However misleading it may seem to call a dish "Fresh Chicken and Broccoli Pasta" and cram it with (mostly) cheese, it doesn't sound like there is any ill intent there, does it? The restaurants say that their menus change so frequently that it would be impractical to put together nutritional stats for individual dishes and change the menus all the time. They cite value-conscious consumers, who view large portion sizes as one of their highest priorities when eating out. Looking at both sides of this issue begs one question: which came first, huge portion sizes or the desire for them?

It's hard to tell how many calories something has just by looking at it. We already know what an ounce of nuts looks like - but what do servings of other common foods look like? Wisegeek took pictures of 200 calories portions of 71 common food items, including everything from staples like flour, cornmeal, oil and butter to muffins, ketchup, bacon, Powerbars and Tootsie Pops. They every carefully cut down the items that were more than 200 calories per piece to provide the most accurate visual example possible. Measurements are given in grams or milliliters, as well as calories. And as an additional bonus, every item was shot on the same plate, bowl or glass, so the size of each item can easily be compared to its neighboring items.

Now, calories aren't the only thing to take into consideration when planning your diet, but it is still nice to see that one glazed donut doesn't have quite as many calories as a bakery muffin or a bagel because it makes it that much easier to enjoy every once in a while.

Spaghetti is one of the trickier things to portion properly. It never looks like enough before it is cooked and is almost invariably more than you could, or should, eat at one sitting. A Swedish design company, Superdupia, has come up with a very creative way to get the proper portion sizes. Their Spaghetti Book is spiral-bound, made of plastic and full of holes. Each of the holes is measured to fit a specific amount of dry spaghetti (1 serving, 2 servings, etc), making it easy to get just the right amount every time you cook. It might also have some appeal for parents with small children, who can help "cook" by measuring out the pasta using the fun shapes.

The book is $21,

[via notcot]

These unusual ceramic plates have a couple of different uses and are so visually interesting that it's almost a surprise that they're not in any high-end restaurants, especially one where they deal with less traditional foods and presentations. The Dish It Up dishes come in three sizes that can be fit together along their "cut" edge. They could be used for portion control, if you're looking for a practical purpose to justify buying them and more artistic platings are not your goal. One other interesting feature of the dishes is that they can be stored vertically, resting on their straight edge, which minimizes the amount of cabinet space they take up. They are sold in sets that include one each of the small, medium and large sizes.

The recommended daily serving size of nuts is about one-ounce, an amount that should contain approximately 160-200 calories, full of protein and other nutrients (vitamin E in almonds, manganese in hazelnuts and iron in cashews, for example). A nutty snack will also fill you up with a good balance of protein, unsaturated fats and carbs. The problem lies in getting that one-ounce size. I know that if I want to eat some nuts, I don't put them on my scale in the kitchen before I pop them into my mouth, although I do worry a bit about how many I've eaten when a big bowl is placed in front of me. An extra serving or two of nuts can add up quickly, especially if you're indulging a bit extra over the holidays. The trick is to learn what a one ounce portion looks like and nutnutrition.com, which is run by Planters, has a great interactive resource to help you do just that. The site lets you see what one-ounce of nuts looks like when scattered and in a 1/4 cup measure. After a couple of visits to the site, you'll be able to sit in front of that big nut bowl and snack with confidence.

The book Mindless Eating is about the fact that we encounter a variety of subtle cues in our daily lives that prompt us to eat. For example, we have heard that food porn might encourage overeating, and the size of the plate you use determines your portion size - and larger portions make you eat more. Dieters often speak of "trigger foods," that they just can't seem to stop eating and must pass up altogether to stick with their healthy eating plans, but everyone has food or situation that gives them the same problem.

Once we become aware of these problems we can sometimes control them, though this is a very hard thing to do. It requires an almost constant awareness of what we're eating, which is why food journals can be effective at quashing bad habits. It is also helpful to take a serving at put the rest of the food away, out of sight.

Do you have a "trigger" or some sort? Have you ever almost not realized that you were eating something until it was gone, even if it was just a bowl of berries, and not a plate of nachos? How do you cope with it?

When it comes to food, just as with everything else, there are fads. These fads are subsets of long-lasting, broader trends that really shape the way we eat. For example, the lo-carb craze of a few years ago was part of a general weight-loss trend, which also covered a whole group of various "fad" diets. That trend slowly turned into one of the new top trends: healthy eating.

Since we're talking about food every day here, it's interested to take a step back and look at the broad categories that so shape how we think about food on a daily basis. As of now, the top trends in food processing, along with a few of their "trendlets," are:

1. Organics: This includes an increased interest in how foods are handled and produced. Growing concern for the environment and for how GMO foods impact us leads to consumers seeking out and valuing "natural" foods, local/regional goods and those produced with sustainable and fair trade policies.