Reducing Grocery Bills with Portion Control

Americans are greedy when it comes to meat portions.  A 10-ounce steak is considered small by the standards of most American restaurants, where bigger is considered better.  Cutting your family's meat servings to an appropriate size as suggested by dieticians and nutritionalists will not only help keep your loved ones healthy, but will help to cut your grocery bills as well.

How Much Meat is in a Serving?

According to the food pyramid, adults should eat two servings of lean meat each day.  But exactly how much meat is considered a serving?

Many will be surprised to find that a serving of meat is a mere three ounces, or a piece of meat roughly the size of a deck of playing cards.  This means that each pound of cooked meat should provide a little over five servings.

Rounding Out the Meal

Grains are part of the food pyramid that often get shortchanged.  Adults should have 6 servings of grains daily, so adding them to every meal is important.  Grains are also filling, so adding rice or bread to a meal will also make it more satisfying.

Vegetables are also very important in the food pyramid.  Additionally, they are easily stored when canned or frozen, making it easy to stock up on veggies when they are on sale.  Preparing an additional can of green beans rather than making more chicken is an economical and nutritionally sound way to stetch a meal further.

When Unexpected Company Arrives

These meal-stretching techniques are also effective when feeding extra mouths at the last minute.  When your kids bring home friends unexpectedly or other surprise company pops by for dinner, you can gain extra servings by simply adding more side dishes.  Making a box of pasta or potatoes and downsizing portions on other courses will provide enough of everything to feed everyone!