• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Grandnanny's House

  • Home
  • About
  • 21 Day Fix
  • Family Fun
  • Ultimate Portion Fix
  • Healthy Recipes
  • Travel Adventures
  • Contact

Container Filling Hacks and Tips {Portion Fix/21 Day Fix}

September 21, 2019 by Grandnanny 15 Comments

If you came to this post to find out about container filling hacks and tips, then I assume you know about the Portion Fix/21 Day Fix. So I am not going to waste a bunch of time explaining what I am talking about. But if you don’t have a clue what I am talking about and want to learn you can find out  here

Why can you trust my advice?

I have been living the Fix for going on 3 years now and lost 55lbs. In those 3 years, I have helped countless people reach their own weight loss goals by giving them advice and I have gained invaluable advice from those countless people too! This information is a combination of all of that knowledge.

I recently wrote a post about the higher “brackets” D-E-F and how to take some of the “bulk” out of their containers.

This post is exactly the opposite of that one, it is about cramming them FULL as you possibly can!!

Who is this post geared toward?

It is for people new to the Fix lifestyle and has never filled a container before or the people who start in the lower brackets A-B-C and feel like they are hungry all the time or maybe someone who has to learn to drop down to a lower bracket with fewer containers.

We will talk about some basic ways that we “experienced Fixer’s” get the very most out of every morsel of food that will possibly fit into a container.

A picture is worth 1000 words, sometimes.

I am going to let pictures help me as much as I can but pictures are 2 dimensional and so sometimes the “bulk” of a food can be harder to see in a picture. What I really want you to do is to get out your containers and see what I am talking about. (Unless you are a “shover-in-er” like I am and already know what I am saying)

When someone tells me they are hungry after eating all of their containers I immediately wonder if they ate all of their containers crammed as full as they could.

These are only examples…these are not the ONLY foods you can use these ways!

One of the most common things we get asked is “How am I supposed to measure my food cooked or raw?” The general rule for that is to measure it like you are going to eat it, measure it cooked if you are going to eat it cooked and raw if eating it raw. BUT you will see instances where that rule can be bent, think spinach, but we can bend a few things without breaking anything LOL.

Our assigned container amounts are based on a calorie range, that range is about 200 calories apart. Let’s stay with the example of spinach. One cup of cooked spinach has 41 calories in it and one cup of raw spinach has 7 calories in it, the 34 calories of difference will fit WELL within that 200 calorie range SO you don’t have to stress too much about it one way or the other!

Let’s get started with our Green container filling hacks and tips.

Our Green container holds 1 cup. 1 cup doesn’t sound like much until you pack that container so full that the lid might come flying off at any moment.

I decided lettuce was a good example for filling, but this could be ANY vegetable. This is 1/4 of a head of iceberg lettuce (yes, it is approved for the 21DF now) on a platter and chopped uniformly, so I can show you what I am talking about easier.

1/4 head of lettuce and green container filling hack

I packed and packed and packed some more and this is the only little scrap that wouldn’t go in my Green. Yes, 1/4 of a head of lettuce fit in this 1 Green container…who knew?!?!

1/4 head of lettuce in green container except for a piece container filling hack

This 1 “little” container…

can make a HUGE salad base.

container hack 1 container of lettuce is a bowl full

Now do that with every container for the rest of your salad. Another full container with tomatoes, onions, cucs, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots. Any combo you want! Crammed in so tight that if you breath hard the lid will just go air born!!

I do have another trick for cutting things like celery sticks and carrot sticks. I cut them twice as long as our container and then turn my green container on its side and stacking it only 1/2 full it still = 1G but you have longer sticks!

celery sticks in green container filling hack

Maybe pick a protein for your salad?

On to those Red container filling hacks and tips

Another one of our most asked questions about the 21DF is “How much does our Red container foods weigh?” And my #1 answer is ALWAYS “No one food weighs the same as another food”

I understand wanting to be able to cook a steak or chicken breast whole or serve it whole.  My answer to that problem was to get my kitchen scales out and weigh every meat I could get my hands on.

