For people that are just starting out planning their meals and need a basic guide, the Portioned Plate, or MyPlate, is fast and easy to use. If you'd prefer watching a video, click below!
When eating away from home, it makes planning your meals easier and ensures you still get all the basic nutrients you need. You do not need to weigh foods or use measuring cups, but it still helps you keep the amount of food you eat at each meal controlled and consistent. For people with diabetes, it makes medication management easier as well.
Just remember not to fill a 15-inch plate. The recommended plate size to eat on in general is 9-inches for adults.
How do we use it?
First, divide your 9-inches plate into 4 equal parts. In one part put your carbohydrate. In another part put protein, and in the last two parts add non-starchy vegetables. The end result should look like the picture above, in this case I have around 1 cup salad with a balsamic garlic dressing (low sugar, low sodium), and the other half is around 3/4 cup cooked quinoa and 3-4 oz protein from a baked chicken leg.
Sounds boring? Here's another example for eating out:
Grab some grilled fish or beef tacos, and load up on the fresh sliced vegetables. In this case, there are two 6-inch corn and wheat tortillas, around 4oz grilled shredded beef, and around a cup of mixed vegetables - tomato, onion, and bell pepper salsa, with sides of cucumber and radish slices, and roasted chilies.
You can also play around with other meal ideas for portioning your meals here.
Happy Eating!