Portion Sizes

Here are portion sizes so you know you're not overeating, even if it is something healthy:


3 oz. of Protein — Deck of playing cards, roughly



1 Serving of Starch — Roughly size of your fist



1 Serving of fruit — Size of Tennis Ball




1 Serving of Vegetables — Size of your fist



1 oz. of Cheese — Size of 2 stacked dice (or sliced Kraft Single cheese size, or cheese stick)




1/2 Cup of Ice Cream — Tennis Ball



1 teaspoon of butter or peanut butter — Size of marble



1 oz. of nuts — Size of Ping Pong Ball




These equal One Serving Size:

Cereals/Grains/Pasta
1/2 - 3/4 cup unsweetened cereal
1.5 cup puffed cereal
1/4 cup grape nuts
1/2 cup grits, oatmeal, cream of wheat
1/2 cup pasta
1/3 cup rice

Breads
1 slice of bread
2 slices of light bread (40 cal/slice)
1/2 6" pita
1/2 hot dog or hamburger bun
1/2 small bagel (1 oz)
1/2 English muffin
Small dinner roll (1 oz)

Starchy Vegetables - meaning these count as starches, not vegetables
1/2 cup mashed potatoes
1/2 baked potato or sweet potato
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
1 cup tomato soup

Crackers/Snacks
1/2 small bag of pretzels (3/4 oz)
2 rice cakes
6 saltine type crackers
3 graham cracker sqaurs
12 low fat wheat thins
6 low fat club crackers
5 ow fat Triscuits
15 baked tortilla or potato chips
2-3 cups light microwave popcorn
8 animal crackers
5 vanilla wafers
3 gingersnaps

Added Sugars
1 Tbsp sugar, honey, jam or jelly, and syrup

Fruits
small apple
1/2 pear
1/2 banana
small orange
3/4 cup blueberries
1 cup rasberries
1/2 grapefruit
15 grapes
12 cherries
1/2 small mango

Vegetables
1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked of most vegetables you know:) Broccoli, green beans, cup carrots, cucumber, summer squash, mixed greens, spinach, beets, cauliflower, string beans, tomato, asparagus, Zucchini, eggplant, artichoke, cabbage, mushrooms, peppers, onions

Protein
One serving protein = 35 calories, 7 g. protein
1 oz an lean meat, poultry, fish
1 egg ( + 1 fat, yolk)
3 egg whites
1/4 egg cup substitute
1 oz. low fat cottage cheese ( + 1 fat)
1/4 cup low fat cottage cheese (+ 1 fat)
1/4 cup ricotta cheese ( + 1 fat)
2 Tbsp reduced fat peanut butter ( + 2 fat)
1/2 cup tofu ( +1 fat)

Fats
Monounsaturated Fats are linked with health benefits
6 almonds
2 Tbsp Avacado
1 tsp. Canola Oil
6 cashews
1 Tbsp. Chopped Nuts
10 Macadamia nuts
1 tsp. Olive oil
10 large olives
8 olives, ripe, black
2 tsp natural peanut butter
20 pistachios

Polyunsaturated Fats
1 tsp. Margarine
1 tsp. Oil (Corn, safflower, soybean)
1 Tbsp Pumpkin Seeds
1 Tbsp. Sesame seeds
1 Tbsp. Sunflower seeds
4 walnut halves

Salad Dressings
1 Tbsp Regular French, Italian, etc.
2 Tbsp Reduced French, Italian, etc.
1 tsp. Regular Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. Hellmann's Just 2 Good light mayonnaise
1 Tbsp reduced fat mayonnaise

Suggestion: Use a measuring cup for about a week with your foods. After that, you don't always have to measure, but it will at least give you a better idea of what your plate should look like! Also, I wouldn't necessarily recommend a lot of these foods listed...but just in case you eat them, they're there :)