What's the difference between a portion and a serving?
A portion is the size you choose to eat
A serving is the actual measured size of a food or drink typically given on the nutrition label (ex. 1 slice of bread, 8oz. milk, 1/4 cup granola)
What are serving sizes?
One serving is a certain portion measured out for a food or drink. The serving size is listed on the nutrition label. Pay close attention to the servings per container. Many "one serving" packaged foods actually contain more than one serving. The serving size shows the correct portion for the rest of nutrition facts given on the label. Such as the nutrition facts image above. This food product has two servings per container and each serving is 1 cup. If you eat the whole package, you are technically eating 2 servings aka twice the calories, carbohydrates, and fat!
Although measuring everything is the most accurate method of tracking exactly how much you're eating, who wants to carry around a food scale or measuring cups everywhere you go? I know I don't which is why it is super convenient that serving sizes have been translated into easy to remember translations.
Grains:
1 cup of cereal is about the size of a balled up fist
1 pancake is about the size of a CD
1/2 cup cooked pasta, rice, or potato is about half of a baseball
Vegetables and Fruit:
1 cup of salad is about the size of a baseball
1 baked potato is about the size of a fist
1/2 cup of fresh fruit is about the size of half of a baseball
1/4 cup of dried fruit is about the size of a large egg
Dairy and Cheese:
1 1/2 oz of cheese is 2 cheese slices or 1 string cheese
1/2 cup of ice cream is about 1/2 a baseball
Fats:
1 teaspoon of margarine or butter is about the size of 1 dice
Meat:
3 oz of a meat is about the size of a deck of cards
2 tbsp of peanut butter is about the size of a ping pong ball
or try these easy tricks of portion control with just your hands!
Two cupped hands is about 1 ounce (for chips, pretzels, popcorn, cracker)
One cupped hand is about 1/2 a cup (pasta, rice, beans, potatoes, cooked veggies, pudding and ice cream)
One balled fist is about 1 cup (cereal, soup, casseroles, fresh or frozen fruit, raw vegetables or salads)
One thumb (the length of the tomb from top to bottom) is about 1-2 tablespoons (salad dressing, sour cream, cream cheese, peanut butter, and hard cheese)
One thumbnail is about the size of one teaspoon (butter, margarine, mayonnaise, and oils)
The size of a flat palm (not including fingers) is about 3-4 ounces (meat, fish, and poultry)
Although we all have different sized hands, using these tools gives us a pretty good estimate of what our bodies actually need of certain foods. If you want a more accurate measurement, hold the measuring cups/spoons up to your hands and see what the sizing difference is. Once you've seen how the actual measuring utensil sizes up to your hand, you know if your portions are correct. Understanding serving sizes doesn't have to be a challenge or require measuring utensils!
Sources: Serving Sizes and Portions - nhlbi.nih.gov, color me healthy website-Serving Sizes PDF
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