Monster Portions - Why?

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When I moved to New York for work a dozen years ago (I am back in the UK now) I was simply astounded by the amount of meat presented on a plate in steak restaurants. It was easily double what I considered a reasonable sized portion And I am a big guy - 6ft 3" at that time though an inch shorter now!). I am less shocked by it when I visit the states now, but I do think there is a misplaced expectation of quantity over quality. It must be of concern to many that the US has a really serious obesity problem and we are going in the same direction in the UK, at quite a pace. Bizarrely, although this is anecdotal observation only and a brutal generalisation, the least economically advantaged people seem on average to be the most affected by obesity, and the most attracted to sugar and salt laden, highly processed convenience foods. We do ourselves no favours in society with this approach I fear.
 
Adrian said:
Bizarrely, although this is anecdotal observation only and a brutal generalisation, the least economically advantaged people seem on average to be the most affected by obesity, and the most attracted to sugar and salt laden, highly processed convenience foods. We do ourselves no favours in society with this approach I fear.
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Yep. Obesity here in the US is not due to restaurants, it is a lifestyle issue. Lots of lower-income people spend their $ on crappy food. Their kids don't stand a chance. It's weird that the people who grow vegetables, etc. around here are the people with money, and those scraping to get by also seem to have Cheeze Doodles and 32 oz Pepsis within reach. You would think those with little $ would see the health and financial benefits of growing some of their food.

At least in my area the 20-somethings are much more food conscious then my generation was in our younger days. You gotta fit in those skinny jeans, Mr. Scraggly Beard!
 
WildBoar said:
Seems to settle the initial question right there. We don't have hang-ups asking to take leftovers home here, so no biggie if portions are bigger.
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I'm not so sure about that. We've all had it drilled into our heads as children (maybe I'm dating myself here) to clean our plates and not waste food..."there's starving children in china" for pete's sake (seriously, came out of my own dear mother's mouth). While it's ok to expect people to exercise restraint, it's natural to not want to waste food (the doggie bag is an afterthought when you just can't swallow another bite for some people.) I often see my wife starting to push (she's only 5 feet tall) at a restaurant and feeling guilty that she's "wasting" money by not eating all the food. I just gently remind her that if she enjoyed the taste and ambiance, there is no issue with not finishing the dish even if we have no intention to take the remainder home. Sometimes I don't even order an entrée but will have two appetizers instead...I get to taste two things and don't have any guilt or misplaced urge to gorge. I'd rather walk out of the restaurant feeling happy rather than disgusted with myself.
 
maybe its a relic from the dirty thirties somehow?

there's still alot of talk about "value for money" where restaurants (diners especially) are concerned. If I'm going to a greasy spoon for brekky on the weekend I'm probably looking for a big portion and not tremendously concerned about the provenance of the sausage, bacon or eggs.
 
My wife -- who is not originally from the US -- shovels food into our 2-year-old's face for as long as he will put up with it (he's often preoccupied so he doesn't pay attention). I'm actually the one (yep, even with being a 'merican!) who is a bit appalled by it. She says 'he's a great eater!' but I tend to disagree with feeding him so much.

Not finishing the food on one's plate has never been an issue in my family, despite the 'starving people in ______' claims that were often made. With a family of 5, my working mom was happy if there was some food she could take for her lunch the next day or use to feed us another night. The exception was usually some gross veggie dish she would force us to choke down every now and then.

I'm not sure why some have a hang-up asking for leftover food to get packaged up to go. But my first father-in-law always refused to eat leftovers. They could make a full leg of lamb for a holiday and have over half of it left after the dinner, and he would be fine tossing it instead of having more of it in another night or two. My current wife (v2.0) and I usually make something big on Sunday so we'll have it easy making dinners for a few nights during the week. she also makes pots of soup weekly for her and my son to eat for lunches.

To me, food is food. some is better than others , some is best the first day, and some benefits from siting a day or two and getting reheated (i.e., spaghetti sauce, most cassaroles, etc.). Guess I just grew up eating differnt then some others, and I bow a bit to convenience without resorting to frozen dinners.
 
Since moving from Toronto to New York State, I definitely noticed the increase in portion size. Most notably it's evident in the size of "sides" most places in Canada will give you like a cup and a half of French fries when with your meal whereas in NY it seems like triple that at most places
 
There is no stigma here for taking a bag of leftovers. I usually eat all that I order, but Janice is a light eater and would always save some for her elderly mom so she could have some.

Studies have been done on everything from worms to rodents found that eating less can extend life expectancy. One of the longest living groups in America are Seventh Day Advent Women who are vegetarian & eat soy based meat substitutes.

Eating a lot of processed foods with sugar and salt and driving everywhere, getting a parking space so will not have to walk too far leads to diabetes even in young adults if they have eaten crap all their life.

If I want to lose a few pounds it is easy even at my age, just eat less and move more. Still love my beer and bread.
 
keithsaltydog said:
There is no stigma here for taking a bag of leftovers. I usually eat all that I order, but Janice is a light eater and would always save some for her elderly mom so she could have some.

