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One of the newest fads in the way of kitchen help for dieters is these new discs from a company called Portionpal.  What happened to measuring cups and spoons?  You get five discs, called Portionpals, one each for meat, chicken, fish, sides, and desserts.  Portionpals are circles with lines in the center that you use for cutting guides while preparing your food.  Position your steak on top of the Portionpal disc and cut on the lines, oh wait, the Portionpal lines are under the steak….hmmm, oops, now where’s that first aid kit?

Never mind, you can take Portionpal to a restaurant with you.  Of course I don’t know what the protocol is for this.  Do you give the Portionpal to the chef or play with your food in the restaurant? 

Luckily you’ll be happy to know that Portionpal serves double duty as cutting boards so they won’t have to make it into the garage sale pile anytime too soon. 

Outside of the awkwardness of using Portionalpal…okay, I’m sure it isn’t that difficult, it isn’t like woodshop…the one flaw I find with it is how high can you pile the food while still staying within the Portionpal lines?  Jenga anyone?  I’m just saying, I don’t know if outside of these discs there is any other practical dieting assistance.

I have to hand it to Portionpal; marketing at its finest.  I’ve read that they have companies buying these up to give to their employees in hopes to minimize their healthcare costs. How about more gyms in the workplace or nutritional help? 

The real problem I have with these is the price.  $18, plus shipping and handling for the Portionpal product is over the top.  How much you want to bet you end up paying near $30 to get these? You can buy this style of cutting board at the dollar store and draw lines on it for pete’s sake.  If you want a portion control item in your home, maybe look for the plates that just help you eyeball servings, or as previously reviewed get a copy of The Portion Teller to help you discern serving sizes on your own without the help of a tool.

So what amuses you in the market today?  Do you think dieters are taken advantage of for quick and easy money?