In order to manage a healthy diet, you need to understand portion sizes. This is especially true when you eat foods that are naturally higher in calories. While three or four servings of green beans at dinner time may not make much of a dent in your daily calorie count, the extra servings of steak or potatoes sure will. Here are some tips for watching portion sizes.

Poll:How do you control portions when you dine out?

• I only eat part of the meal and take the rest home
• I usually split the meal with someone else.
• I only order appetizer, soup or salad...and nothing else.
• I don't watch my portions, I eat everything.
• View Results

More About Portion Control

• When Portion Size Matters
• Portion Control Quiz
• Pictures of 300-Calorie Foods

Daily Nutrition Tip

_{Photo © Tara Bartal}

We are officially into the holiday season and that means lots of parties and get-togethers, lots of fun - and lots food and drink. Mostly high-calorie, not-good-for-you food and drink

This year you can have a healthy and happy holiday season with these sumptuous recipes thanks to Women's Health magazine. There are eight low-fat and low-calorie ideas for holiday treats that will cover every facet of the holiday season - all the way from Hanukkah to New Years Day.

Try all eight of these easy-to-make updated holiday favorites.

One of my favorites is the Roasted Pears with Feta. They are delicious, warm and cheesy, yet low in calories and so easy to make. They are the perfect healthy addition to your next holiday bash.

Poll:Do you watch your diet during the holidays?

• Yes I am very careful about what I eat.
• Sometimes I am careful, but sometimes I don't care.
• I don't watch my diet at all during the holidays.
• View Results

Daily Nutrition Tip

_{Photo © Women's Health}

One-third of American adults are obese and the Cornell Food and Brand Lab is hoping to do something to reduce that number. They have launched the Small Plate Movement in order to help you realize how much food you are eating and, if you are overweight or obese, learn how to cut down your daily intake.

The Small Plate Movement promotes the use of 10" diameter plates at mealtime so that you automatically decrease the amount of food you serve up. The neat thing is that you won't even notice the reduced amount and you'll still feel full. People tend to fill up their plates and that leads to mindless overeating. According to the researchers at Cornell:

A two inch difference in plate diameter -- from 12" to 10" plates -- would result in 22% fewer calories being served, yet it is not drastic enough to trigger a counteracting response. If a typical dinner has 800 calories, a smaller plate would lead to a weight loss of around 18 pounds per year for an average size adult.

That's a lot of calories saved and a lot of pounds lost, so if you need to lose some weight, take the challenge at Small Plate Movement. The Challenge officially starts on January 1, 2009 but why wait for the extra holiday pounds to pile on? The challenge can be incorporated at any time for a one month period.

Daily Nutrition Tip

_{Image © Cornell Food and Lab Brand}

Eating a healthy diet is important for feeling good and for looking good, but it isn't always easy to choose the right foods. Are you confused about what makes a diet healthy?

Start by learning how to choose foods that fit your lifestyle. Soon you will be eating better, feeling healthier and looking great.

More About a Healthy Diet:

• Nutrient Density
• Finding Healthy Foods in the Grocery Store
• What's a Nutrient?

Daily Nutrition Tip

_{Photo © Pat Herman}