Knowing the right portions for different foods is so important. It’s easy to overestimate how much we think we’ll need and then end up with far too much pasta or rice that we can’t finish!
By portioning correctly, you can reduce food waste, save money, and keep an eye on our health to make sure we don’t overindulge!
Batch cooking is a brilliant way to use up things that are often wasted. For example, lots of recipes may only need half an onion or a handful of mushrooms. When making a dish, we recommend cooking double what you will eat that day, and then freezing half for later. This is a great way of planning ahead for those days when you have less time, and makes your food and money go further!
Another top tip is to use smaller plates! This is an easy switch to make. A healthy portion of food should fill a small plate and so this can help us recondition our minds to not over-serve. Sometimes we have eyes bigger than our bellies so we take more than we need!
A good rule of thumb when it comes to preparing meals for children is to start with a “me-size” portion. Start with a small serving and if they are still hungry, they can ask for more.
Check out the Love Food Hate Waste portion planner tool. This provides guidance on the average amount of food needed for each person, for each meal. This will also help you only buy what you need at the shops, so may also save you some cash!
Please remember that everyone is different. If you know that you would need more or less than the portion planner suggests, adapt the measurements to suit you and your family.