Diabetic Living Summer 2019

(Nancy Kaufman) #1
Smart Servings

Rethink how you serve your meals and snacks
and you’ll become a portion pro in no time.

BY JULIE KENDRICK

SEE THE SERVING “At home, I mea-
sure out a perfect portion of food or
drink to see how it looks in my dishes,”
says Jill Weisenberger, M.S., RDN,
CDE, author of Diabetes Weight Loss:
Week by Week. “This way I’ll know in
advance that, say, my portion of wine is
up to a specific design etched into the
glass. You can do the same for ice cream,
cereal—really for any food and dish that
has markings of some sort.” To become
a pro eyeballer, measure out your ideal
serving size—best determined with
the help of your health care team—for
several foods, such as berries, rice, soup,
and fish, a few times each month.

REPURPOSE PETITE PLATES


Giant bowls and jumbo serving
utensils may make it easier to serve a
summertime crowd, but these can also

lead you to feel like you’re portioning
out a small amount when you’re really
taking more than your ideal serving.
Break out those dessert plates you’re
saving for special occasions. Treat
yourself like an honored guest and
arrange your portions on one of those
lovely, smaller plates. You’ll feel in-
dulged, not deprived.

BUY BIG, PACKAGE SMALL
Weisenberger suggests preportioning
foods into single-serving baggies or
containers. “For example, if your ideal
portion of crackers is six, put six crack-
ers each into several baggies and pop
those bags back into their original box.”
Voilà—perfect grab-and-go snacks. To
save money, Carrie Boe, a certified health
coach focusing on diabetes management
who has been living with type 2 diabetes

for 25 years, buys healthy ingredients
like nuts in bulk, then repackages them
into single-serving containers. She
snagged a glass food-storage container
set on sale, so now it’s easy to fill up
the containers all at once. Some of
her serving-size go-tos: a handful of
almonds fits in a baby-food-size jar, ¼
cup of hummus or guacamole fills a
1.5-ounce container, and a serving of
defrosted edamame in the pod fits in a
1½-cup bowl.

PILE ON THE VEGGIES Every time
you serve yourself a meal, think “veggies
first,” advises Boe. Load your plate with
big portions of colorful fresh veggies,
then add in moderate helpings of lean
protein and healthy fats. This way, you’ll
naturally crowd out space that might be
taken up by less-nutritious options.

Remake


16 DI ABETIC LI VING / S UMMER 2 019


BLAINE MOATS; STYLING: SUE MITCHELL


+ Get more serving-size tips at EatingWell.com/CarbServings
Free download pdf