Portion Control - Good for Your Budget and Your Health

It's amazing to me when I compare the set of dainty cups and saucers that I have in the cupboard with the big, beautiful blue coffee mugs that I got as a gift last month.  The mugs seem standard size for today; the cups and saucers remind me of my dad, drinking coffee with the paper when I was very little.  I'm probably dating myself here, but what the heck.

Plates and Cups Got Bigger!

What I've discovered from this comparison is that not only have serving sizes in our restaurants increased over the past few decades, but the actual dishware that we buy has increased in size, too.  Wow.  Plates are bigger, glasses are bigger, salad bowls are bigger, ... you get the idea.

It amazes me how subtlely we're all encouraged to buy more, more, more ....

We buy more, we eat more, we toss more.  So, learning portion control not only helps our budget, and our waistline, it also helps the environment.  How much should we eat?  On the web, I found this great video that not only explains what proper portion size should be, it also has a great example of how dishes have expanded in size.  Less that 3 minutes, it's worth your time to watch.

Reba's Thai Peanut Pasta

There are times when you need to cook something up and you don't have time - or the desire - to run to the store. Company's coming and it's not part of the weekly menu/budget plan.

If you keep a stocked pantry (see earlier posts on that), then you can have the thrill of being able to throw something together that tastes great from the stuff you find on your shelves, and in your fridge. Plus, you get that amazing feeling of creating something ... and a mysterious appreciation for the Iron Chef America competitions.

Here's what I brewed up over the weekend, and it was lick the bowl good:

Reba's Thai Peanut Pasta

1.5 cups peanut butter
1/2 cup coconut milk
3 T soy sauce
4 T water (play with this, you don't want it too thick or too runny)
Tabasco or red pepper flakes to taste (whichever is in the pantry)
1 T minced ginger (fresh is good, I used the crystalized ginger from the fridge because that's what I had)
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped leaves
2 chopped scallions
pasta that you've got on hand (I used wide fett noodles b/c that was in the pantry)

Mix all this stuff together except for the peanuts, 1/2 of the cilantro 1 of the scallions, and the pasta. When you're ready to serve the stuff, cook the pasta al dente, heat the peanut sauce, toss them together. Scatter the held-back cilantro and scallions along with the peanuts over the top. Yum.

(This peanut sauce is good over chicken too, cut up the cooked chicken, toss with the sauce, use the same toppers (the peanuts and such) and serve over a bed of rice.)

FBI Warning: Watch Out for Haiti Scams When Giving Money

 Sadly, there are those unscrupulous folk who try to profit off of another's suffering, and the Haiti tragedy appears to be fair game.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued an alert for scammers:

The FBI today reminds Internet users who receive appeals to donate money in the aftermath of Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti to apply a critical eye and do their due diligence before responding to those requests. Past tragedies and natural disasters have prompted individuals with criminal intent to solicit contributions purportedly for a charitable organization and/or a good cause.

Therefore, before making a donation of any kind, consumers should adhere to certain guidelines, to include the following:

• Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages.
• Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites.
• Verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group’s existence and its nonprofit status rather than following a purported link to the site.
• Be cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
• Make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf to ensure contributions are received and used for intended purposes.
• Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions: Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.

If you think you've discovered one of these evildoers, please report it to the proper authorities at www.ic3.gov.