I started with the “Measure it how you are going to eat it” rule. So I cut up an entire cooked steak and put it in my Red, as tight as I could pack it and weighed it. 6.2 ounces. The next thing I pulled my scales out was for cooked fish. 4.9 ounces. That is in the SAME Red container!

BOOM! No 2 types of meat are going to weigh the same.

Every meat I measured fell between 4 and 6 ounces. I decided to pick the number of 5 ounces of cooked or raw meat as my go-to measurement when I need to weigh my meat. But I truly use that container to measure anything I can.

Lean ground beef is the exception to my rule because so many recipes use 1lb of meat as 4 servings and that is about 4 ounces. That still fits into that “calorie range” the Fix accommodates and makes the Fix math easier. BUT  I 100% of the time I measure my ground beef raw in my container when making burgers because I get a burger WAY bigger than 4 ounces, more like 5.5 ounces. Most of the time I get 2 normal sized burgers out of 1R. When I measure a 1lb package in my Red container I only get 2 3/4’s containers full.

How many times did I check?

I repeated the test with different raw meats AND cooked ones too. I basically got the same results, but to my surprise, there was VERY LITTLE shrinkage when I cooked it and remeasured it. The shocking thing to me is that I have seen people take entire ounces off for “shrinkage” when in reality it is more like .05 of an ounce!

Next, I tried leaving my meat whole and fitting it into my container.

3 chicken breasts in red container filling hack

I had 3 HUGE chicken breast pieces and was curious if I could squeeze one in my Red… and low and behold, YES! Each one fit rolled up sushi-style into my container. NO need to cut it and fit it any certain way. I grilled them and counted each one as a full Red container. I have done the exact same thing with a new york strip steak, left it whole and it fit in my container. Cooked it whole, and ate it like a normal steak confident it was 1R.

Chicken tenders are a staple in my freezer. Using the “cram it in” method I find I can usually get 2 tenders in 1R with the lid down!!

Measuring other proteins

“How many shrimp is 1R?” is another popular question. And once again I beg “Use that container!”  Shrimp come in so many different sizes that you just can’t give 1 number… and who wants to miss even one shrimp!!

shrimp and red container

When I am eating something like crab legs I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup. I crack enough meat to fill it up and eat that amount and do it 3 times. That keeps my meat warm but I am able to keep count of my container. I will also make a mixed container of 5-6 crab legs cracked and then fill the rest of my container with shrimp.

Remember ALL seafood has naturally occurring sodium in it so be mindful of your sodium on a seafood feast day!

Other tips for meat

I like to make meatballs but round meatballs in a square container just don’t fit very well and always leave me wondering about “more”. So I have started making SQUARE meatballs and it is easier too! I just use knife and scoot them apart. It makes it easier to get them all the same size too.

square meatballs

See how easy they stack? I actually got 12 meatballs in this red container!

square meatballs

 

Filling that red to the very HILT will be more filling than loosely filling it! Protein helps to keep you full longer so getting every single bite you are supposed to get is very important!

I have a post about different “man-made” Red container foods that are approved. Deli meats, sausages, cottage cheese…. it really helps you learn how to shop for them. You can find that information HERE.

How to handle that “little” yellow container!

Now let’s see about that precious Yellow container, our carbs. If you are not getting every bite you can out of this container that could be part of your “hungry” problem. We all love our carbs. The more the better.

One of my blogger friends worked up a wonderful chart that helps us understand a little more about our yellow container.

It tells us that we have a calorie range for every food on the yellow list. 90-130 calories. This comes in handy for finding store-bought packaged food like bread and cereal. I am careful not to use the top number very often when I am picking out a product because that would be topping out that “calorie range” too often and might slow my weight loss down to a crawl.  So we have settled on about 100 calories for 1Y and never more than 130.

