To think we don’t need that much food

[Moonpiecake]

I feel portions in restaurants and takeaways are bigger than most of adults need and also majority of people buy and eat more food than is necessary for our bodies.

If you are over 30, fit, healthy and manage to remain within the healthy body weight for your age and height how much do to eat.

I want to save money on food but also loose a few kilos and look and feel good so looking for advice

Restaurants are not going to go down the route of offering smaller portions or allowing kids portions to adults for meals, then would lose too much money. Especially considering that probably 90% of the mumsnet population it seems , can't possibly manage a huge restaurant meal.

It is, this is why chippies were so good, they'd always give a half portion.

But a lot of people are stopping eating out. If they made the portions a little bit smaller and charged less, they'd get more people through the door, make thier money on drinks, like usual, and not have empty restaurants. It wouldn't hurt them to offer smaller plates as well as the standard big ones.

Small portions and small plates are a thing, look at Wetherspoons menu.

‘You do you’ has been said a few times and is fair enough. But curiosity into what the rest of the herd is doing is valid too I reckon.

if my partner and I get a curry take away the first thing I do is portion half into a bowl and put the rest straight into the fridge. My partner heaps it all up and honestly I feel a bit sick at the thought of him eating that much in a single meal. It’s def twice what we’d normally eat in a single meal - the downside of not eating out of the container and putting it into our usual crockery makes it obvious. That said we only do it maybe once every other month so if he can handle that much food he must be very restrained all the other mealtimes… maybe I’m starving him.

his occasional bumper curry is probably better than me scoffing biscuits every single day. Everyone’s got their own weakness. It’s what your level of commitment / discipline and angle is to saving money or health I guess.

How do you mean? Where are the small portions on the Weatherspoons menu? They have small fish and chips, which is great, but the other things?

Ramen noodle bowl 173 cals
Mediterranean salad 334 cals
8oz sirloin with salad 526 cals
small ham, egg & chips 455 cals
Pizza 8 or 11 inch
There are loads
https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/food/menu?pubId=527

Back to this one.

I've done it. All macros met. Carbs 50%, fat 35%, protein 15%, 5 F&V a day.
£25 per week for 2 people, they have to love pulses and be able to handle 41 grams of fibre a day. 😥I don't think many people will enjoy it.

Just need a meal plan to go with it. Maybe I should start a thread in Recipes.

Totally agree with the OP. Whenever I go out to eat, I always end up bringing stuff home. For me to enjoy again the next day if it’s spicy, or for the dog too if it’s not spicy/overly seasoned.

i used to be embarrassed doing so but staff don’t bat an eyelid these days and gladly supply tin foil/a box etc.

I'm not a small eater (5ft 10!) but I always have leftovers if I get a chinese takeaway and they're so good the next day
Rice is one thing I can never eat a full portion of, pizza on the other hand...

How much you need will depend on you and how many calories you burn etc
i want a larger portion in a restaurant as i don’t want to pay good money and leave hungry and will often not eat much all day when eating out later, same as a takeaway , our local shop large portion is huge , so we buy one to do 3 of us and saves money.

@InnocentAndDeranged loads of places offer smaller plates , or you order a starter or two instead of a main meal.
drinks out are often what bumps a meal up
my mum and i go to a place on sat for lunch sometimes , known for good portions, we have one main and a side between us and share and they fine with that.
you can also often ask to take some foods home.
actually cutting portion size prob wouldn’t bring price down hugely as the ingredients cost are only a small factor in the cost of the meal, so half the portion would not be half the price etc

All of you who want a half portion out if fullsize was £10 and the half £7.50 would you pay ? Or would you expect it to be £5
thats the issue , cutting a portion size by half does not reduce the costs by half , as still needs someone to cook , serve , electric / gas , rates etc
thats the issue people won’t oay the only slightly reduced price for a smaller portion and think they should be paying a lot less

This exactly! Eating out is such a joy, expensive too, so it is a rare treat & despite my food issues you can believe I'm enjoying every single morsel

I’d be interested in some recipes! I’m plant based so I’m already eating way more than 41g of fibre a day, plus I love pulses :)

I grew up in the 50s - we had great food but one chicken did 5 of us and what happened is the teens filled up on potatoes - or at other times bread and butter - with their meal. Nowadays everything is salty, spiced, tasty so we eat too much of it, you'd eat less if the option was boiled potatoes.

Yes, I'd pay. I understand that a half portion wouldn't be exactly half the price.
I have to do to the same when I go shopping - the small packs of everything are cheaper by ml or gram, but that's what I can carry.

I don't think there is a need to share a chicken between 5 people, unless that is what money affords. I don't think filling up on simple carbs, with minimal protein should be advocated whatsoever.