What's a Serving Size?
In our quest to eat nine servings of fruit and vegetables a day, knowing what constitutes a serving size is a big help. Some choices are obvious—a serving of an apple is an apple (medium size). But, turn it into applesauce and what’s a serving? Answer: ½ cup. In general, you’ll probably discover that serving sizes are a lot smaller than you thought.
Vegetables: 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables; 1/2 cup of other vegetables, raw or cooked; 1/2 cup juice
Fruits: 1 medium fruit (medium is defined as the size of a baseball); 1/2 cup chopped, cooked or canned fruit; ½ cup small fruit, like berries or grapes; 1/2 cup juice
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Eggs: 2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry or fish (about the size of a card deck); 1 egg 2 egg whites or ¼ cup liquid egg substitute
Beans and Nuts: ½ cup cooked beans, lentils or peas; ¼ cup nuts; 2 tablespoons nut butter
Grains: 1 slice of bread, 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal, 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, rice or pasta
Milk, Yogurt and Cheese: 1 cup of fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt, 1.5 ounces fat-free or low-fat cheese; 1/2 cup fat-free or low-fat cottage cheese
Article copyright © 2011 American Heart Association. This article is brought to you by the American Heart Association’s Simple Cooking with Heart Program. For more articles and simple, quick and affordable recipes, visit heart.org/simplecooking.
