Budhha bowls

Burrito bowls

Poke Bowls

Acai Bowls

Smoothie Bowls

No, we are not naming different brands of bowls for fun. If you are a part of the Instagram universe then chances are that you are familiar with the new trend of literally eating everything out of a bowl. Like breakfast smoothies. Even though one might argue that it’s a passing fad, remarkably this trend has its own benefits and the chief one is, portion control.

Portion Control, Really?

Let’s picture a scenario; you are out for dinner at a new restaurant and instead of a double cheeseburger, you opt for a healthy chicken pasta without cheese. Feeling proud of your decision to eat better, you wait patiently for your food to arrive. Once the waiter placed your food on the table, you realized that your plate is actually the size of a frisbee – filled with a mountain of carbohydrate, sauce and protein.

Point to Note: Even though it was your intention to eat right, the decision of how much you should eat was made for you by someone else.

Its Just Some “Extra Food”, Right?

Whether one agrees or not, how much you eat a certain food directly affects your health simply because when you have an unrestricted portion, you also have unrestricted calories. Is it ideal if you are planning to lose weight or to get fit? Not at all. In 2013 a review published in PubMed revealed that large plates of food can lead to 45% more consumption than average.

Yes, a massive 45%. The study also suggested that during the past decades, surges in portion size has had a direct impact on obesity. Not surprisingly, endless hours of cardio cannot negate the effects of large portions of energy-dense foods served in plates, especially in eateries.

Do You Need to Know How Much You Are Eating?

Yes, absolutely. Especially since this knowledge allows you to control how many calories you are intaking. Which also means, ensuring that you eat only as much as your body needs instead of eating mindlessly.

Here Comes the Bowl

Macro Bowl, Buddha Bowl or a Power Bowl, call it what you like but the concept is simple; eat from a bowl to tackle the issue of overeating. A research by Cornell University reveals that large plates can alter your perception of how much food you actually have on your plate. On the other side, by using a bowl you are more susceptible to reducing the amount of food you consume in general. Simply because the average mid-sized bowl holds about 3o% less food than an average plate, you will end up eating less at every meal.

Think about this; your food looks more “put together” in a bowl and more “spread out” on a plate, therefore tricking your brain into thinking that there’s not enough on the plate which invariably makes you reach out for a second or third helping.

Also, eating from a bowl ensures that just the right amount of protein, vegetables and whole grains and sauces from one dish. You can always choose a bowl depending on how hungry you are and this formula works especially well with certain foods such as dal and rice, chopped salads, veggie-and-rice and pastas since such meals often demand a bowl to get a filling bite with a little bit of everything.

Now, don’t assume that you can eat a bowl of French fries and call it a day. An ideal bowl meal is made of:

• 25 percent whole grains
• 30 percent vegetables
• 15 percent lean protein
• 10 percent sauce
• 20 percent extras such as nuts, seeds, sprouts and more

Go for the Bowl

It might be difficult to stick to a bowl meal when it comes to eating out but this should only encourage you to cook more at home. If that’s not too idealistic, just stick to eating from a bowl as often as you can. It is an easy way to control your calorie intake and to create a nutritionally harmonious meal, made up of grains, veggies and protein.

The Bowl I Eat Out Of 

I absolutely love my Le Creuset Large Multi Bowl – Flame Orange and I have a collection of these in several colours. I use them for all my meals and even desserts and they are so pretty! You can checkout the collection here.