I have a specific meal plan that I stick to, and every now and then, I let myself have a "cheat meal." This works out well for me in general, because I can fall off of the proverbial wagon, satisfy a craving, and then get back on the wagon.
However, there is always a lesson learned.
I love Chinese style shrimp fried rice. I decided to split this meal with my husband, as well as one fried spring roll that we cut in half. In my mind, I thought, yeah, we'll split this meal in half and it will be perfect. When we split it in half, there was so much food remaining! Our current meal plan usually has us measuring out a 1/2 cup of rice at dinner. Once I pulled out my half-cup measure… we easily had six more portions remaining! We were baffled. This was something we would regularly order while dining out… along with two fried spring rolls, and on occasion, a dessert.
I was having what Oprah calls an "Aha" moment. Our portion sizes were completely out of line, and we were consuming exorbitant amounts of sweetener.
As I ate the rice, I realized it was sweet. My current meal plan doesn't allow for sugars, except fructose through fresh berries at breakfast — so anything sweet stands out like a sore thumb.
Well, I'm going to dine out completely different now. I have to stop assuming that the portions given are okay to consume in their entirety. I am not new to this game, but I clearly needed an awakening. When the food arrives, I will immediately ask for a to-go box to scrape away the extra portions that I don't need to consume in one sitting.
Remember to eat yourself well and treat yourself well!
Sincerely,
Chef Traci