Five Ways to Control Portion Size for the Healthiest Breakfast Possible
What is the #1 thing you can do to nourish yourself for the day, but not overeat? Two words: portion control.
It is an established fact that we consume far too much as a nation. As individuals we hardly have a concept of what constitutes an appropriate serving size anymore. There are some visual cues that can be engaged to train our kids’ eyes and tummies to right-size our hunger and expectations.
Whether you are mom trying to maintain her weight or dad trying to lose a few or a kid trying to grow, do you know what each should be eating to hit that goal? Each body has different needs so there is no single right answer. It is a really great exercise to use an app or tracker to input each individual’s typical day and obtain your own barometer. No matter what you do, you will see that everything hinges on that #1 thing called portion control.
It is critical to start the day with a breakfast full of the right amount of protein, fibre and fuel.
Top five ways to control breakfast portions:
- Consume foods that are pre-measured. Greek yogurt snack packs under 150 calories, 2 Weetabix biscuits, one small banana…anything that has fewer than 3 or 4 ingredients and that limits your consumption.
- Research conducted at Cornell University consistently shows that we are affected positively and negatively by serving dish or container size. Tall slim glasses for smoothies rather than large and short and smaller bowls and plates help us feel fuller with smaller, more appropriate amounts.
- If you are a juice drinker reduce the amount to the ridiculous. This single mistake can set off your blood sugar and actually make you more hungry all day since your body processes it as pure sugar (even the 100% juice versions) Scour yard sales for tiny 1950’s style juice glasses if you are having juice. That 10-12 ounce glass is for water.
- Place small bowls out for cereal or empty cereal boxes into decorative jars and use a measuring cup to scoop a sensible ½ cup amount. Use teaspoons or smaller spoons to eat cereal to prevent soup spoon shovelling.
- Pour milk or cream into your mug before you fill with coffee (if you are using sugar, measure level teaspoons and know that your limit is 6 tsp from all sources including juice and cereal)
For a speedy, delicious way to make breakfast portions fun, consider making breakfast popsicles. The goodness is measured in for you and the out the door fun of mornings can go a lot more smoothly.
Breakfast Popsicle
You don’t need to have traditional popsicle molds for these breakfast lifesavers, tiny paper cups on a cookie sheet will do. Consider using a plastic spoon as a stick so it can be eaten as muesli if it melts.
Makes 2-4 servings
Takes: 5 minutes plus freezing time
You’ll Need:
- 1 ½ cup 3% plain yogurt
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 Tbsp hemp seeds
- 4 Weetabix biscuits
- 1½ cups frozen blueberries
- 1 handful baby spinach
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 small orange, slice thickly and slice a spot for the spoon to slide through.
Prep and Cook:
Pour into a blender and blend until smooth. Use a spatula to smooth into popsicle molds or paper cups. Top with more plain yogurt to fill to the top and top with an orange slice. Slide the spoon through and freeze overnight.
