How To Pick The Right Portion Sizes

When it comes to food portions we are all a little bit over the top and hey we have good food therefore we just want to stuff our faces with it, however in the last few decades portion size has become a major health issue. As we have become so accustomed to the large portions served at fast food chains and restaurants, we are continuing these portions when we serve up our dinners at home. Now you may be a little Masterchef with wonder woman skills in the kitchen BUT we need to work on those portion sizes. 

One very easy way to check your portion size is with your hands. Yes you read that correctly. Now the size of your palm is a serving of meat, two cupped hands is a serving of vegetables, the tip if your thumb is one tablespoon, one cupped hand is a serving of grains and one fingertip is a teaspoon. Pretty cool right?

To get a little more specific…

Vegetables is about 75g or:

½ Cup: cooked green or orange vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, carrots or pumpkin) 

½ Cup: cooked dried or canned beans such as peas or lentils 

1 Cup: green leafy or raw salad vegetables

½ Cup: sweet corn

½ Medium: potato or other starchy vegetables

1 Medium: tomato

Fruit is about 150g or:

1 medium apple, banana, orange or pear

2 small apricots, kiwi fruits or plums

1 cup diced or canned fruit (no added sugar)

Or only occasionally:

125ml (½ cup) fruit juice (no added sugar)

30g dried fruit (for example, 4 dried apricot halves, 1½ tablespoons of sultanas)

Grains is about 500kJ per serve or:

1 slice of bread (40g)

½ medium roll or flat brad (40g)

½ cup cooked rice, pasta, noodles, barley, buckwheat, polenta or quinoa (75-120g) 

½ cup cooked porridge (120g)

2/3 Cup: wheat cereal flakes (30g) 

¼ Cup: muesli (30g) 

3 crisp breads (35g)

1 crumpet (60g)

1 small English muffin or scone (35g)

Meats/poultry/fish/eggs/nuts/seeds/legumes/beans is about 500-600kJ per serve or: 

65g: cooked lean red meats such as beef, lamb, veal, pork, goat or kangaroo

80g: cooked lean poultry such as chicken or turkey (100g raw)

100g: cooked fish fillet (115g raw) 

2 large eggs (120g)

1 Cup: cooked or canned legumes/beans such as lentils, chickpeas or split peas (150g) 

170g tofu 

30g: nuts, seeds, peanut or almond butter, tahini or other nut/seed spread 

Milk/yoghurt/cheese is about 500-600kJ or: 

1 Cup: long life milk, powdered milk or buttermilk 

½ Cup: evaporated milk (120ml)

2 slices of hard cheeses such as cheddar (40g) 

½ Cup: ricotta cheese (120g) 

¾ Cup: yoghurt (200g) 

1 Cup: soy, rice or other cereal drink with at least 100mg of added calcium per 100ml (250ml) 

The following information was taken from eatforhealth.gov.au