Something Magic In The Air…

Jack: Ummmm… Professor Snape?

Snape: Ugggh… you again, Mister Sh*t?

Jack: Yeah, I think there’s been some sort of mistake…

Snape: What do you… wait. What is that in your cauldron?

Jack: What’s a “cauldron”?

Snape: Is that… *sniff*… is that coffee?

Jack: “Cauldron” means “coffee cup”? You learn something new every day at Hogwart’s!

Snape: Why did you call me over here, Mister Sh*t?

Jack: I think I’m in the wrong class.

Snape: What?

Jack: I signed up for “Portions” not “Potions”.

Snape: Portions?

Jack: Yeah, I seem have a real problem with portions. I thought I was a pretty good guesstimator, but it turns out I was eating nine servings of granola in one sitting.

Snape: That’s appalling!

Jack: Tell me about it. Much more of that and you could change my name to "Neville Widebottom".

Snape: Go on...

Jack: And my “handful of nuts” was actually four servings.

Snape: How is that possible?

Jack: I’ve got big hands, okay? Anyway, research confirms that larger food servings not only provide more calories – duh – but also have two other effects: they encourage people to eat more and to underestimate just how much they’re eating.

Snape: Fascinating.

Jack: So I signed up for Portions thinking I could learn some tricks, y'know, like using portion control dishware, making my own single-serving packs, dishing out servings separately and especially controlling portions when eating out.

Snape: Well, I don’t think I’ve ever said this before but… 50 points for Gryffindor.

Jack: Ummmm… I’m a Hufflepuff.

Snape: Of course you are. Of course...

There You Half It

All my life, I’ve always been a clean-your-plate kind of guy. No matter what was on it, no matter how much was on it, I always managed to bring a spic-and-span finality to every meal I sat down to. Maybe it’s just me… maybe it’s the American way… maybe it’s the plate’s fault somehow.

Whatever the reason, that’s a habit that I knew that I just needed to shake. What I’ve tried to do these days is really take a hard look at the food I put on my plate. For example, last night I cooked a couple of tuna steaks; in the past, I’d have thought nothing of eating an entire piece. Recently I’ve started trying to start my meal with half the portion I’d normally had dished out, with the idea that I can get more if I really want it. It shocks me how often the half-sies get the job done (and I get to clean my plate like I like).

For me, eating is as much mental as it is a mechanism for fueling my body. By looking at my food–I mean, really looking at it–I think I’m finally starting to see it more clearly than ever before.