BIG!!

And by BIG I mean portion sizes today....

Yesterday I was at Whole Foods and over heard a lady choosing a beverage say "Everything is so big these days." (she was obviously referring to the jumbo bottled beverages)

After that I stopped at a Bistro/Juice Bar in the area and picked up a juice and hummus with veggies to go. The owner of this restaturant is very health conscsious and uses high quality organic ingredients. Looking at my to go order, I thought, this is a small portion; however, it was very delicious, healthy and satisfying.

Then again today, I went to a vegetarian cafe and ordered a large soup to go. Thinking they would bring out a quart (the size that is served in Chinese restaurants), I was mistaken. The cup held 12 ounces of soup.

That got me thinking - what was the average portion size in the 30's? If it was smaller - can I adjust my portions as a strategy in the challenge? What if a 14.5 ounce can of lentil soup is 3 servings instead of 2? Have we been programmed to eat much more than we really need to?

There are plenty of interesting articles on how portion sizes have increased. Without doing a ton of research, I came across this article: http://www.rodale.com/recipes-and-calories.  Based on the research by Dr. Wansink, there has been a 45%  increase in the number of calories in the recipes in the Joy of Cooking cookbook since the 1930's. That's enough evidence for me! I may just have to get his book and see what he else he has to say!