Recommended Daily Servings

• Bread, Cereal, Rice, & Pasta Group: 6-11 servings daily.
• What counts as a serving? One slice of bread, ½ cup cooked rice, pasta, or cereal, 1 ounce ready-to-eat cereal, ½ hamburger roll or English muffin, ½ of a small, 2-ounce bagel, 3-4 plain crackers.

• Vegetable Group: 3-5 servings daily.
• What counts as a serving? 1 cup raw leafy vegetables, ½ cup of other vegetables, cooked, or chopped raw, ¾ cup (6 ounces) of vegetable juice.

• Fruit Group: 2-4 servings daily
• What counts as a serving? 1 medium apple, banana, or orange, ½ cup of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit, ¾ cup (6 ounces) of fruit juice.

• Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Group: 2-3 servings daily
• What counts as a serving? 1 cup of milk or yogurt, 1 and ½ ounces of natural cheese, 2 ounces of process cheese.

• Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, & Nuts Group: 2-3 servings daily
• What counts as a serving? 2-3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish. NOTE: ½ cup of cooked dry beans, 1 egg, or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter count as 1 ounce of meat.

• Fats, Oils & Sweets Group
• Easy does it! No serving size for this group-just use these items sparingly.

Guide to Estimating Portions

While weighing or measuring food is the most accurate way to determine portion size, having a good sense of what a single portion looks like is usually all that is needed. Here are some easy ways to size up your servings:

• ½ cup cooked pasta is about the size of an ice cream scoop.
• 1 ounce (1 cup) of cereal is about the size of a rolled up pair of thick socks.
• ½ bagel is about the size of a hockey puck.

• 1 cup of raw, leafy vegetables is about the size of a woman's fist.
• A medium potato is about the size of a computer mouse.

• One medium piece of fruit is about the size of a tennis ball.
• One bunch of grapes equal to the size of a light bulb is about ½ cup

• 1 ½ ounces of cheese is about the size of your pointer finger.

• 3 ounces of cooked meat, poultry or fish is about the size of a woman's palm or a deck of cards.
• 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter is about the size of a walnut.

• 1 tablespoon of salad dressing is about the size of your thumb.
• 1 teaspoon of butter or margarine is about the size of the tip of your thumb, from the top of your thumb to the first joint.

Portion Control In and Out of the Home

• During meals, put one serving of food on your plate before sitting down at the table, instead of serving family-style. Immediately freeze or refrigerate the extras.
• Cook smaller amounts if you hate leftovers.
• If you like crunchy snacks, fill a snack bag with dry cereal, pretzels or popcorn so it's ready to go. Limit yourself to this amount, rather than eating out of the box or large bag.
• Don't get overly hungry. Eat at regular times.

• Use the guide to estimating portion sizes listed above. Decide how much you're going to eat and have the rest placed in a doggie bag for another day's meal.
• Fill up on a low-calorie beverage, broth or salad before the main course arrives.
• Take one serving of bread, if desired, then move the bread basket and butter dish away from you, or have them removed from the table.
• Order fruit for dessert. If occasionally, you want something for dessert other than fruit, try a triple bypass: order dessert only when you can split it three ways. You'll enjoy a reasonable portion and you'll be able to share the confection.

Buffet Blasters

• Cover ½ of your plate with leafy greens, and use the rule of thumb (your thumb is about the size of a tablespoon) for the salad dressing. Now take a look at the other half of your plate. On half of it, put one serving from the Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta Group, and on the other half put a serving from the Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts Group.
• Choose fruit for dessert.
• Visit the buffet table only once.
• Sit away from the buffet table.

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