Food has become luxury for many Americans. Both in sophistication, availability, and cost. The other day I bought a can of Chef Boyardee ravioli (okay, not exactly fine dining) for 89 cents. That's insane. Not only does the refined product taste great, even sandwiched between pitas, I could have 10 cans if I wanted and still be paying less one meal at a local Little Italy establishment. Regardless, I only ate one can, all of it as I'm apt to do to ensure no food goes to waste, and was satisfied. But what makes one can a normal, healthy serving? Turns out the nutrition facts predict about 2 servings per can. Then the label on the front shows more confusing detail of a "serving suggestion" with 2 mini raviolis on a fork. The whole can probably has 20 raviolis in it. You do the math.
But to a larger point, how often do we welcome a plate of food, whether at a restaurant or as a house guest, and simply eat until the food is gone? Surely if you're a member of the Clean Plate Club that is minimally a sub-conscious goal, or for Adam Richman (the Man versus the Food) a direct and conscious challenge. The humility and respect that we have been raised upon as youngsters, following the examples of our elders, now translates into gluttonous indulgence when taken out of context of the dire economic conditions of their childhoods. Plus our application of the concept in restaurants is far from the ideal application on the homefront.
Certainly most of the problem can be attributed to perceived quantity at the time of ordering, as well as the nutritional content of the specific elements. But there is a large element that is contingent simply upon arbitrary serving conditions, such as the volume of a ladle, judgment of a cook, and size of a plate. As pointed out in Supersize Me, an American-sized "small" beverage would be considered a "large' in France. Yet we are told it is small and so we believe it is so. So again, it is in placing our expectations in the hands of distant food preparers rather than nurturing grandmothers that additional problems arise.
Perhaps another element should be recognized as important in the overall practice of cleaning one's plate. The idea of objectively viewing a meal as rational, or of a proper ration. Or even just making it a point to first start eating more meals off of a real plate. If you find yourself unwrapping your meal or eating from a cardboard sleeve then you're more than likely not putting the right products in your body to begin with. At it's heart, the concept of Patella Rosa is not flawed, but it is prudent to recognize when it's execution may stray from it's humble beginnings.
Personally, I'm just now beginning to recognize this caveat (partly due to a favorable metabolism), as in much of the wisdom you can be exposed to but fail to recognize when growing up.
But c'mon grandma, you could have at least given my chubby cousin and I a heads-up that we were only going to be permitted one walk up to the all-you-can-eat buffet. Then we could have at least chosen our plate size accordingly.