Pasta as a Yellow

Pasta can be a little tricky to measure. Whole wheat spaghetti just kind of wiggles out of the container the more you try to put it in! So I tell people to get just as much into it as you can…overfilling the container and THEN push the lid down cutting off all those wiggly legs off.

spaghetti noodles in yellow container

 

Another popular trick is “stacking”. But just fill that container FULL is my main point!penne pasta container filling hack

Getting “more”

Finding the products that are going to give you “more” of something for 100 calories is a great way to get the most out of that Yellow container too.

 

Thus brand of pita only has 60 calories, so for 120 calories, I can have 2 full-sized pita bread as 1Y.

Finding a bread where you can have 2 slices for 1Y lets you have that more we have been talking about. I did an entire post about bread products.

If I need bread crumbs for a recipe I can turn a whole loaf of the Aldis brand into them. I took the time to measure how filled my Yellow container would be with the 3 slices for 1Y bread. EXACTLY 1/2 cup! The store-bought version I can find is 1/4 cup for 1 Yellow, so now I can use double that!

I devoted an entire post about how to find approved brands of cereal.  Getting 100 calories worth can get you 1 full cup of cereal of some cereals instead of just the 1/2 cup of a normal yellow. Is this bending the rules a little? YES. But I have and have seen many people lose weight using this hack.

Now on to the BIG CHEESE and those container filling hacks and tips!

Parmesan cheese and blue container

Pun intended… but that 1 Blue container can make or break your attempt at the Fix sometimes.

The underfilling of this container just makes me sad because cheese and avocado are LIFE sometimes. I rarely waste a blue container on nuts. I mean 14 peanuts used under the right circumstances can be great, like on an Asian dish. But if you are trying to fill up, I suggest cheese and avocado instead.

Once again we often get asked, “How much does a Blue of cheese weigh?” AND you guessed it………. “NO 2 kinds of cheese weigh the same!”

weighing cheese container filling hack

I shoved cheddar cheese as tight as I could in my Blue with the lid still going on weighed 2.3 ounces.

The packed the same way into that Blue was shredded Parmesan cheese at only 1.7 ounces.

weighed Parmesan cheese

So again I implore you to get that container out and use it.

Make a list of each kind of cheeses weight if you need to… so you can at least weigh accurately but don’t try to give all cheese 1 weight.

The Blue container holds 5 Tablespoons. I often break that amount into different meals. For example 1 Tablespoon on scrambled eggs, 2 Tablespoons on salad, and 2 Tablespoons on 2 tacos for supper. Or I might use both cheese AND guacamole on a taco salad/plate.

examples of cheese and blue containers

The day I played with cheese ( that is an odd beginning to a sentence) I discovered that 2 average slices of cheese, broken up, fit into a blue perfectly.

examples of cheese

2 Babybel and 2 string cheese sticks count as 1B. Laughing cow wedges nutrition information tells us that 3, yes 3 wedges can be counted at 1B! The flavored Laughing Cow wedges work out to 3 for 1/2B… but the sodium in them will make you want to limit them to 3 and have 1/2 blue container of something else!

**** New Cheese Tip**** Mozzarella Pearls/Balls fit nicely in our blue! The small-sized ones are my favorite. I love to marinate them in different flavors. I got 25 of them in my blue with the lid on! The recipe for marinated balls is HERE.

Thinly sliced cheese has a completely different count. I just folded them square and 5 1/2 slices fit!!

thinly sliced swiss cheese for container filling hacks

 

On to avocado…and my container filling tip and hacks for this favorite!

avocado and blue container filling hack

Our food list says “mashed or 1/4 medium”.  1/4th MEDIUM? How much is that?? I watched Fixate one day and saw the California “medium” avocado she was using and almost fainted!! Because here in Tennessee all I can get are small or extra small and hers was the size of a softball. SO, I decided to start mashing my avocado into my Blue container and time after time 1/2 of the most common size of my avocados fit into that 1 Blue. Now if I want to leave my avocado whole or chunky I know how much to use. Mash the most common size avocado you buy into your Blue container so you have the same information and be sure to get every bite of it you deserve.  LOL!

