When I was growing up in the 50s and 60s parents urged their kids to "clean your plate" during a meal just like parents today do. My family ate daily off the ubiquitous Franciscan Apple Ware dishes. I still have the dishes my family used. I also have some of those same dishes in the version of which they are sold today. The dinner plate on the left is one my family ate from and the one on the right is the size from which families eat now.
I'm sure it is not news to anyone that the portion sizes we eat now are a lot bigger than they used to be. I am not advocating wasting food and I am not denying that there are hungry children in a lot of the same places there were when the parents of the 50s and 60s told their kids to "clean your plate." I'm just wondering if "clean your plate" is the best advice to be giving kids these day.
We ate of those exact plates. On my 65th birthday, my brother gave me a serving dish of that pattern from my Mothers estate.
ReplyDeleteI never use it, but somehow I cherish that stupid plate.
And yes we had to clean them off at dinner before we were excused.
Cranky Old mAN
It never occurred to me that they would be upsizing the classic designs. I knew that newly designed dinnerware was getting larger and it has been shown to influence how much people eat. Why do we do these things to ourselves?
ReplyDeleteI love the design of the plates. My mom had plates with turkeys on them for special occasions. I had to finish dinner too, but I can't remember the size of our plates. Yes, I'm sure our portions are much larger now. I don't remember ever feeling too full after dinner!
ReplyDeleteYou are certainly right - the plates and the drinks are enormous now! sandie
ReplyDeleteWe were at the movies and I asked for a medium drink (hubs and I were sharing). The girl waiting on me said, 'Do you want a small with a free upgrade to medium or a medium with a free upgrade to large?' I want the one I can actually carry : )
ReplyDeleteMy mother was an artist at stretching a loaf of break or one chicken or a single can of tuna to feed our family of five. A friend visited my brother once about our dinner time and he said, "Well I see you're having dinky again". We rarely needed to be reminded to clean our plates.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to see the size difference in the plates. Very noticeable. Cleaning one's plate is probably not the best thing, unless it's pile high with veggies, rather than carbs. LOL
ReplyDeleteGreat visual.
ReplyDeleteThose are beautiful plates; treasure the memories. My sister-in-law always HALF of whatever is on her plate - even at restaurants! That's why she is so slender.
ReplyDelete*always EATS half*
ReplyDeleteThat's an eye opener.
ReplyDeleteI have my Mom's Franciscan dinnerware...I forget the pattern but I always liked the one you have!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the advice we should give is 'take only what you'll eat'.
I have started doing the smaller portions and it seems to work better with the Grandlittles.
Nice, thoughtful post.
I never expect my kids to eat all their dinner if they are full.
ReplyDeleteWe do tend to give larger portions now days ... so having a smaller plat e is a good idea.
I loved seeing the plates side by side - confirmation that there is often "too much" consumed today. I feed the Grands on salad plates. I give small portions and they ask for seconds if they're still hungry. I don't like to waste, but I also don't like to encourage over-eating.
ReplyDeleteI have those dishes too, the old ones anyway. I have been eating out of bowls lately trying to get my portions down. I have that saying in my head too. The other thing that really bugs me is the way people throw food away. We aren't helping ourselves are we.
ReplyDeleteI have a set of dishes that belonged to my great grandparents...they are so much smaller than todays...I don't believe in the clean plate rule...I think you should give your child small portions if they are still hungry then you can add more...we don't get the exercise people did back in the days where they did so much physical labor...
ReplyDeleteAmen. One of the things they told us at Weight watchers was to eat on a smaller plate. (Well, I did go there once. And definitely need to go again.) My parents had those dishes and I still regret the day that we let it go in an estate sale. It's a wonderful pattern.
ReplyDeleteMy mother eats from a salad plate. We use the Corelle which is a little smaller. Portion sizes have gotten way too big. Art and I share a meal when we go out.
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