Whether your goal is weight loss, better health, or disease management, portion control plates can impact behavior change and help you see results.
We all have great intentions to eat better, eat less, and control our portions. But when it’s meal time and we’re famished, anything on our plate if fair game! Bread? Give me 3. Cheese? Drown my pasta with it please!
For me, all of that changed when I started using portion control plates. Studies show, if you double the amount of food on your plate, you will unknowingly eat 35% more food than if you had a modest portion.
While intuitive eating may be ideal, our brains are tricked by our abundant food culture. Portion control has the power to help you eat less, by making you aware of the amount of food you are eating, creating satisfaction with your meals, and enjoying food more, while eating less.
When the rubber meets the road, there is something about having the plate in front of you, at every single meal, reminding you of your goals! Whispering to you to stay calm, be intentional, be mindful, and maintain balance. It’s like your own personal health coach.
My Favorite Portion Control Plates
So, I’m not going to lie. My favorite portion control plates are the ones I’ve made! I am truly smitten with these plates, because they work! I love the design, I love the durability, I love the size! AH I LOVE them!
Other portion plates are nice, but their design doesn’t really match my style. Some are trying to pack too many messages and ideas on one plate. Some are sectioned in ways I don’t like to eat. The plates from Health Beet are simple, pretty, effective at teaching, important for remembering your goals, and I have not met one person who hasn’t said it reminds them at EVERY meal they need veggies on their plate!
So, without further ado, my 4 favorite portion control plates from my own collection (that you can get on my site or Amazon) are:
1) The kids portion control plate
This plate has gone through a few different iterations, but once we figured out how to make it microwave and dishwasher safe, we landed on this current one. It’s definitely the most practical, AND our biggest seller.
This kids portion control plate (in the pattern of Choose MyPlate) has so many benefits to teach healthy eating to kids.
They benefits of the kids portion plate is:
- Great for picky eaters.
- The pictures of the food are recognizable by kids.
- It’s portioned perfectly!
- Encourages the children to self regulate, be independent, and choose their own foods.
- They are Dishwasher safe
- These plates are Microwave safe
- Has deep sections in the correct amount for each serving.
- The edges are raised to separate food and keep food in.
- The plates contain no BPA, pthalates, or PVC
Health Beet Inc
Ideas for meals using the portion control kids Plate
2) The Choose MyPlate portion control plate
The second plate is a flat plate, that we created in 2012 to pattern it after the USDA, Choose MyPlate icon. This plate is simplicity at it’s finest! People understand the message.
For older kids and adults, there is no need to have raised dividers, as it’s not practical for serving a typical meal, but the message is still clear and is a great reminder that all food portions can be represented.
The great features of this nutrition plate are:
- It’s a great teaching tool if you are in nutrition education and follow the USDA Choose MyPlate guidelines. (check out the printable nutrition 101 sheet here)
- It’s Dishwasher safe.
- This plate is microwave safe.
- It doesn’t’ contain BPA, pthalates, PVC, or melamine.
- It’s helpful for folks following diabetic meal patterns, carb counting, and practicing portion control for weight loss.
Health Beet Inc
Some meal ideas using the Choose MyPlate Portion Control Plate.
3) The three part divided kids plate
A newcomer to our line-up is this three section plate for kids. This one is great because it’s typical of plates the kids might always be using. It stacks beautifully, so you can pack them away in your cupboard and it won’t take too much space.
I love that the fruits and veggies section is combined, because it’s just more practical. Sometimes you will have fruit for a meal, and sometimes veggies. You don’t always have to have both at every single meal. Some other great things about this plate:
The benefits of the kids nutrition tray style plate are:
- The pictures are great, but it also has text for those kids who read.
- It’s durable and not likely to shatter.
- This plate is dishwasher safe.
- This plate is microwave safe.
- No BPA, pthalates, PVC, or melamine.
Health Beet Inc.
Some meal ideas using the three section kids plates.
4) The New Macro Diet Plate
The newest edition of a diet plate to my inventory is this new MACRO PLATE! I’m so excited about how this turned out. It truly is how I eat a majority of my meals these days, so it just makes sense that I would create it.
The key feature to this plate is that
- Half the meal is veggies
- 1/4 of the meal is for carbs (grains OR fruit)
- and 1/4 of the meal is for protein.
Health Beet Inc.
So, that’s it! The best portion control plates on the market. (with obvious bias). But other people agree! Here are two reviews (out of 100’s) from Amazon:
“We use these plates in our child care and the children serve themselves. We want to encourage self-regulation so do not require children to put any thing on their plate they do not want. These plates encourage the children to take each food group so that they can fill up their plate and keep them from taking too much of one food. The children love think they are fun and it really does help educate about healthy eating! ”
” LOVE these plates! After teaching our food and nutrition module – I began serving lunch to my preschoolers on these plates. They understand the importance of each compartment having something inside of it and it being consumed. I have been using them 4-5 days a week for over 7 months. They have been int the dishwasher and microwave and they’re still in perfect condition. ”
Where to Buy Portion Control Plates
I sell them on Amazon, which is so great for getting them with free shipping of course! But, I also sell them on the website! Either way, I’d love for everyone to have these plates in their home!!
- Amazon! The best place to buy if you have a Prime Account is Amazon! And right now, I have the 4 pack of these plates for 10% off.. just for a few more weeks!
- My website, Health Beet! Great place if you are an educator looking to purchase in bulk.
- By purchase order! Seriously. I take these because there are a lot of educators who work for non-profits, schools, the government, etc. So, whatever you got to do, I’ll make it happen. Send me an email at amy@healthbeet.org
- By phone. Yes, I still use the phone, and if you want to buy a plate, just call!
Share below! Do you have these portion control plates? What’s been your experience?
NEED HELP PLANNING YOUR MEALS TO EAT ON THE PORTION PLATES? HERE’S EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW WITH MEAL IDEAS!
READ NEXT==> Ultimate Guide to Portion Control
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