in a Korean Beef Bibimbap (the perfect recipe for using up fridge leftovers!).
  • A single portion of protein, like chicken breast or bolognese sauce, is about the size of your palm. Use up leftover chicken in a Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake, or freeze for later. Leftover bolognese freezes well for a quick midweek meal.
  • Dinner parties are often over-catered. Ask your friends to help themselves in a buffet style party instead of serving platefuls as they can decide what they want to eat, and in what quantities. Offer guests little take-home portions from the leftover food. It’s both generous and practical too.
  • The Potato Council recommends 175g of potatoes per person, or 2 – 4 egg-sized new potatoes. Leftover cold boiled potatoes make a wicked Leftover Roast Beef & Potato Hash or Spanish Omelette, while mashed potatoes can be used up in Herbed Potato Picnic Bannocks, Wild Garlic Tattie Scones or even in a Chocolate Cake!  Don’t throw those potato peelings away either, roast them instead for a delicious snack!
  • Smaller plates mean smaller eating portions. It’s better to go for seconds than to throw out food from your plate that you couldn’t finish. This helps with the waistline too, as a smaller plate gives the illusion of a larger meal.

Check out the latest Love Food Hate Waste video below on portioning with Liberty London Girl for some more fantastic tips! Don’t forget to subscribe to the Love Food Hate Waste newsletter too to have food waste prevention tips and tricks delivered straight to your inbox every week!

The six-week long food waste prevention #GiveUpBinningFood campaign running throughout Lent is broken down into weekly themes to help make reducing food waste at home a more attainable goal. These themes are:

1st March (week 1) Meal planning: Tip for Weekly Meal Planning
8th March (week 2) Storage: Food Storage Tips 
15th March (week 3) Fridge focus: How to Make the Most Out of My Fridge
22nd March (week 4) Portioning – how much should I use?
29th March (week 5) Food labels – what does this mean?
5th – 13th April (week 6) Leftovers – what can I do with my ingredients?

JOIN US WITH THE NO WASTE FOOD CHALLENGE!

I challenge you, dear reader, to share your own recipes and tips to help prevent food waste! You don’t have to have a blog to enter, simply let me know your recipe or suggestion in the comments below and fill out the Rafflecopter form. You can share an image of your dish, if you like, on Twitter as an extra entry option. Tag me @tangoraindrop and use the hashtag #nowastefoodchallenge to help spread the word! I will include a selection of my favourites in next month’s round-up, where we’ll get to do the challenge all over again! Bloggers – link up with the linky tool, as usual, to be included in the roundup – click here for the full No Waste Food Challenge rules. If you want to enter the giveaway, leave a comment and enter via the Rafflecopter form.

HOW TO ENTER

For your chance to win a £25 Amazon Gift Voucher enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Share your recipe, meal planning or food waste prevention tip in the blog comments. Come back and tweet about the giveaway every day for more chances to win!

TERMS & CONDITIONS

This giveaway is open to UK entries only. Entrants must be age 18 or over. The winner will need to respond within 30 days of being contacted; failure to do this may result in another winner being selected.

The prize is offered and provided by Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary. The prize is to win a £25 Amazon Gift Voucher. There is no cash alternative and the prize is not transferable.

There is no entry fee and no purchase is necessary to enter this giveaway.

The promoter (Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary) reserves the right to cancel or amend the giveaway and these terms and conditions without notice.

Entry into our giveaways will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.

If you need some help using Rafflecopter, here’s a quick clip to show you how. Rafflecopter will pick the winner at random from all the entries received. I will be verifying entries. Any automated entries or those who have claimed they have made the mandatory blog post comment and really haven’t will be disqualified. It’s mandatory! Please make sure your comment is eight words or longer or Google views it as spam and this negatively affects my spam score. All entries with comments fewer than the mandatory 8 words will be disqualified and deleted.

Closing date is midnight (that’s 00:00 hours, 12 am on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning) on Wednesday 29  March 2017 (GMT). The winner will be announced afterwards.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



This is a paid post in collaboration with Love Food Hate Waste, although all thoughts and opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me to do what I love: mess up my kitchen and share recipe stories.

