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Step 1
Share your food. Sharing food helps you eat less while allowing you to taste more. Everyone at the table gets to sample more of what a restaurant has to offer. Whenever I order anything including a salad, appetizer, soup, entree, even a drink—I always offer a taste of it to whomever I am with. It's fun to taste a lot of different foods—and by giving others that opportunity you become a more fun and interesting dinner companion.
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Step 2
Get rid of this heavy habit. Are you a person who stops everything the second the food arrives and focuses entirely on eating? Well stop it. It's just rude, for one thing. And think about it: is food really that important? You can relish and enjoy every bite of your food without acting as if you are having the last meal of your life.
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Step 3
Save it. I don't like to waste good food, and in this time of global environmental consciousness, rising food prices and fuel shortages, I think it is irresponsible to do so. I often take food home in a doggie bag, but not for my dog. I love having a beautiful, healthy, delicious lunch or dinner to look forward to the next day. Never feel silly if you take food home. Remember: the doggie isn't the one who takes the bag home, but instead finishes everything on the plate. Do you really want to eat like a dog?
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Step 4
Leave it. What can you do if you order something, you share some, you eat some and suddenly you realize that the food really isn't all that good? Or maybe the food is fine, but you won't be in a situation where you can take it home with you and store it safely. Or you are full and have eaten enough and you have a quarter of the food left. Well, what's your answer? Leave it! Leaving food on your plate is not wasting food. Eating food you don't want is the real waste. When you are controlling how much you eat, it's a great feeling—and it is what naturally thin people do.
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Step 5
I know. Sometimes it's really hard to leave food on your plate. You are extra hungry or the food tastes so good that you find it extremely difficult to stop eating. Some days you'll find it easy to leave bites on your plate or half your food. You will have no problem sharing, saving or leaving it. If you are one of these people you need to be the perfect eater. This means you should order very carefully.
Comments
noahcurtiss said
on 10/20/2009 I agree sharing your food is one good thing. In Europe they give you half as much, and charge twice as much. Most American meal are too generous. My wife and I ask for an extra plate and share our meal. Also it helps to realize that your fork is a fork and not a steam-shovel, put it down between bites. You'll be surprised how much more socializing you'll get in, and how much less food you'll get down.
greenback said
on 10/18/2009 Just sounds like an advertisement for your book
jaicard said
on 10/17/2009 Great advice and well said. Loved the book!
trancendenz said
on 9/11/2009 I'm a proud member of the clean your plate club. If you order something, put something on your plate, or someone puts it on your plate: you eat it or give it to someone else who will.
You say in your article that it's environmentally irresponsible to waste food and then turn around and say it's OK to leave half your food! Wasting food is what is wrong with this country because MOST people do not eat the leftovers they take home.
A better way to not waste food is not to order so much in the first place. If you know you can't take it home or can't share, order a smaller portion or ask the server to cut your portion in half (you may still need to pay the same price). But if your wasteline and the environment are important, then your pocket can wait. Plus, if you were going to waste half the food anyway, what's the harm in paying full price for less??
1healthymom said
on 8/21/2009 It's so true.