Shannon's Foodie Review of Livliga Dishware

From time to time I ask Foodies to try out a product, so you can hear from someone besides me! Since Livliga Home is providing a free set of dishes to the Bariatric Foodie Pledge grand prize, I thought we have to have a Foodie review! I'm so thankful long-time Foodie Shannon A. was available to give them a try. In the interest of full disclosure, Livliga did provide Shannon with a set of its Halsa dishware to perform this review, however Shannon was not paid for her review. Read on to hear what she has to say!

Hello Everyone, Shannon here! Last fall, Nikki asked me if I would be willing to do a review of dinnerware made by Livliga, which makes dishware catered to people who are trying eat healthy. I was excited try out the dishes and to document my findings, not only for myself but also my husband who is a Type 1 diabetic. His diabetes requires much control and he tries very hard to measure and understand his serving sizes.

Deciding on a dish pattern...

After being asked to review the Livliga dishes, the first thing I had to decide was which dish pattern I’d use. After looking at their website, I initially fell in love with the Halsa pattern. The delicate blue pattern matched my kitchen perfectly, and when I read up on the product realized that the colors were chosen for a specific purpose. These colors, as opposed to others, help us to eat more slowly, to be calmer during meal times. In that sense we stay calm we eat slower, we enjoy our mealtime,  the portions on the plate are enough to make us satisfied.

The plates themselves are not too heavy or bulky, and though I expected them to be heavier, I was pleasantly surprised when they were not.  The circular patterns on the plates are not just meant to be aesthetic, but each circle and line on the dinnerware serves to help portion the meal. On the underside of the large plate, there is what I called my “treasure map” which shows what each circle represents and what serving it holds. There are circles for a serving of meat, vegetable, carbohydrate, and a sauce, etc.  The bowl and cup have lines on the inside representing a proper portions of liquid measurement.

Using the visual guides can be tricky...

After washing the plates in my dishwasher (and they held up to the dishwasher just fine) I used them to serve a meal. This is where things got tricky. I had a hard time remembering which circle for which portion of food. In fact, on several occasions I know I put the wrong kind of food on the wrong circle. Until I got a little more familiar with the plate and its layout, I used the treasure map pretty often. That was a tiny bit frustrating because it meant we could only plate one meal at a time, one of us was always waiting for the other to finish looking at the guide on the bottom of the plate. I think this is easily remedied with a separate guide that can be used to initially help plate the meals.

This dinnerware isn’t completely foolproof either. The place markings show a space, not necessarily a definitive serving size of something. The meat portion area of the plate can hold 2-6 ounces of meat.  Understandably if you are looking into portion control dinnerware you aren’t going to try to stack your serving of mashed potatoes eight inches off the plate in a perfect two inch circle, but who is to say without still fully measuring your food with a measuring device such as a measure cup or scale, just how much food is on the plate?

...but the visual cues generally work (at least for non-ops!)

When food is on the plates, when you use the general portion guides they give, they look full. I have to admit that made me realize how the mind can fool you. Now my plate didn't always look full because I don’t often eat the carbohydrates I make for my husband at dinner time, but in general I felt satisfied after eating from the plates. The lipped plate, the closeness of the circles on the base of the plate, those all help get the mind in the right place to feel satisfied after a meal.

Where I had the most trouble most often was with meals such as casseroles. Living in the Midwest, casseroles are a diet staple. But from a portion standpoint, I was always flummoxed as to how to use the plates effectively, since everything was mixed together. I found it hard to estimate what I was eating.

Now I understand that is the bowl could probably be used for this purpose, and I used the bowls frequently with my stews and soups…but even then getting eight ounces of soup in a bowl still really didn’t help me know what portion of that meal was meat, which was carb, and which was vegetable, and perhaps that’s ok.

For me it wasn’t,  I was having a hard time reconciling the idea that I was going back to get another few pieces of meat  because I knew that there wasn’t enough in the bowl when I served myself my initial portion.

Cost Considerations

The dish set retails price for 59.99. I don’t think that it is an outlandish amount of money to spend on nice dinnerware…that being said, how often do many of us use our nice dinnerware?  For my family and lifestyle, I don’t know that the price is worth it. My children are young and very rarely eat the same meal as my husband and I. They also have different nutritional needs than an adult. I would like to mention that Livliga does have a set of Kid plates, so there is an option for your young ones, but for us it still is not worth it.

Final Verdict

I really wanted to love this dinnerware as a post weight loss surgery patient, but in all honesty, it didn’t help me meet my personal nutritional needs as a bariatric post-op. There will probably never come a time when I would eat a full serving as indicated on the plate of carbohydrates, and my meals are protein heavy, so my plate always felt lopsided.

But I also understand that for some in the WLS community this dinnerware could be a life saver.  If you are a post-op who finds that you can eat more than what you feel that you should, or has a very high tolerance to foods you were warned you might not tolerate well, and it concerns you, Livliga might be the perfect answer for you to keep your portions in control. It really is all about your personal needs.

I should note that my husband found the dishes to be very effective in helping him stay within his portions and keep his blood sugars regulated. And as a lovely set of dinnerware however, I am completely smitten with the Livliga Halsa dinnerware. The Livliga concept is ingenious, it can be effective, and its execution is stylish, trendy, and promising. I anticipate that this company will do quite well in its healthy vibrant living platform.