Spaghetti image source: Shutterstock.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Past Giveaways, Sponsored Post Tagged With: giveaway, Love Food Hate Waste, Sponsored Post

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Comments

  1. Diana says

    March 28, 2017 at 9:49 pm

    I have with rice. Half of the cup is a perfect amount for our family! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Emma Davison says

    March 28, 2017 at 9:39 pm

    Weigh the ingredients if you want to ensure portion size

    Reply
  3. Phil Boyle says

    March 28, 2017 at 8:40 pm

    The best way to ease up on overeating is to use smaller dinner plates.

    Reply
  4. Paula Gwynne says

    March 28, 2017 at 8:33 pm

    Ensure you always wash your hands after handling meat. Never use the same chopping board for cutting different meats and disinfect afterwards.

    Reply
  5. Lisa Rhodes says

    March 28, 2017 at 7:28 pm

    measure out what u need

    Reply
  6. Milly Youngman says

    March 28, 2017 at 5:56 pm

    If I make too much, I freeze what’s left!

    Reply
  7. Janet Dring says

    March 28, 2017 at 2:43 pm

    Make sure your plates aren’t too big or you tend to much too much on them

    Reply
  8. Jennifer Roberts says

    March 28, 2017 at 2:20 pm

    Don’t use massive plates and i find you rarely need more than a fist sized portion of one food 🙂

    Reply
  9. Ian Campbell says

    March 28, 2017 at 1:24 pm

    Treat the weighing scales as lord and master, with no disobedience! 🙂

    Reply
  10. Rebecca Miller says

    March 28, 2017 at 1:04 pm

    I hate throwing stuff away and as a result I used to massively over eat… I’d rather eat it than bin it! Obviously that isn’t a good solution either… so now I plan my meals and weigh out the correct portions of rice pasta potato etc. I throw out far less… and now I weigh far less too!

    Reply
  11. Lorraine Crawford says

    March 28, 2017 at 12:32 pm

    Plan meals in advance, and shop with a list and stick to it.

    On line shopping helps avoid straying from the list.

    Wherever possible I use left overs for next days lunches.

    Reply
  12. Jorgelina says

    March 28, 2017 at 12:25 pm

    I like making recipes that will have leftovers for an extra meal for two.

    Reply
  13. Jamie C Millard says

    March 28, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    It’s tough. There’s only 2 of us. Most recipes and meals you buy are designed for more. I’ve started ‘cooking for 4’ if that’s what recipes call for. That way we can eat half and freeze the other half for another meal.

    I’m busy so a 1 meal a day sort of person so big meal works for me. S isn’t, she has her breakfast and lunch so i have to be careful not to go too large with her portion.

    Cooking from scratch helps if you can tailor recipes, that way you can measure effectively.

    We visit a pan asian place and you take a ramekin, fill it with veg, then do the same with protein, then do the same with rice. That has drifted into our kitchen when cooking that type of meal.

    Reply
  14. Angela Wilcox says

    March 28, 2017 at 11:28 am

    I have a mug which is just the right size for measuring rice.

    Reply
  15. Heather Haigh says

    March 28, 2017 at 6:58 am

    Whatever dish I’m making I simply imagine all the ingredients indivicually on a person’s plate and I find it reasonably easy to get the portions right, remembering that pasta approximately doubles when cooked and rice triples in volume.

    Reply
  16. Lillian Fisher says

    March 27, 2017 at 10:25 pm

    I’ve always made too much rice for meals but now have a child’s plastic cup that is the perfect single portion size.

    Reply
  17. Jodie Cook says

    March 27, 2017 at 8:49 pm

    I must admit I just do it by eye, getting used to what’s right.

    Reply
  18. Kristy L Brown says

    March 27, 2017 at 8:22 pm

    I find it easier to dish up with a serving spoon – 3 spoons of this is enough mash for instance

    Reply
  19. Sirley Young says

    March 27, 2017 at 8:09 pm

    I portion my food in plastic containers 🙂 I tend to only portion my own food as my family is not too bothered about it.

    Reply
  20. Amanda tanner says

    March 27, 2017 at 8:04 pm

    Use smaller plates to eat your food from you dat not pile,on the positions too big

    Reply
  21. Sarah Ann says

    March 27, 2017 at 7:43 pm

    I’m not sure how useful my tips are because it’s just guesswork for me but for portioning things like pasta, cereal, rice etc I use a handful or half/full mug depending on the item. I also try and make my plates as colourful as possible with plenty of veg!

