Portion size

Admittedly we dashed across the US on our way here. We stopped for meals at whatever roadside restaurants were convenient and looked neither too expensive nor too disgusting. But the food turned out to be almost uniformly awful. Too salty, too processed. Even the US Dairy Queen seemed to have food that was less appetizing than its Canadian cousins.

But the thing that seems most interesting in retrospect is the portion size.

I should start by explaining my experience with the "comida corrida" here in Mexico. A comida corrida is a 2 or 3 course set menu lunch served in most restaurants between 1pm and about 4pm. Its generally an excellent deal, costing between 35 and 70 pesos. ($3 to $6). It usually starts with a bowl of vegetable or pasta soup, followed by the plate of the day -- a single small drumstick in mole sauce or a small portion of chicken stew, a half cup of rice, perhaps a dollop of iceberg lettuce salad. Its always accompanied by tortillas, and might come with either agua de fruta (basically a fresh fruit drink made with papaya, or pineapple) or a modest dessert (think jello;-), or sometimes both. The first few times I had one, I thought "this is lovely, but I didn't get quite enough to eat. I'm not hungry, but I bet I will be soon...". But in actual fact, it turned out I'd always had enough, and didn't actually need a second meal 2 hours later.

Contrast this with our last meal in the US, in El Paso, Tx. After several failed attempts to order something both appetizing and healthy at the modest "family" restaurants we'd been stopping at, I decided to give up and order the chicken- fried steak. It turned out to be an excellent choice, but it came with:

• biscuits and butter
• a large iceberg lettuce salad
• baked potato with both a large lump of butter and sour cream
• large portion of previously frozen broccoli
• a large, thin, breaded and deep-fried steak

It was all quite tasty. Except that we could easily shared the meal between us. (and if we had, we might have had room for a piece of pie, which looked excellent). Instead I stuffed myself and was still able to finish only 2/3 of the salad, 2/3 of the steak, 1/2 of the broccoli, 1/3 of the potato, and a bite or two of the biscuit.

I think I've found the secret to maintaining my pant size when I return to Canada. Portion size.