The Plate Method
Several years ago I learned of dividing my plate to estimate proportions of food: 1/2 the plate for veggies (and/or fruit), 1/4 for carbs, and 1/4 for protein, as this image from Rice University illustrates. OK, that’s fine. But who wants to eat a half-plateful of salad or steamed broccoli night after night? I know I don’t, especially while my family enjoys a large portion of a tasty main dish, and thus I was never able to sustain this pattern of eating.
Don’t get me wrong. I like salad and steamed broccoli (and other veggies) just fine, but it is dull eating after a while.
So finally it hits me: put the cooking effort into the veggies so they become the tasty main dish instead of the meat.
Maybe not a huge revelation, but it felt very enlightening to me! So while planning my meals for the week I decided to do work several of them with fancy veggie dishes. I found some recipes at MyRecipes that I hope taste as good as they sound because I’ll be filling my plate with Green Beans with Caramelized Garlic tomorrow, then later in the week Parmesan Broccoli with Cherry Tomatoes and Braised Zucchini and Leeks.
My kids are all old enough to fill their plates as they choose, but I’ll be making my hubby’s plate a little closer to the ideal than his usual 2/3 meat, 1/4 starch leaving just a little wedge of space for veggies. He may be a little tentative about it, but I’m hoping by making the veggies tasty he’ll come around. Even if he doesn’t, I think I’ll enjoy eating this way and be a healthier, lighter me. At least that’s the plan.
