Not a Diet --- But.....

I’m really not looking for another diet.  But anytime that life offers a helping hand in eating appropriately, I’m all for it.  So I really admired these plates from Slimware (www.slimware.com)  They are way out of the price range that I’d ever consider paying ---- $36 for just 4 dinner plates --- but the concept intrigues me and I’m thinking. 

The swirly design is set up so that you put your meat/protein on the smallest of the comma-looking thingees, your starch on the medium sized swirly, and veggies on the largest swirl.  Voila, an instant beautiful plate with a properly proportioned meal. 

Benefits??  Well, for starters, it puts your meal into balance --- mostly vegetables, a little protein, some carbs.  It also seems to automatically undo some of the super-sizing of portions that has occurred in the American mindset.  As much as we try to avoid it, the restaurant mentality of full, huge plates plagues our household at times.  We suddenly find that we’re overloading our plates, super-sizing our portions and wondering why we’re gaining weight.  This pretty plate seems to do a better job of managing portions than the usual eyeballing tricks or the tedious measuring and weighing all of the time. 

The down side??  Well, the $36.00 is a big down side in my world.  And the black and white color scheme is not great either.  I have white dinnerware that I love, but black and white just doesn’t make it in my kitchen world.   And the fact that they only come in sets of four isn’t rocking my world either. 

Creativity time.  Could I create a plate like this on a paper plate or even a charger and then set a clear, glass plate on top?  That would let me control for color and style without struggling over food-safe inks and dyes.  Could I stain the back side of the glass plate ?  Would it withstand the dishwasher? (I’m not volunteering to hand wash the silly plate) Could I disguise the pattern as paisley or as something other than the modern looking comma thingees??

I think I’m going to give it a try --- maybe I’ll use the old deck of cards, baseball, and other tried and true visuals to work out some kind of a pattern --- something geometric, maybe. 

I’ll let you know if it works out.