For most people, a meal consists of 3-4 resources either mixed together in a sauce, baked, or eaten separately. In my experience, the problem with this approach is getting enough food variety especially when eating the same things over and over again. Also, I tend to eat larger portions to compensate for the fewer resources. So what can be done about it?
Smaller Portions
Instead of eating a whole sweet potato, I cut it into 3rds and only eat 1/3 for a reduced portion size. I did this with everything on my plate and I found that I needed to eat more. However, instead of increasing the portion size to eat more, I increased the variety of resources on my plate.
Larger Variety
Eating a larger variety of foods brought me a greater array of micronutrients. Instead of just eating more, I was increasing the quality of my meal by choosing resources from different resource groups. Soup or salad is a great vehicle for variety. Below is a list of resources from various resource groups.
Grazing vs. Meal Eating
Meal eating can be problematic when maximizing variety because of the need to buy, cook, and portion a larger number of ingredients. By spreading out eating over time, it becomes easier to increase resource variety and reduce portion sizes. Is one approach better than another? No, whatever works for you is what you should do. If you’re a meal-eater, try grazing for a week or two and see if it works for you. If you’re a grazer, try meal eating for a week or two and see how you like it.
The Wellness System