Serving Size

The food pyramid post raised the question of what is a serving size. A general guideline is that a serving size is the portion that can fit in the palm of your hand. Yes, the portions are bigger if you have bigger hands. More quantitative measures are given by the USDA (see link for details) and the American Cancer Society.

The following is the ACS suggested serving sizes for fruits, vegetables and other foods in case you are keeping count in your diet.


Fruits:
1 medium apple, banana, orange
1/2 cup of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit
1/2 cup of 100% fruit juice

Vegetables:
1 cup of raw leafy vegetables
1/2 cup of other cooked or raw vegetables, chopped
1/2 cup of 100% vegetable juice

Grains:
1 slice bread
1 ounce ready-to-eat cereal
1/2 cup of cooked cereal, rice, pasta

Beans and nuts:
1/2 cup cooked dry beans
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/3 cup nuts

Dairy foods and eggs:
1 cup milk or yogurt
1 1/2 ounces of natural cheese
2 ounces processed cheese
1 egg

Meats:
2–3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, fish

Reference: American Cancer Society's Guidelines on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention.
Photo: courtesy of http://www.diabetes.org.nz/pics/portionsize.jpg