    Reply
  22. Emily Hutchinson says

    March 27, 2017 at 3:26 pm

    I don’t stop myself having any of my favourite foods, I just make sure that the proportions are in favor of the healthier stuff, for example having one less sausage and extra carrots to make up for it.

    Reply
  23. Christine Dodd says

    March 27, 2017 at 3:13 pm

    I keep a cup inside my rice container which is exactly the right size for two portions.

    Reply
  24. Sian Budgen says

    March 27, 2017 at 11:37 am

    I always weigh food, especially pastas and rice

    Reply
  25. Em S says

    March 26, 2017 at 10:08 pm

    I agree with your tip regarding using a smaller plate. It definitely saves wating food.

    Reply
  26. Solange says

    March 26, 2017 at 9:51 pm

    Dish up your own food with a small utensil onto a small bowl or plate, and chances are you’ll eat less.

    Reply
  27. mary chez says

    March 26, 2017 at 7:39 pm

    I’m not very good at getting pasta and rice portions right so I always weigh them .

    Reply
  28. Keshia Esgate says

    March 26, 2017 at 7:04 pm

    have 2/3 of your plate as vegetables and try not to overload your plate

    Reply
  29. Margaret Gaskell says

    March 26, 2017 at 5:19 pm

    Planning meals ahead is vital. I only shop once a week with a lit and stick to it. But then half way through the week, sometimes plans change as to who is in / out for meals, and so I can recalculate what’s needed and freeze any surplus to requirements.

    Reply
  30. purpleshoes says

    March 26, 2017 at 3:55 pm

    dont use big plates. I find that I will automatically put more on a bigger plate (which I feel obliged to eat!)

    Reply
  31. Katherine L says

    March 26, 2017 at 3:04 pm

    I always take the suggested portion size on a packet (rice, noodles etc) and up it a little. I always weigh portions, knowing if we only need portions for dinner,or if I need extra portions for next day’s packed lunch. This ensures aren’t over-eating and not wasting either!

    Reply
  32. njs says

    March 26, 2017 at 10:23 am

    Very useful tips, thank you! I will be sharing the rice tips with my housemate especially as he ALWAYS throws some away after cooking which makes me sad/angry every time

    Reply
  33. Mel Turner says

    March 25, 2017 at 8:16 pm

    Use a smaller plate and make sure you fill it up with lots of veg

    Reply
  34. Hannah Smith says

    March 25, 2017 at 6:45 pm

    I try have at least one day a week where I don’t plan dinner and instead I just see what’s left in the fridge and come up with a concoction to use it all up.

    Reply
  35. Ellen Sheppard says

    March 25, 2017 at 6:35 pm

    I’m not very good at portioning, my hubby has an incredibly large appetite so it’s difficult to gauge how much to make sometimes. We rarely have leftovers though 🙂

    Reply
  36. Maggie Coates says

    March 25, 2017 at 5:12 pm

    Weigh things as you put them on your plate. With the right scales, it is easy to put the plate on and reset the tare each time you are going to add something else.

    Reply
  37. Iris W says

    March 25, 2017 at 8:48 am

    I have to admit I’m not very good at it,I often end up with to much but there are some good tips on here

    Reply
  38. Caroline O'Keeffe says

    March 25, 2017 at 8:43 am

    Weigh out portions of cereal and dry pasta and rice, it’s so easy to cook far too much x

    Reply
  39. Sheila Reeves says

    March 25, 2017 at 7:37 am

    I use a small ramekin for portioning out porridge oats, then use that to double up on the liquid – I am guilty of cooking too much pasta so love the tip about how to freeze it, thanks!

    Reply
  40. justine meyer says

    March 24, 2017 at 10:45 pm

    I threw out my big dinner plates and replaced them with smaller ones

    Reply
  41. leanne weir says

    March 24, 2017 at 9:12 pm

    My suggestion is to use smaller dinner plates. They automatically make the portions bigger

    Reply
  42. Katie Skeoch says

    March 24, 2017 at 1:59 pm

    A smaller plate can help! You can’t overload it at mealtimes

    Reply
  43. Peter Bulley says

    March 24, 2017 at 12:29 pm

    For porridge use 1/3 cup per person of oats

    Reply
  44. Susan Ellins says

    March 24, 2017 at 9:51 am

    Use smaller plates makes each portion look bigger

    Reply
  45. Katy Malkin says

    March 24, 2017 at 9:51 am

    When feeding toddlers, only give them a little bit at a time. If they refuse a particular item, at least you can pop it in the fridge or freezer. Other wise it ends up as mush on the floor!

