Did you know that we eat (first) with our eyes?

YES!! The eating process starts with eye appeal.

I remember so well my grandfather teasing me because my eyes were always bigger than my stomach. As a card-carrying member of the “Clean Plate Club”, I would naturally prove him wrong by stuffing myself at those big family gatherings and holiday meals. Who could resist all those colorful, tempting foods? As it turns out, few of us can. The average American will eat more than 4500 calories on Thanksgiving Day alone. We are seduced by buffet tables and pastry carts. And we are seduced by dinner plates that are 51% bigger than they were in the 1900’s. There is no question that the mere look of certain foods makes us salivate. Indeed, food advertising is based on that fact. The tremendous eye-appeal of many foods subtly encourages us to overload our plates….and overload our bodies in the process. And many of us, especially members of the “Clean Plate Club”, have been trained to confuse “clean plate” with “full”. In truth, “full” happened long before the plate was clean. So, what to do??? How do we avoid this trap?  [Read more…]