Snack Pack Attack

So the biggest problem I have with food (aside from a constant overwhelming desire to eat an entire wheel of brie) is Portion Control. If only I was learning this PC in college and not Political Correctness or Personal Computers (those will never last!).

Nowadays you can buy individually packaged 100 calorie portions of just about everything. I have done this for many years, stamping down my inner voice that says "it is so much more expensive" and "that is so much packaging" in favor of the faulty voice that said "I will eat less if someone else tells me what the portion size really is." Sadly that voice never made it to "If you eat all 6 packages at once you aren't really cutting calories."

Here are a few ways I have managed to save money and stick to portion size:

1. Yogurt: I love Greek yogurt and I have actually gotten to a point where I buy plain and add in my own fresh fruit and a little honey. Instead of buying the individual cups for $1.39, I buy the bigger tub for $3.49 and scoop out my serving every day. There are 4 servings in the container, so roughly $.88 a serving, a nice little $2 savings every week.

This one is easy as I am not usually tempted to eat the whole container of plain yogurt in one sitting.

2. Pretzels/Crackers: I cannot ever bring the bag/box with me to the table or couch. I have a small bowl and count out the portion, then I seal the bag/box and put it away in the cabinet. My apartment is small, but the walk back to the cabinet for a second serving is long enough to contemplate the consequences. The time it takes to dip my hand in the open bag/box by my side is not. I got a big bag of pretzels on sale for $2, it would have taken 3 packages of individual bags at $3.50 each to equal the same number of servings!

3. Nuts: I love almonds and they are good for you! I buy a big bag at Trader Joe's for a very affordable amount of money and I am good at only eating a serving size. I have a small reusable container that holds about 14 almonds and I put it on my desk in the afternoon and I usually do not go back for more. My grandfather was so excited when he came home from the doctor and the doctor said nuts were good for him and that he could have a "can full" every day. My grandmother laughed and said "A HANDful, not a CAN full!"

4.Cookies/Candy: This is the one exception. I cannot have any volume of cookies or candy in my home. I can buy a bag of miniature KitKats and tell myself I will only have 1 a day, I can hide them, I can scatter them in different places, at the end of the first day my apartment will look like the KitKat factory exploded and the wrappers are everywhere. I will spend MORE money to buy 1 regular sized candy bar than take the economical route of a bag of candy. I will also spend more money on 1 fresh bakery cookie than a box of Keebler's.

This is one of those huge bridge issues between dieting and budgeting. It is also about fooling yourself into thinking you will eat less with corporate-forced Portion Control. Until you take control of your portions it won't matter. So save some money and reduce some waste and skip the 100 calorie packs.