From the archives: Catching up with friends or family at a cafe this weekend? In this 2022 story from the Listener’s archives, Jennifer Bowden offers tips and hints on how to avoid overeating and food waste when you’re served a muffin “the size of a baby’s head”.
Question: I rarely eat in cafes any more because food intended as a snack is generally the size of a whole meal, and I don’t want to substitute dinner for a muffin the size of a baby’s head. As a result, I’m often faint with hunger but can find nothing to eat. I’m not zealous about diet, calories, etc. I simply cannot absorb that quantity of food! And what do people feed small children when they take them out?
Answer: Consumers can often end up stuck between a rock and a hard place when dining out and considering food waste.
With ever-larger food servings now the norm in cafes, restaurants and takeaways, consumers must juggle the competing priorities of honouring their health and appetite versus not wasting food by leaving it uneaten. So, what do we do?
Our priority should always be to honour the signals our body sends us about our hunger and fullness. Eat when hungry, stop when you feel full.
Studies have consistently shown that children can self-regulate their energy intake. So, when eating a high-energy meal, they tend to eat a smaller quantity, and when eating a low-energy meal, they eat a larger portion. Of course, as children grow up, that incredible ability to self-regulate weakens as they conform to external pressures such as parents, peers, and food companies, who all have an opinion about how much children should eat.
Thus, we grow up to become adults who ignore our body’s magnificent machinery, including gut sensors and hormones that signal our brain to trigger feelings of fullness and reduce the sensory appeal of the food we’re eating. Have you ever noticed how your meal no longer smells or tastes as good when you’re feeling fuller? That is your body gently encouraging you to stop eating.
Of course, it can be hard to honour that fantastic system when we’re faced with an oversized muffin or plate of food when dining out. However, you’re not alone in this battle, so here are a few tools I’ve developed to deal with our world of oversized portions:
Sharing is caring: If you’re dining with someone else, such as a family member, it can be a great idea to split a snack or meal in half – whether that’s an oversized muffin or a serving of eggs Benedict.
Save half for later: Buy an item to dine in but with the express intention of saving half of it to take home. Ask the cafe staff for a paper bag, and then you can cut that giant muffin in half, bag half for later, and enjoy the first half in the cafe.
Ask for a half-sized serving: Some cafes and restaurants now offer half-sized servings but they don’t always advertise them on the menu, so ask at the counter. For example, my local cafe offers a half-serve of eggs Benedict with one egg, a couple of rashers of bacon and a small potato rosti. If enough of us keep asking for half-serves, perhaps more cafes will start offering them, too.
The other option is to order food and take your leftovers home. But do keep in mind the total amount of time your leftovers are sitting at your table unrefrigerated. A temperature “danger zone” exists between 5-60°C (which includes room temperature), within which it is easy for harmful bacteria to grow in certain foods (see below).
The goal is to minimise the amount of time these foods spend at room temperature. So, although a berry muffin is safe sitting at room temperature for hours, a chicken pasta dish is not. Check out the guidelines for food storage to make sure your leftovers are safe to eat later.
Foods usually considered as potentially hazardous when stored in the temperature danger zone (5-60°C) are:
Raw meats, cooked meats and food containing meat, such as casseroles, curries, lasagne and meat pies.
Dairy products and foods containing dairy products, such as milk, cream, custard and dairy-based desserts.
Seafood (excluding live seafood) and food containing seafood, such as seafood salad.
Processed fruits and vegetables, such as prepared salads and ready-to-eat fruit packs.
Cooked rice and pasta.
Processed foods containing eggs, beans, nuts, or other protein-rich food, such as quiche and soya bean products.
Food such as sandwiches, rice salads and pasta salads containing any of the above ingredients.
If kept in the temperature danger zone:
Between 0-2 hours – use the food now or store at or below 5°C or above 60°C for future use.
Between 2-4 hours – the food must be eaten immediately. It cannot be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
More than 4 hours – it must be discarded and not eaten.
This story originally appeared in the NZ Listener’s March 26-April 1, 2022, edition.
