No matter how well I plan every month, the last day ends up being a hair-pulling busy-fest, where I race to get the last of the month’s assignments in before deadline — as in midnight, and the new month. No matter how well I do at planning, I end up so busy I can barely see straight.

Do you know what today is? The last day of the month. And today is so busy that I contemplated skipping ELB just to have these extra few minutes. But, I don’t want to do that, so this is going to be a short post.

This week’s topic is portions. And to be quite frank, I watch my portions but don’t go crazy doing it. Typically I make dishes as four servings, so naturally I won’t eat much more than my one serving. I also usually eat off of lunch plates. It works. (Have you seen my portions control video? Check it out, along with some portion control tips on Tablespoon.)

But when it comes to cooking, I am very exacting with measurements and portioning for recipes. So, these are my favorite tools for doing that:

  • Kitchen scale – A few years ago, I bought a Oxo Good Grips Food Scale with Pull-Out Display for my husband for Christmas. But I use it a lot. I measure out deli meats for sandwiches with it as well as check the weight on potatoes, meats, etc for recipes. Oh, and it helped me realize that I was eating twice as many almonds in a sitting then I should.
  • Measuring spoons – After years of being frustrated by measuring spoons that wouldn’t fit into my spice containers, I found some RSVP Endurance Spice Measuring Spoon Set at The Container Store in New York, and bought them. LOVE them. The streamlined design means that they fit in just about any container.
  • Measuring cups – I’ve had my set of OXO Good Grips 3-Piece Angled Measuring Cup Set since 2004, when I received them as a wedding present from a good friend, and I use them every single day. I love the angled bar, which means that you can measure accurately without bending over to check your progress. Sadly though after nearly seven years, I have used them so much that the handle on my two-cup measure fell off … but it still works great, even without the handle.

Honestly, that’s all you need — whether you are measuring for a recipe or portioning your foods.

Be sure to check out the other ELB bloggers too.

P.S. If you haven’t already, please take my Family Meals Survey 2011.  I am almost to my goal of 100 responses. Please help me get there!

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