    Reply
  46. Sam Rhodes says

    March 23, 2017 at 11:06 pm

    We only ever use cups to measure out our pasta! it always makes the perfect portion size though!

    Reply
  47. lyn burgess says

    March 23, 2017 at 11:03 pm

    Add an extra veg to the plate and you will not notice if you have cut down on the carbs

    Reply
  48. Tee Simpson says

    March 23, 2017 at 10:37 pm

    I try to portion iut each persons portion before cooking. I use my hands and cups to measure

    Reply
  49. Sophie Foulds says

    March 23, 2017 at 9:27 pm

    Always weigh our portions before eating!

    Reply
  50. sarah birkett says

    March 23, 2017 at 8:03 pm

    something I always find difficult, as I regularly serve equal portions to myself and my husband. try to give more veg to myself and less carbs and meat etc

    Reply
  51. Emma Gibson says

    March 23, 2017 at 5:13 pm

    Using smaller plates to make it look more.

    Reply
  52. Jade Adams says

    March 23, 2017 at 4:35 pm

    I have a special teacup for measuring out rice and use the trick of the hole in the middle of the spaghetti spatula to measure out spaghetti. Most other things I’ve gotten used to doing by sight and we rarely have any leftovers.

    Reply
  53. Kate Milton says

    March 23, 2017 at 2:51 pm

    The best thing is measure out your portion on a small plate before cooking then you won’t overcook the amount.

    Reply
  54. Johanna @ Green Gourmet Giraffe says

    March 23, 2017 at 1:30 pm

    Guilty! I often don’t get the quantities right but I am very good at using leftovers – though occasionally there are tubs that just don’t make it anyway but the bin of shame.

    Reply
  55. Susan Hoggett says

    March 23, 2017 at 12:42 pm

    I tend to use my cup measures so that I know if I’m pasta or rice I know whether I need hald a cup or a full cup depending on how many people I’m cooking for

    Reply
  56. Liam Bishop says

    March 23, 2017 at 12:36 pm

    Weigh out foods beforehand. Have an amount and stick to it so you don’t cook too much and then eat it all/throw it away.

    Reply
  57. Michelle Carlin says

    March 23, 2017 at 11:37 am

    I use plastic takeaway containers to freeze single size portions of leftover meals.

    Reply
  58. clair downham says

    March 23, 2017 at 11:23 am

    i batch cook and use those measurers for rice and pasta and freeze any leftovers

    Reply
  59. Emma says

    March 23, 2017 at 8:24 am

    left over pasta – put in fridge when cold and rather than leave, add peppers, cucumber etc. in small chopped pieces and stir through mayo and grated cheese. A great little salad to have the following day 🙂

    Reply
  60. LINDSEY CLARK says

    March 23, 2017 at 4:05 am

    As I work shifts, I often go to Boots and buy their meal deals. the calorie content is on there, its the right portion size for a healthy diet and it helps me eat well and carefully without overdoing it. its so easy to binge when you are on the go!

    Reply
  61. Stuart Allen says

    March 23, 2017 at 2:37 am

    always make enough food for the people who are eating. it is tempting to cook the whole 4-pack of pies but if there is only two of you you may not always feel like eating two!

    Reply
  62. Sarah says

    March 23, 2017 at 12:34 am

    I am on the journey to health, thanks for your recipes!

    Reply
  63. Karl Borowy says

    March 22, 2017 at 11:57 pm

    enjoy the food you eat ,,,read and learn portion control

    Reply
  64. Tracey Peach says

    March 22, 2017 at 10:12 pm

    I always buy bigger packs of food because they are cheaper & then I split them up into containers or food bags depending on what I need to freeze. After finding some UFO’s (Unidentified Frozen Objects) I now always label what they are 🙂 x

    Reply
  65. Bob Clark says

    March 22, 2017 at 10:08 pm

    The best way is to way all the ingredients of a meal and then amend them subsequently if they are too big or small

    Reply
  66. Carole E says

    March 22, 2017 at 10:07 pm

    I use smaller plates

    Reply
  67. Caroline H says

    March 22, 2017 at 9:52 pm

    Love the tip about the penny coin and spaghetti. I always cook a little less pasta, rice, etc per person than a packet suggests. The portions stipulated seem really quite large. I also quite often serve meals (like tagines or casseroles) in my stripey Cornishware bowls – the portions are smaller than on my dinner plates but no one seems to notice!