***NEW HACK*** When I make my version of guacamole I am careful to measure everything that goes into the bowl. This time I wanted tomatoes in it so I put 2B of mashed avocado and 2orange containers or 4Tablespoons of tomatoes in the bowl. So when I serve myself I can, with confidence, measure out 1B and 2T or measured orange container for 1 serving! If I had added anything else to add like onions I could have even more.

guacamole measuring container hack

Are there any other “blue” container filling hacks and tips?

Yes! Another container hack I like to use is to split my Blue container up into parts. It measures as 1/3 cup. 1/3 cup split up is 5 tablespoons. Regular measuring tablespoons packed TIGHT but placing a FLAT surface on top of it (I use one of my container lids)to keep me honest. I also use my orange container to measure 2 tablespoon sizes.

That way I can split my Blue up during the day. 2T at brunch and 3T at supper or 2 tablespoons of cheese and 3 tablespoons of avocado on the same taco salad! The combos are endless.

Last but not least is our beloved Purple container filling hacks

Fruit plate for container filling hacks

The same basic principles apply. Fill it UP! You might not want to mash your grapes in very hard but I have found cutting them in half gets me twice as much as leaving them whole. The same thing with whole strawberries vs sliced strawberries. If I can choose,  I always opt for sliced so I can have…more!

I love watermelon and so getting every single bite of it into my purple is really important. I have been known to carve a square the exact size of my purple before.watermelon and purple container filling hacks

To sum this post up: SHOVE THEM FULL!!

***UPDATE*** TO THIS PURPLE SECTION OF CONTAINER FILLING HACKS!

A banana can cause some debate in the 21 Day Fix circle! So I again investigated the situation and came up with this information: A small-sized banana is one that’s less than 6 inches long. A large-sized banana is one between 8 and 9 inches long.

SO according to our list 1/2 of a large banana is going to be the correct amount 🙂

whole banana

This banana is 7 inches long……but the same circumference as a 9 inch one. With that knowledge, I can confidently cut my banana at 4-4 1/2 inches for 1 Purple!

1/2 a banana container filling hack

Another banana tip: I  always have 1/2 banana hanging around I always it the next day. But you are looking at how I store it…because mother nature does a WONDERFUL job so I let her do it 😉 I only have to cut a sliver off the black end…. the rest of the banana is perfect.

**UPDATE: Grapes, 11 whole grapes with the lid on. But 17 whole grapes when they were cut in half!!

 

 

 

Filed Under: 21 Day Fix, Healthy Recipes, Portion Fix, Ultimate Portion Fix, Uncategorized

Previous Post: « Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas {Portion Fix/21 Day Fix}
Next Post: Yellow Container Products {Portion Fix/21 Day Fix} »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chelsea

    March 23, 2021 at 3:06 pm

    I disagree on the blue container packing methods listed for cheese here. It directly contradicts what the fix plan states. The fix plan specifies the kind of cheese and way it should be measured – shredded or crumbled depending on the cheese. If you are cutting slices/chunks/mozzarella pearls/string cheese/etc those are going to be far more dense than shredded resulting it higher fat content and calories. While I wish I could shove full hunks of cheese in there, I know that would be above the recommended fix amount. I covet those blues!! Cheese and Avocado ftw!

    Reply
    • Grandnanny

      March 24, 2021 at 8:04 am

      You can measure your food in your containers any way you want to. My expertise with the container system comes from a 55lb weight loss. I never drank any brand of shake or did any exercise program other than walking. I used my containers exactly like I show in this post and still lost the 55lbs. But I thank you for your opinion and hope you have as much success on your journey as I did.

      Reply
  2. Lani

    May 10, 2021 at 1:59 pm

    Love these tips! I was in 21 Day Fix 3 yes too. Coming back to it.

