Keep Portion Sizes in Mind!


A portion is the amount of food that you choose to eat for a meal or snack. It can be big or small -- that's up to you and your personal dietary needs. A serving, on the other hand, is a specific measured amount of food or drink, such as a slice or bread or a cup of milk. Some foods that most people consume as a single serving actually contain multiple serving sizes (e.g., a 20-ounce soda, or a 3-ounce bag of chips).

Nutrition recommendations use serving sizes to help people know how much of different types of foods they should eat to get the nutrients they need. The Nutrition Facts Label on packaged foods also lists a serving size. The serving sizes on packaged foods are not always the same as those included in nutrition recommendations. However, serving sizes are standardized to make it easier to compare similar foods. To get an idea of how big recommended serving sizes really are, refer to the information below:

What Does One Serving Look Like?

Grains
1 cup of cereal flakes = a fist
1 pancake = a compact disc
1/2 cup of cooked rice, pasta, or potato = 1/2 baseball
1 slice of bread = cassette tape
1 piece of cornbread = a bar of soap


Milk
1 1/2 oz of cheese = 4 stacked dice or 2 cheese slices
1/2 cup of ice cream = 1/2 baseball

Fats/Oils
1 tsp margarine or spreads = 1 dice

Fruits and Vegetables
1 med fruit = baseball
1/2 cup of fresh fruit = 1/2 baseball
1/4 cup of raisins = large egg
1 cup of salad greens = baseball
1 baked potato = fist

Lean Meat and Beans
3 oz meat, fish, and poultry = deck of cards
3 oz grilled/baked fish = checkbook
2 tbsp peanut butter = ping pong ball