    Reply
  68. Victoria N says

    March 22, 2017 at 9:51 pm

    Freeze food in portion sizes so you aren’t tempted to over eat

    Reply
  69. Soph H says

    March 22, 2017 at 9:29 pm

    Best advice is to measure and weigh out foods for a few weeks until you get used to seeing what the recommended portions look like

    Reply
  70. Emma Rawlinson says

    March 22, 2017 at 9:21 pm

    I weigh out dry pasta and spaghetti before cooking to ensure a reasonable amount. If I guess I always end up with loads let over!

    Reply
  71. Jo Carroll says

    March 22, 2017 at 9:10 pm

    I tend to start at the beginning…not so much smaller serving plated but smaller cooking dishes 😉

    Reply
  72. Diane Cawood says

    March 22, 2017 at 8:55 pm

    Always good to see an interesting food blog post

    Reply
  73. Dave says

    March 22, 2017 at 8:52 pm

    Always use a small handful of ingredients. If you feel hungry afterwards you can always snack!

    Reply
  74. Robyn S says

    March 22, 2017 at 8:40 pm

    Always plan meals for the week in advance, saves money, wasted food, and time

    Reply
  75. Marc Chivers says

    March 22, 2017 at 8:39 pm

    Make sure it’s a big portion – hate small ready meals and small portions in restaurants

    Reply
  76. Heather T says

    March 22, 2017 at 8:32 pm

    I always weigh my rice & pasta so I am sure we aren’t eating too many carbs

    Reply
  77. laura banks says

    March 22, 2017 at 8:08 pm

    my hubby measures things out using ramikins as they seem to be the perfect size

    Reply
  78. Anthony Harrington says

    March 22, 2017 at 7:42 pm

    we try to divide a dinner plate into 4 quarters, 1/4 main ingredient 1\4 potato/pasta etc and the rest of the plate vegetables.

    Reply
  79. Katherine says

    March 22, 2017 at 6:32 pm

    I’m a fan of freezing portions of food to mix up my options later

    Reply
  80. Laura Jeffs says

    March 22, 2017 at 6:13 pm

    Like yourself, I always weigh my food to make sure the portions are the right size 😉

    Reply
  81. Emily Knight says

    March 22, 2017 at 5:56 pm

    We add extra vegetables to our meals – so if we have pasta, we have less of it and a big salad on the side – we do the same with almost every meal we have!

    Reply
  82. Kelly Glen says

    March 22, 2017 at 5:47 pm

    I find a good way to get a portion size right is to go by the size of a ready meal you buy and that seems to be about the right amount.

    Reply
  83. Zoe C says

    March 22, 2017 at 5:23 pm

    I measure by cups or handfuls, I used to use way too much but started measuring per person when cooking and I am using less now

    Reply
  84. Rosalind Sargent says

    March 22, 2017 at 5:02 pm

    Hi firstly I found your video very interesting never knew how to portion a serving of spaghetti and Rice as a lady that loves my food and trying to loose weight this is a very handy tip that will be used from now on, as for me giving you a tip I Use a smaller plates a standard-sized portion will look small on a larger plate, making you feel dissatisfied as a lady that has had gastric surgery I find this ideal but I also use this system for all of my family helping them to loose weight to and having less waste no complaints as yet

    Reply
  85. Eleanor Beavan says

    March 22, 2017 at 4:58 pm

    Use a smaller plate and measure rice, pasta etc in the palm of your hand

    Reply
  86. Helen W says

    March 22, 2017 at 4:56 pm

    Plan meals/portions in advance and only buy what you need. Measure everything out exactly.

    Reply
  87. Kerry Manners says

    March 22, 2017 at 4:07 pm

    i actually find using a plain white plate makes me more aware of how much food i am putting on my/my families plates

    Reply
  88. Barbara Knight says

    March 22, 2017 at 3:52 pm

    My tip is boring but effective – I weigh out all dried food like rice and pasta.

