Nutrition 101
Portion Distortion
Super size, value meals, portion distortion … whatever you call it, the main point is that our portions have gotten much larger than they need to be—and we’ve gotten used to it. The pyramid emphasizes servings, but servings are different than portions. Use the handy guidelines below to help you understand the difference.
| Food Group |
Easy-to-understand portion |
| Grain Group: 6-11 servings/day |
| ½ cup of rice, pasta or noodles |
½ of a baseball |
| 1 pancake |
CD |
| 1 baked potato |
fist |
| 1 slice of bread |
cassette tape |
| 1 cup of cereal |
hockey puck |
| Fruit and vegetables: 5-9 servings/day |
| ½ cup of fresh fruit |
7 cotton balls |
| ½ cup of raisins |
1 egg |
| 1 medium sized piece of fruit |
a standard light bulb |
| Protein group/dairy group: 3-6 servings/day |
| 3 oz. of grilled meat, fish or poultry |
a deck of cards |
| ½ cup of cooked beans |
½ of a baseball |
| 2 Tbs. peanut butter |
golf ball |
| 1 oz. cheese |
4 dice |
| 1 serving of milk or yogurt |
baseball |
| Top of the pyramid: not much |
| 1 tsp. Butter/margarine |
postage stamp |
| 2 Tbs. salad dressing |
ping pong ball |
| Cookies, ice cream, etc. |
read serving size on label |
Can healthy eating and college life go together? Absolutely! Get the nutrition facts you need in the book Eating Well on Campus by Ann Litt, M.S., R.D., L.D.
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