As another tool in the post-op arsenal, I would give this product a solid B.  A great option for the more seasoned post- op to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but for some newbies this might not be as helpful. However, if your loved ones are looking to exercise greater portion control, be it for diabetes or any other health concerns, this dinnerware is highly effective and I would recommend it!

Bariatric Foodies: Meet Livliga!

Sheila and her husband, and Livliga co-owner, Walter, at the Obesity Action Coalition "Your Weight Matters" Convention.

So I promised this week that I'd have some juicy info about the Bariatric Foodie Pledge "winner takes all" grand prize. You'll notice on the menu to your right the list now includes ONE of the bonus items in the grand prize!

Just a reminder that the grand prize competition will happen the first week of March and is open to pledgers who pledged/checked-in all four weeks of the Bariatric Foodie Pledge.

So now you know one of the grand prizes is from Livliga Home. But just exactly what is Livliga? 

I met the folks at Livliga at the Obesity Action Coalition's "Your Weight Matters" Convention in Orlando last year and fell in love with their portion control dishes. I've seen portion control dishes before but they always looked so...obvious. They had the measurements directly on the plate which, to me, screams "I'm on a diet!" What I liked about Livliga is that the portion control is built into the design. To a bystander they look like beautiful dishes. But to you, they are guide maps to balanced eating!

So that we can learn more about this product, I asked co-owner Sheila Dietrich to answer a few questions about Livliga. BUT...you know the best information for us comes from us. I also asked a fellow Foodie, Shannon, to spend a few months using the dishes and report back. I'll post that tomorrow. Until then, here's what Sheila has to say about Livliga.

Nik: How did you come up with the idea to develop Livliga products?

Sheila: I’ve struggled with weight issues all my life. When I became executive director of the American Heart Association in Denver I became more aware of the obesity epidemic and how it affects us all.

I was motivated into action when the Centers for Disease Control made the statement that “we are now living in a generation where parents are going to outlive their children because of obesity.” I’m a mom of three kids, so that pronouncement made me made.

In my opinion there is something critical missing in our tool chest to combat overeating. It turns out our eyes make the decisions about the foods we eat, not our stomachs – positive visual cues have the power to help us control our eating.

That is why Livliga was created--to create an appealing and attractive food environment that supports us, through integrating the psychology of eating, in right-sized eating that actually makes of feel satisfied at the end of a meal.

Nik: So the plates have portion sizes and markers, but post-ops vary on how much they can eat. Do you think your products are still useful to them?

Sheila: Absolutely. We know, according to bariatric patients and bariatric physicians, Livliga is useful to individuals prior to surgery, post-ops and down the road, a few years out, as people begin to eat slightly larger portions. 

Prior to surgery our dishes help individuals get used to smaller portions and guides them to right-sized eating. Post surgery individuals have found the side plate is the best one to use, not the dinner plate. Then a few years out all the pieces can be used.

Nik: I've heard a lot of Foodies express that they wish their spouses or kids would start to eat better. For a person with a (air-quote) normal stomach, how do these dishes make a difference? 

On the right: a traditional plate. On the left: a Livliga plate.

Sheila: Livliga is all about everyone being in it together. Our designs are a subtle way to improve and control our food environment. Eating healthy is relevant to every one no matter your size, age, or if you are at your ideal weight. The wonderful thing about our plates is they support everyone in healthy eating habits. 

The icons on the plate remind us to eat a balanced meal as well as to eat certain foods in certain amounts. Studies actually show that there is a "halo effect" when one person changes their habits to eating less and eating healthier. Not only do they get healthier but they end up influencing the others around them and they get healthier too. 

Also, other research shows that long-term results for living a healthier lifestyle are much more successful if everybody in your family (including family of friends) joins in the lifestyle. Livliga is a physical manifestation of the commitment to living a healthier life long term.

Nik: What are the dishes made of? Are they durable?

Sheila: The dishware is made of porcelain. Porcelain is high fired and very durable. Livliga dishes are actually restaurant grade so they are made to last. They are microwave and dishwasher safe, lead free and made of a sustainable material. The packaging is also recyclable and made of renewable resources.

Our glassware is also made of a sustainable material. The glass is etched not painted so the design and fill lines will never wear off. It is chip resistant, microwave and dishwasher safe. The packaging is also recyclable and made of renewable resources.

Nik: Many Foodies and their families are on a pretty tight budget? Why is your product worth it for them?

Livliga products are made to last. We also wanted to offer a product that was beautiful, in fact artist designed, and with different patterns so people would want to use it every day, at every meal (including holidays) and with every one from family to friends. We wanted to package it in a way that people could pick and choose what they wanted to buy and how much. It is something you can keep adding to over time. 

We also intend to add new product every year. For instance, we are developing a bariatric set (thanks to feedback we got) that will include a smaller bowl for ¼ and ½ cup servings and our side plate. We are also about to launch our LivSpoons that are a merger of a serving spoon with a measuring cup that will make it even easier to serve up right-sized amounts of food. Simply put, Livliga tableware is a positive investment in your health and that of your families too.

So there you have it! That's what Sheila, co-owner of Livliga Home, has to say about their products. Next we'll hear from a fellow Foodie about what she thought (and she was very thorough and honest!). I'm aiming to get that up later today, tomorrow at the latest. In the meantime, don't forget to show Livliga some love on social media for being a Pledge Sponsor:

• Like Livliga on Facebook
• Follow Livliga on Twitter