Studies have been done on everything from worms to rodents found that eating less can extend life expectancy. One of the longest living groups in America are Seventh Day Advent Women who are vegetarian & eat soy based meat substitutes.

Eating a lot of processed foods with sugar and salt and driving everywhere, getting a parking space so will not have to walk too far leads to diabetes even in young adults if they have eaten crap all their life.

If I want to lose a few pounds it is easy even at my age, just eat less and move more. Still love my beer and bread.
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Very true, lots of reading available about this.
 
I'm not normally a big eater, but I don't turn down a larger portion of something that is really good. Christmas Eve my family has always had a seafood feast. We are all unapologetic gluttons every year. There's also a local steakhouse that is the best within a 200 mile radius. Their largest steak is a 42oz monster. It is delicious and always perfectly prepared. Either meal is not something I could make a habit of, but does make for a treat on occasion. A big pile of mediocre food or a heaping side dish seems like more of the American norm, but thankfully here at least, the all-you-can-eat buffets have almost all disappeared.
 
Adrian said:
Bizarrely, although this is anecdotal observation only and a brutal generalisation, the least economically advantaged people seem on average to be the most affected by obesity, and the most attracted to sugar and salt laden, highly processed convenience foods.
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Subsidies of commodity crops (corn, soybean, wheat) make processed foods extremely cheap. It used to be that only the rich could afford to get fat. Now it's almost the opposite. Only the relatively well off can afford to eat healthy.
 
Even in the US you can eat healthy not being rich. Most just do not want to or do not know better. Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, most of western Europe have better overall life expectancy than the US.

My sister brought up both her daughter's on lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood and complex carbohydrates. Both girls married men who grew up on fast food. I carve the bird for Thanksgiving at my niece's house. They had some of their friends over. Young and overweight. One of the guys was on Atkins diet. I pointed out that he was dead. Mentioned that lean meats fresh fruits and vegetables are better and complex carbs. Several of them said don't like to eat vegetables.
 
Not eating vegetables is at least as weird as not eating meat.
The restaurant I work at serves a 22oz ribeye, for two. The idea of a 42oz steak kind of turns my stomach. We serve some big ass portions, 3# whole fish, 2 1/2# tuna belly etc. but they are all intended to be shared by 4-6 people. It grosses me out when one person houses a big fish.
 
Not eating vegetables is FAR weirder than not eating meat. -a carnivore
 
I always thought vegetables were what food eats....:biggrin:
 
I saw a study a few years ago, that is probably still accurate. It was a comparison of how much as a percentage of income people spend on food. I can't remember the numbers exactly, but the Us was in the bottom, like 1 or 2 percent. In some countries food cost was over 50 percent of income. This is in part due to the triumvirate of wheat corn and soy. As an example of this, go into any supermarket, into the center section, find something in a jar or can, and you will find one of these 3 ingredients. We grow so much of these 3 foods, that they are always used and are very cheap to buy.

I found my metabolism changed a few years ago, I went from eating 6000-7000 Calories a day to eating around 1500. I used to eat 6-7 times a day and now it is usually twice. Because of that I too have become much more aware of the portion sizes. I have even resorted to ordering kids meals at some places, and a few times found my self not being able to finish.
Del
 
Delbert Ealy said:
I saw a study a few years ago, that is probably still accurate. It was a comparison of how much as a percentage of income people spend on food. I can't remember the numbers exactly, but the Us was in the bottom, like 1 or 2 percent. In some countries food cost was over 50 percent of income. This is in part due to the triumvirate of wheat corn and soy. As an example of this, go into any supermarket, into the center section, find something in a jar or can, and you will find one of these 3 ingredients. We grow so much of these 3 foods, that they are always used and are very cheap to buy.

I found my metabolism changed a few years ago, I went from eating 6000-7000 Calories a day to eating around 1500. I used to eat 6-7 times a day and now it is usually twice. Because of that I too have become much more aware of the portion sizes. I have even resorted to ordering kids meals at some places, and a few times found my self not being able to finish.
Del
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Wow! 7000 is massive... Incredible that you now only need so little in comparison. I could eat all day (seriously, it's nuts), but when my wife wanted to do some kind of 21 day cleanse (I don't believe in cleansing), I did realize that I was able to get by eating A LOT LESS, when cutting out refined food and sugar.

21 days of Vegan eating (unfortunately) left me with 10 pounds less (although there was no limit on how much to eat), more energy, better skin and less cravings.

I could not stop eating meat. But it was a bit of an eye opener and I'm eating less now... And a lot less refined foods and especially refined carbs.
 
Me too could never give up eating meat, made a career of cooking it. Try to eat more salads & fresh fruit, brown rice, baked potatoes. I steam purple sweet potatoes with thin skin eat as a snack cold instead of buying kettle cook potato chips which I have a weakness for:O Drink a lot of Sun brewed Ice green tea.
 
