What I Learned From My Grandma’s Dishes About Portion Control
I love old things. Our house is filled with pieces from my grandparents’ house and items my dad has found at flea markets. Our china cupboard houses my grandmother’s collection of Depression glass, which I treasure. One day recently, the dessert dishes caught my eye, and I was struck by how incredibly tiny they were. I was curious: How did these 1930-era dishes stack up against the ones my family uses for dessert 80 years later?
So I lined them up:
Then I measured how much each dish held:
Thinking about these dishes in terms of ice cream is where it really gets shocking. Because if we were all eating regular, full-fat ice cream (the kind my grandma would’ve eaten) from our respective dishes, here’s what each of us would get:
- My grandma: 266 calories
- Me: 693 calories
- My husband: 1064 calories
Did I mention my grandma lived to be 99 years old?
oh my. Very disturbing. 😉
Great post – I was just looking at “The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook” by David Kimball. He is the meticulous guy from Cook’s Illustrated – but this is an older book – late 90’s from what I remember. They are nostalgic, time tested recipes – not the latest nutrition buzz recipe ( one more kale salad anyone?) or chia bar?) or superfood ingredient.
This interests me because I live on a rural farm with amish neighbors but still have access to farmers markets and a pretty hip little town if I need a hit of that from time to time – I work there so, that pretty much fills me up.
But – my point – yes, I have one – is can we eat simple, healthy food with real (I kind of hate that word but not sure what else to say) food, watch our portions, get some walking/exercise in and tend to our spiritual lives and sleep/nuture ourselves – our relationships and live a nice long life – or maybe just a happier one?
What would your grandmother say?
Greg
The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook is by Christopher Kimball, not David.
hmmm – just read your post on pigging out on homemade bread, nut butter and other real food. Just answered my own comment I think – 🙂
Wow this is amazing! Thank you for sharing!
Love this! Great pictures.
Hi Sally, I love this! I remember in the 80s my grand-ma had such tiny cups for dessert, smaller plates and tiny coffee mugs.
Now everything is so big!
Thanks for sharing!
I use a coffee cup to eat my ice cream (a small one ; ) Happy book launch day!
Thanks Maryann! 🙂
My mom and I talk about this all the time. My dad uses a little food prep bowl for his ice cream.
A few years ago a cafe that was upriver 40 minutes from our small rural mountain town closed. The cafe had a lot of history for my family so they sent us all a coffee mug. The mugs were so tiny! Granted it was old school where they walked around and topped your coffee while they visited with you so you drank more than that little cup, but the assumption that you didn’t need a giant portion to start with was there!
Wow! This is truly fascinating. I’d love to buy an old-fashioned set of dishes 🙂
Joani–hit up an antiques store, estate sale, or garage sale. They are often so lovely and obviously a much better fit portion-wise than modern dishes! 🙂
Yikes!!! I love your Grandma’s green glass BTW—- I have a bunch from my Grandmother and it makes me smile every time I see it! This comparison, however, does NOT make me smile :/
Impressive. I was fascinated by the small size plates and cups I saw in Madman, too! They seemed kid-sized to me.
I love this! I told my children the same thing when they couldn’t stop asking for more…. I said grandma’s dish was teeny tiny compared to what you just got! 😉
We’re working on it. (I’m working on it!)