Strollerderby

They Say: Cooking at Home Makes You Fat

Posted by Madeline Holler

You know how the first thing to go in this recession was dining out? And really, what was the sacrifice? You would be saving money AND creating a whole new healthy-eating lifestyle for you and the fam. Plus, you'd score the "time at the dinner table" points, which will apparently bring you one step closer to God or the Obamas or both.

So you picked up a copy of The Joy of Cooking (the standard when you were growing up!) and fired up the oven and, wait, what's this? A larger ass? More jiggly thighs? An extra chin?

Here's the problem: The Joy of Cooking? Those recipes have 40 percent more calories than in the past. FORTY PERCENT!

Now, it's not that they suddenly called for an extra cup of Crisco on every page. Rather, the portion sizes -- as with all American portion sizes -- went up dramatically. A pan of brownies that used to serve 30 now serves 15 -- even though the ingredients and pan size didn't change.

Now, researchers weren't picking on that classic icon just to be mean. It's because it's been around so long that they have edition 1 to 7 to note the changes. 

I suppose the moral of the story is the moral of every story: smaller portions. Where's the joy in that?

Related Posts:

Colicchio Says Kids Need Real Food

Round 1: Baby Food Taste-Off

Rating Yourself on the Obama Parenting Scale

Image: cookingforengineers.com


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Comments

 

gpgirl said:

Yes, the portion sizes are going up. I would still imagine that cooking at home is healthier than eating out, as portions in restaurants have gotten bigger also.

February 24, 2009 5:33 PM
 

Shannon said:

I always eat smaller portions at home than when I'm out. I think it's a value thing -- you want to eat what you pay for, whereas at home, I'd rather have the leftovers. But I always figure on getting twice as many portions as are specified in the recipe, and I'm usually not wrong.

February 24, 2009 5:47 PM
 

Chips O'Toole said:

Because of my layoff last year, we go out to eat far less. And since, I have lost 34 pounds, eating at home.

Remember, when you go out, there are all sorts of things done to make the food taste better. I mean, who at home puts a load of butter on top of a steak?

February 25, 2009 9:49 AM
 

Knitty said:

"They" are stupid.  "They" looked at an incredibly tiny sample of recipes, all of them of the comfort-food variety such as macaroni and cheese none of them the sort of grain/lean meant/veggie based meals a health-conscious family cooks.  This is simply more of the BOOGABOOGABOOGA-Obesity-Crisis crap that's just so very tiresome.  

February 25, 2009 1:10 PM

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