Hi, I'm Charlotte Lawson, a registered and licensed dietitian. You're probably if I'm suppose to have five servings of fruits and vegetables. What is a portion size or how do I determine the food portions or food size, excuse me, portions of food per day? Now typically, a good half a cup is for instance a serving of a fruit or vegetable. And you're wondering, "I don't have a half cup measure with me, how can I know how much I'm getting?" One easy thing to think of is a tennis ball cut in half. So, if you have a half of a tennis ball, this is about the serving size of a half of a cup. Now, this is easy to recall in your brain so when you don't have this measuring cup available, try to think of that half tennis ball. Now, you might be wondering how much is a serving of meat. Well typically, you only need about three ounces per serving. That's out of a size of a female's palm and likely the size of a palm, a deck of cards or even a hockey puck. This is about a three ounce serving. Now, we're looking at our serving of cheese or dairy. A nice little dice, about three or four of these is almost an ounce of cheese and especially since you can buy those cube cheeses in a bag, that's an easy way to determine how much you're suppose to be having. Now, also keep in mind a lot of things are portioned out. For instance, staying on track with cheese, if you've ever had like a string cheese, that's an easy one serving size as well. Now, also keep in mind looking at the serving on your nutrition facts label. A lot of these are key to regular serving; for instance, a half of a cup of cottage cheese. That typically is a serving as well and actually an excellent source of protein. This is a couple of tips, make sure to read your nutrition facts labels and always reference the food guide pyramid or mypyramid.gov to look for more information on details about the food pyramid and the recommendations. I'm Charlotte and eat happy.
mom section