    Reply
  3. Sara

    March 4, 2022 at 8:53 am

    I was soooo excited to find this post! Cannot wait to try all of these tips! Thank you so much for better explaining how these containers are broken down and more ways to use them.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Ultimate Portion Fix/21 Day Fix Jalapeno Popper Chicken - Grandnanny's House says:
    December 30, 2019 at 7:26 pm

    […] Learn how to take advantage of every bit of your Blue container…….I have some tips and tricks here. […]

    Reply
  2. 21 Day Fix Updated Food List - Confessions of a Fit Foodie says:
    January 22, 2020 at 1:05 pm

    […] Container Filling Hacks and Tricks | Grandnanny’s House […]

    Reply
  3. Examining the Coffee Bar Section {21 Day Fix} - Grandnanny's House says:
    February 5, 2020 at 8:13 pm

    […] Yes. You can use canned coconut cream or canned coconut milk in your coffee.  They would have to be counted as a Blue container if you do. If I do use one of those, I divide my 1/3 cup-blue container into 5 tablespoons and count them like that. I explain how and why I do that other times too in this post.  […]

    Reply
  4. 21 Day Fix Meal Planner PDF [Free!] - Confessions of a Fit Foodie says:
    June 12, 2020 at 7:33 am

    […] Container Filling Hacks and Tricks | Grandnanny’s House – Don’t sell yourself short!  Be sure you are filling your containers all the way to maximize your 21 Day Fix results.  […]

    Reply
  5. Counting Nuts {21 Day Fix} - Grandnanny's House says:
    June 20, 2020 at 8:54 am

    […] Being able to break that blue container into smaller pieces makes it seem like you get “more” of it.  I talk about breaking it into tablespoons of cheese in this post about container hacks.  […]

    Reply
  6. Greek Chicken Tenders {21 Day Fix} - Grandnanny's House says:
    November 17, 2020 at 8:57 am

    […] Blue container shoved FULL of feta cheese comes next. You can get 2 Blue containers out of a package this size. I only use 1 […]

    Reply
  7. {21 Day Fix} Meatloaf Two Ways - Grandnanny's House says:
    December 22, 2020 at 8:37 am

    […] a couple of teaspoons of your favorite pesto. I discuss sliced cheese and how to count it in this POST.  Again a small tomato sliced across it all with that parmesan cheese dusted on them and then […]

    Reply
  8. Lemon Pepper Ricotta Pasta with Lemon Pepper Chicken {21 Day Fix} - Grandnanny's House says:
    April 27, 2021 at 12:06 pm

    […] I like to pick chicken breasts that will fit neatly in my Red container so that I can leave them whole. Just kind of roll them “sushi” style to see if they fit in it with the lid on! I have more container hacks in here.  […]

    Reply
  9. Red Container Foods {21 Day Fix} - Grandnanny's House says:
    June 11, 2021 at 7:54 pm

    […] “real meats” like chicken, pork, and seafood I kind of cover in this post about “how to” fill the containers. I take a deeper dive into cuts of beef that we can […]

    Reply
  10. Help Getting Started {21 Day Fix} - Grandnanny's House says:
    July 7, 2021 at 4:24 pm

    […] Those “little” containers are intimidating!! At 1st you are not sure you are filling them right. I have some helpful information about container hacks and tips that will help you learn how to handle those containers like an old pro!! Find it HERE. […]

    Reply
  11. Tamale Casserole {Portion Fix/21 Day Fix} - Grandnanny's House says:
    March 4, 2022 at 10:19 pm

    […] I measure my ground beef in my Red Portion Fix container. That way I am 100% sure of how to count it. I have some more container hacks and tips in THIS POST. […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Teresa Castleberry
Hi! I’m Teresa. I love sharing how eating healthier can be fun, and why my granddarlings love being at Grandnanny’s House!

Read More


Search by Category

  • 21 Day Fix
  • Family Fun
  • Healthy Recipes
  • Portion Fix
  • Travel Adventures
  • Ultimate Portion Fix
  • Uncategorized
  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Search by Date

Copyright © 2019 Grandnanny's House · Privacy POlicy