Making Sense of Portion Sizes

What is a Portion Size?

Finding it hard to determine what a serving or portion size is? Below are some ways you can picture a serving or portion size using everyday objects.

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 of 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, a light bulb
• 1/2 cup serving = is 6 asparagus spears; 7 or 8 baby carrots or carrot sticks; 1 ear of corn on the cob

The fruit group

• 1/2 cup 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 or a fist
• 1 cup of cut-up fruit - is a fist
• 1/4 cup raisins - is a large egg

The milk, yogurt and cheese group

• 1-1/2ounces of 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 nut group

• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter - is a ping-pong ball
• 1 teaspoon of peanut butter - is a fingertip
• 1 tablespoon of peanut butter - is a thumb tip
• 3 ounces cooked meat, fish, poultry - is a palm, deck of cards, 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 as thick as your finger or 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 - is a small fruit bowl, 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 one 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.