A new digital calculator is taking the guesswork out of portion planning to help hosts reduce the massive amount of food, money and resources that go to waste around the holiday. The “Guest-imator” is the latest waste-busting consumer resource from the Ad Council and Natural Resources Defense Council’s Save The Food national public service campaign.
The easy-to-use tool allows users to properly plan how much food to buy and serve for special gatherings and other large dinners. To use it, hosts plug in the number of guests they expect to have and select the types of dishes they plan to prepare, including mains, sides and desserts. They can also indicate the number of leftover meals desired.
The Guest-imator then calculates the amount of each food to prepare, taking into consideration not only the number of portions needed, but the number of dishes offered, and whether the dishes being served are heavy or light. As the host adds or eliminates dishes or guests, the calculator also updates its calculation.
