Portion Awareness and New Portion Control Video DVD

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Written By Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

We just completed our Portion Control Video DVD and we had a lot of fun in the process and wanted to share our story and photos. We learned a lot about the calories in large portions of every day food.Here is what we learned:

  • Packages of movie snacks, like candies, cookies and chips, are really large and serve 2 or more. Although they look like one serving they are 3 servings and often top 500 or 600 calories.
  • Snack foods that are calorie dense, like chips, crackers, puffs and cookies, vary greatly in package sizes and even serving sizes. Some bags of potato chips serve 1, 2, 3, 8, 9. The ones that serve 2 or 3 look like they serve one.
  • One large sandwich can actually fill two plates (we dissected one!) and be totally out of balance for what someone should eat in a day - for example, the one we took apart filled a whole dinner plate with meat and a whole plate with bread.
  • Most desserts and baked goods are so large they make a serving size look small and they all go over 400 or 500 calories without exception.
  • The size cup, plate or bowl you are using really makes a difference in how much you tend to serve yourself.
  • The more fruits and vegetables you eat in a day the better for the purpose of feeling full on fewer calories.We wanted to help others realize that while it is important to read a food label and measure food and develop an eye for serving sizes, it is also important to select the right food. Choosing lower-fat foods and adding more fruits and veggies saved over 400 calories on one plate!
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Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there, she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world-famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland, where she focused on pastry arts and baking. After a decade in food service for Hyatt Hotels, Judy launched Food and Health Communications to focus on flavor and health. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude distinction from Johnson and Wales University with a BS in Culinary Arts, holds a master’s degree in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and runs a food photography & motion studio where her love is creating fun recipes and content.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.

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