2001 Volunteer Leader Training Guide
Healthy Weighs Eating Well, Living Well
Making Sense of Portion Sizes
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Finding it hard to know exactly what a serving or portion size
is? Below are some ways you can picture a serving or portion size using everyday
objects. Using these everyday examples can help you think about how much you are
eating. You may actually be eating more servings from the Food Guide Pyramid
than you think! (Note: Hand and finger sizes vary from person to person! These
are GUIDES only.)
The Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta Group
1 cup of potatoes, rice, pasta is a tennis ball, ice cream scoop
1 pancake is a compact disc (CD)
1/2 cup cooked rice is a cupcake wrapper full
1 piece of cornbread is a bar of soap
1 slice of bread is an audiocassette tape
1 cup of pasta, spaghetti, cereal is a fist
2 cups of cooked pasta is a full outstretched hand
The Vegetable Group
1 cup green salad is a baseball or a fist
1 baked potato is a fist
3/4 cup tomato juice is a small styrofoam cup
1/2 cup cooked broccoli is a scoop of ice cream or a light bulb
1/2 cup serving is 6 asparagus spears, 7 or 8 baby carrots or carrot sticks or 1
ear of corn on the cob
The Fruit Group
1/2 cup of grapes (15 grapes) is a light bulb
1/2 cup of fresh fruit is 7 cotton balls
1 medium size fruit is a tennis ball
1 cup of cut-up fruit is a fist
1/4 cup raisins is a large egg
The Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Group
1 1/2 ounces cheese is a 9-volt battery, 3 dominoes or your
index and middle fingers
1 ounce of cheese is a pair of dice or your thumb
1 cup of ice cream is a large scoop the size of a baseball
The Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs and Nuts Group
2 tablespoons peanut butter is a ping-pong ball
1 teaspoon peanut butter is a fingertip
1 tablespoon peanut butter is a thumb tip
3 ounces cooked meat, fish, poultry is a palm, a deck of cards or a cassette
tape
3 ounces grilled/baked fish is a checkbook
3 ounces cooked chicken is a chicken leg and thigh or breast
Fats, Oils and Sweets
1 teaspoon butter, margarine is the size of a stamp the
thickness of your finger or a thumb tip
2 tablespoons salad dressing is a ping-pong ball
Snack Foods
1 ounce of nuts or small candies is one handful
1 ounce of chips or pretzels is two handfuls
1/2 cup of potato chips, crackers or popcorn is one man’s handful
1/3 cup of potato chips, crackers or popcorn is one woman’s handful
Serving Dishes/Utensils
1/2 cup a custard cup or mashed potato scoop
1 1/2 cups is a large cereal/soup bowl
1 1/2 cups of pasta, noodles is a dinner plate, not heaped
1/2 cup of pasta, noodles is a cafeteria vegetable dish
You might want to know that...
-
1 cupped hand holds 2 tablespoons of liquid if you don’t
have measuring spoons
-
1 slice of bread is 1 ounce or 1 serving; some rolls or
bagels weigh 3 to 5 ounces or more making them equal to 3 to 5 servings of
bread
Sources
Environmental Nutrition, April 1994
First Magazine, August 30, 1993
Kansas Department of Health and Environment
Mademoiselle, September 1993
National Pasta Association Newsletter
Nutrition Action, November 1996
Skim the Fat by the American Dietetic Association, 1995
Tufts University Diet and Nutrition Letter, September 1994
Compiled by Ellen Schuster, M.S., R.D., Oregon State University Extension
Service, 3/97, and recommended to Arkansans by Rosemary Rodibaugh, Ph.D., R.D.,
Extension Nutrition Specialist
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