What Is A Serving Size, Anyway?

Even if you know you need to eat smaller portions, that’s only part of the battle. You’ll need to learn how to recognize serving sizes of foods so you can put the right amount on your plate each day. Here’s a list of food group servings to help:

Vegetables

Fresh, frozen or canned: 5 servings per day

Leafy greens: 1 cup

Cut-up vegetables: ½ cup

Cooked beans or peas: ½ cup

100% vegetable juice: ¼ cup

Fruits

Fresh, frozen, canned, or dried: 4 servings per day

Whole fruit: 1 medium fruit

Cut-up fruit: ½ cup

100% fruit juice: ¼ cup

Dried fruit: ¼ cup

Grains

6 servings per day

Bread: 1 slice (a 2-slice sandwich is 2 servings of grains)

Pasta or rice uncooked: 1 oz (⅛ cup)

Cooked rice, pasta, or cereal: ½ cup

Popcorn: 1 oz. (⅛ cup) uncooked

At least half should be whole grain and high in fiber.

Dairy

(or non-dairy milks with added calcium and vitamin D): 3 servings per day

1 cup milk or yogurt

1.5 oz. cheese (size varies depending on the type of cheese)

Meat & poultry

8 to 9 servings per week

3 oz. cooked meat or poultry, about the size of a deck of cards

1 egg or 2 egg whites

Choose lean meats with skin and fat removed.

Nuts, seeds, beans & legumes

5 servings per week

Nut butter: 1 Tbsp.

Nuts or seeds: 2 Tbsp.

Seafood/fish

2-3 servings a week

3 oz. cooked seafood, about the size of a checkbook

Choose fish that provides omega-3 fatty acids. Pregnant women should ask their doctors about safe types of fish to eat.

Fats & oils

3 servings per day

Vegetable oil, margarine, dressing: 1 Tbsp.

To help with portion sizes, you may wish to find out how many calories you should be eating. Use the National Institutes of Health Body Weight Planner atwww.supertracker.usda.gov. Keep this number in mind as you eat throughout the day.

Source: American Heart Association