Wednesday 19 February 2014

Of Mice And Matchboxes

‘Here’s a helpful little chart’ I thought, when I first saw it on the internet. Portion control is supposed to be important, isn’t it?

portion size

But on further reflection, it has filled me with too many questions

  • cheese - a regular matchbox, or my large cooks’ matches?
  • is that pancake a crepe or a thick American style IHOP one?
  • pasta- should the ice cream scoop be heaped or level?
  • fish - are US checks bigger or smaller than UK cheques?
  • butter – postage stamps come in lots of sizes – so which one?
  • baseballs and golfballs – they look the same size on the chart! How big are they?
  • which of the lightbulbs round here amounts to a hill of beans ?
  • how do I know which box of dental floss to use? I have three and they are all different shapes!

But I can tell you this – experience has shown me that in Norfolk ‘one portion of chips’ is smaller than one ordered in Leicestershire – and that a London portion is smaller still. I notice that chips do not feature anywhere on the nutritionist chart.

4 comments:

  1. Love the chart, and your comments. Cheese - definitely small matchbox size, disappointing to cheese-aholics post heart attack, it is given in the standard advice. The others portion sizes do raise many questions in the enquiring mind, don't they? Just a thought, have you considered the difference between nutritionists (whose chart this is) & dieticians? Not interchangeable as many people believe, the former can be a very quick qualification, interesting but can be superficial, dietician is usually a degree course. If anyone needs dieatary advice always go for the dietician. The nutritionist training can also raise many questions in the enquiring mind! As ever you give me plenty of food for thought. Vee x

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  2. I wonder why chips don't appear on the chart? LOL!
    If I have chips from my local chippy, I have to ask for a £1's worth, which is still a huge portion compared to the 'regular' size and the fish are 'whale sized' portions, so I have to share with someone if I have even the 'small' size. Still, it keeps me from attending the chippy too often, plus, by the time I get home the chips are soft and everythings' cold!

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  3. In defence of Norfolk chips, it depends on which chip shop or stall you buy from. The best chips are on Yarmouth market, but not with 20 different sauces or grated cheese IMO (((SHUDDER))) ;-)

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  4. one wonders what was wrong with just weighing things? :)

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