How many meatballs is a portion...?

[ScottishStottie]

I know this thread is probably going to get a load of people saying that they eat half a meatball and are full for 4 days, but curious to know how many meatballs you would plate up if having spaghetti and meatballs?

For myself and dp, i would probably use a full pack of 12, so 6 each () as it seemed a waste to leave some that wouldnt be enough for another meal, and would likely just get wasted.

However last night i plated up 4 each, and put the other 4 in the fridge (cooked and in sauce) and 4 seemed like a much better portion, where i was full but not uncomfortably so.

So whats the general consensus? How many meatballs is a portion??

Depends how big they are. Dd likes the Swedish style ones and they are small so she gets about 10 as a portion

We only use the IKEA meatballs -always stock up on several packs when we pass IKEA!

I consider 6 each as a good serving.
DH thinks eleventybillion is a perfectly acceptable serving!
Kids (teens) will eat as many as we serve them.

So the answer is 6 if I'm cooking, and a meatball mountain if DH is cooking.

Love spaghetti and ikea meatballs. With a jar of ready made tomato sauce its the best quick no effort dinner.

I would have said four or five, especially with pasta.

Ikea say 10.

given that meatballs are different sixes, then look at the weight of the pack.

A standard meat portion is 100g.

But most people in uk serve up to 2x that amount.

One thing I have been doing over the last few years is actually looking at the amount of meat. I now usually serve 100g per person, and pad out the sauce with veg. Much healthier.

Definitely depends on size. I make the most delicious Frankies meatballs which are about the size of a squash ball so you only need 2 or 3 for a portion but if they are ikea size ones, then 8 or so?

ikea pack is 1kg no idea how many in a pack.

Just looking online, ikea's picture is just mash and meatballs. No veg to be seen at all and half the plate is meat.

And we wonder why people don't eat healthily

This is MN. 0 is the answer. Stare at one (homemade, from scratch, naturally) and you'll feel full for a week. You probably all weigh 25 st and have a BMI of 200 and are going to single-handedly crash the NHS. Won't someone think of the carbs?

@steppemum

Just looking online, ikea's picture is just mash and meatballs. No veg to be seen at all and half the plate is meat.

And we wonder why people don't eat healthily

Bingo!

No, we don't wonder anything. Personally I live and let live.

3 or 4. 4 if they're Sainsburys, 3 if home made which are usually bigger. They're usually Sainsburys though.

250g of mince between the 3 of us if homemade (sizes vary but probably 4 for adults and 2-3 for the child), a pack divided by 3 if I buy ready made (probably 5 for DH, 4 for me and 3 for DD if a pack of 12). Infinite if IKEA.

rawalpindithelabrador

riiiight, so suggesting a bit of veg, and that portion sizes are an issue in the world, (which we know they are) is exactly the same as your pitiful mockery about staring at one home made one?

I'm guessing the words nuance and moderation aren't words you use often

@Smileandtheworldsmileswithyou

Packs of meatballs? Don’t you just make your own? I have about 4 but they aren’t tiny when I make them.

bingo

Aww my thread didn't load properly, I've been out bingoed.

We don't have meatballs much. I would probably do 4 or 5 as a portion if they were larger balls and 6 or 7 if they were those small Swedish sort.

6 each doesn't sound excessive. Different things work for different people and we don't all have the same ball size...

@Smileandtheworldsmileswithyou you serve your children homemade meatballs! My family would never eat anything less than the finest rib eye steak.

For a ping pong ball sized meatball the teenage boys and DH would have six, I would have three or four. We generally have meatballs with roasted mediterranean veg, baked feta and bread.

@steppemum

Just looking online, ikea's picture is just mash and meatballs. No veg to be seen at all and half the plate is meat.

And we wonder why people don't eat healthily

It’s one meal. Not every single meal needs to be “healthy” in an overall healthy diet.

I’d usually have five meatballs with pasta and tomato sauce. If I’d bought a pack of twelve, we’d probably just have an extra one each, or I’d keep two to go in a sandwich the next day.

We’re vegetarian so no meat in my meatballs though. Does that get me a bingo?

We don’t have them with tomato sauce and pasta, but I buy the IKEA ones and we have them with fries and the IKEA sauces.

I’d say we have 12 or so each (me, DH and 13yo DS). I think a 1kg bag lasts us for two meals.

I make my own meatballs, but only from a cow that I've hand reared and personally slaughtered. Anything else is pure laziness.

I make my own or use ikea ones when i can get them. Any recommendations for really tasty ones?

I personally would rather have a bigger portion of meatballs so that I have less pasta (otherwise I will eat a mountain of spaghetti and I’m trying to eat less carbs)
So I would say 6-8 meatballs each for me and DH and 4/5 for DS, I also try and put lots of veg in the sauce to bulk it out slightly.

I make my own but I have 3 per portion. I put on weight easily so I need to control my portion size, I was shocked at how much bigger my portion sizes were than they were supposed to be!

If they were the standard sort of ping pong ball size I would have 4-5