    Reply
  89. Sarah Rees says

    March 22, 2017 at 3:51 pm

    I always cook smaller potions now so I dont have left overs – can’t get tempted by seconds then

    Reply
  90. Janice says

    March 22, 2017 at 2:41 pm

    I always try to cook chicken really well as I’m paranoid about getting poisoning

    Reply
  91. Becky John says

    March 22, 2017 at 1:58 pm

    Use a smaller plate so portion sizes look bigger

    Reply
  92. Louis Perera says

    March 22, 2017 at 1:42 pm

    use smaller plates so that you end up less food overall

    Reply
  93. Sarah Lewis says

    March 22, 2017 at 1:33 pm

    I struggle with portion sizes so any tips are very much appreciated!!

    Reply
  94. MM says

    March 22, 2017 at 1:14 pm

    if struggling to judge how much to cook, put some of the uncooked food on a plate first. Hopefully this will help you to correctly judge portion control

    Reply
  95. sam macaree says

    March 22, 2017 at 12:58 pm

    use a smaller plate so portions look bigger. also use myfitnesspal to track everything

    Reply
  96. Jen Schofield says

    March 22, 2017 at 12:53 pm

    Use packet suggestions and don’t use a large plate

    Reply
  97. Marc H says

    March 22, 2017 at 12:50 pm

    Don’t go to my mums for dinner, i feel like i’ve gained several stone when i leave. I’m terrible when it comes to portioning, appreciate the tips.

    Reply
  98. Ani says

    March 22, 2017 at 12:50 pm

    I wasn’t very good at portioning food, but I now use smaller plates as the food doesn’t look “lost” as it did on a bigger plate.

    Reply
  99. Gabby Evans says

    March 22, 2017 at 12:49 pm

    measure out portions for cooking then bulk cook and freeeze

    Reply
  100. Kate Knight says

    March 22, 2017 at 12:36 pm

    use a sensible size plate and weigh your carbs like pasta or potato

    Reply
  101. Ritchie says

    March 22, 2017 at 12:26 pm

    My best portioning tip is to try using a smaller plate. Just try it. It works.

    Reply
  102. Pamela Gossage says

    March 22, 2017 at 12:16 pm

    Add extra veggies to all stews, especially onions

    Reply
  103. Lorraine Stone says

    March 22, 2017 at 12:14 pm

    i USED TO COOK SO MUCH PASTA AND RICE! Now I weigh it , just stops it from ending up in the bin.

    Reply
  104. Fiona K says

    March 22, 2017 at 12:13 pm

    Smaller portions, bulked out with extra vegetables and I use smallish plates

    Reply
  105. Sharon Worsley says

    March 22, 2017 at 12:07 pm

    we use a cup to measure out a portion of ric – half a normal sized cup is enough for 2 people

    Reply
  106. Amy Wright says

    March 22, 2017 at 12:06 pm

    A good tip for spaghetti is to use the hole in the middle of the pasta spoon – that’s actually what it’s meant for! I only recently found that out.

    Reply
  107. Louise Cochran-Mason says

    March 22, 2017 at 11:52 am

    Spaghetti Pasta Measure are good for portion control. They are cheap, and sometimes free (I got a free one at a demo about cooking with minimal waste.

    Reply
  108. Rennene Hartland says

    March 22, 2017 at 11:51 am

    I always use smaller plates this way you trick your brain into thinking you’ve had a big meal

    Reply
  109. Elizabeth Hinds says

    March 22, 2017 at 11:49 am

    Honestly…no!! I’m terrible at sensible portioning – I’ll be keeping an eye out for other people’s tips though!

    Reply
  110. Tracy Nixon says

    March 22, 2017 at 11:48 am

    Add vegetables. Eat a cup of low-calorie vegetable soup prior to eating a meal, or add vegetables to casseroles and sandwiches to add volume without a lot of calories.

    Reply
  111. Fiona says

    March 22, 2017 at 11:45 am

    This is really useful! I find it hard to portion up food at times, particularly as my daughter’s appetite can vary a lot! I generally try and give her a small portion to start with and then there is more if she wants it, and if not it is saved for lunch the next day. Hopefully it means a little less waste!

    Reply
  112. Simon LC says

    March 22, 2017 at 11:44 am

    Using single portion Tupperware that I put in the freezer

    Reply

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Daydream adventurer. Expat Canadian. Foodie. Calls Shetland home - for now. One eye is always on the horizon. Read More…

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