I couldn't give up meat either. There are so many ways to make amazing meat. Not as much for veggies. They can be good, but could never trump meat. I'd rather keep going to the gym and enjoy meat than switch to veggies alone. I've given up a lot of bad habits in my life, but meat would be a tough one.
 
SuperSharp said:
I couldn't give up meat either. There are so many ways to make amazing meat. Not as much for veggies. They can be good, but could never trump meat. I'd rather keep going to the gym and enjoy meat than switch to veggies alone. I've given up a lot of bad habits in my life, but meat would be a tough one.
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I dunno, but isn't the challenge of the good cook therefore to make good veg? Meat's easy in comparison
 
alterwisser said:
Wow! 7000 is massive... Incredible that you now only need so little in comparison. I could eat all day (seriously, it's nuts), but when my wife wanted to do some kind of 21 day cleanse (I don't believe in cleansing), I did realize that I was able to get by eating A LOT LESS, when cutting out refined food and sugar.

21 days of Vegan eating (unfortunately) left me with 10 pounds less (although there was no limit on how much to eat), more energy, better skin and less cravings.

I could not stop eating meat. But it was a bit of an eye opener and I'm eating less now... And a lot less refined foods and especially refined carbs.
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it's all relative though!

guys and girls far up north here in Canada and Alaska need alot of meat and fat, if you do physical labour you need more calories and typically the food which provides the most energy are fats and protein.

Also there are many districts in countries where vegetarianism is mandated by law, some of them make quite tasty food! I love Indian food, I often think I could probably live off of aloo gobi basmati rice and chenna masala
 
Complex Carbs, brown rice, whole grain pasta, baked potatoes etc. fuel the muscles for hard workouts. When I used to race bicycles mostly hill climbing that's what was good at, ate lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, complex carbs and fish. Riding 30-40 miles a day much up steep ridges had plenty energy + working full time where I would load up with quality food. Never got sick. Slept well. Was putting down lots of calories & burning them up.

Now try to keep moving but not near as much as when I was younger. Trouble is many people eat a lot and do not burn the energy and gain weight. I love to eat so if a few extra # no worries.

I think southern India has the largest vegetarian population. Northern India they eat more meat. I love Indian food too.
 
I've been eating with chopsticks all week this week (for fun) and what I've noticed is I eat less, as it takes me longer to eat. Not that I'm particularly bad with chopsticks, but if you are eating noodles or whatever it's not as quick as a spoon or a fork. As it's taking me longer to eat, I realize I'm probably generally making bigger portions than I really need, I find with the chopsticks I feel full a lot earlier in my meals than normal.

I am going to try eating rice with chopsticks tomorrow, that should be interesting (because I tend to like mine pretty dry).

Anyway, my point being, the quicker you eat, generally the less you realize how full you are (until it's too late and then... meat sweats!) I don't think chopsticks are used universally anywhere other than Japan, but I don't know alot about Asia-- so I'm not sure how much of a point I'm making at all.

TL;DR - Eat slowly and savour your food, you might (ironically) find you'll eat less of it :)
 
spoiledbroth said:
I am going to try eating rice with chopsticks tomorrow, that should be interesting (because I tend to like mine pretty dry).
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if you use chopstick long enough, you could easily eat it as fast as with spoon/fork (maybe I'm a fast eater)

I'm chinese and you normally have rice in a small bowl so you hold it up to your mouth with one hand and use the chopsticks on the other hand to scoop the rice/food into your mouth.

It might take forever to eat that bowl if your aim was to pick up each bit of rice with the chopstick and put it into your mouth unless the rice is clumped into large pieces already.
 
Keep practising your chopsticks kung fu. Martin Yan has a cool trick to use cooking chopsticks instead of table chopsticks so that you can reach far side of the table easily, yum yum yum.
 
spoiledbroth said:
I've been eating with chopsticks all week this week (for fun) and what I've noticed is I eat less, as it takes me longer to eat.... I don't think chopsticks are used universally anywhere other than Japan, but I don't know alot about Asia
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Chopsticks countries: sure Japan, but of course China, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam also. Maybe we can include Singapore too which is very ethnically Chinese, but other SE Asian countries to a lesser extent.

Not sure about your point. Maybe it's just that you're not great with chopsticks? I'm originally Canadian too and not at all Asian, but started using chopsticks when I was about 10 or 12 in the 80s and I've have used them significantly since, especially as I've lived in some of the 'Chopsticks Countries'. Anyway, I don't think I eat any slower with them and I think people can wolf down food with 'sticks pretty well. I like the idea of savouring food, though.

I basically think that people get used to excess in certain places and it just grows (as do the people themselves) and it's hard to notice it happening.
 
:rofl2: Chopsticks are used a lot in Hawaii , the cheap ones square shape instead of round & have to separate them. I started using them many years ago so I would eat slower. As mentioned you can eat pretty fast with a couple sticks too. Dry rice could prove difficult most Asians eat rice in a bowl. Now I actually prefer using cheap chopsticks to eat.

Eat slowly and chew your food is good advice. Think it is good manners too when eating with other people.:D
 
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