Serving sizes for Canada's Food Guide
Serving size can be confusing. Many people think that a serving of a food is what is put on their plate or what they order in a restaurant. But what you see as a serving is often much larger than a serving according to Canada's Food Guide
. Because of this, it is easy to eat more than what is recommended.
It is all right to eat larger servings than this (or to eat "multiple" servings) if you are hungry. For example, if you need 6 to 9 servings from the grain group, you will need to eat more than 1 serving at meals.
Food guide servings Food Food guide serving What it looks like Bread, cereal, rice, and pasta
Bread
1 slice (35 g)
-- Dry cereal
30 g
-- Cooked cereal
3/4 cup (175 mL)
-- Cooked pasta, rice, or other grain
1/2 cup (125 mL)
1/2 of a small fist or an ice cream scoop
Vegetables
Leafy, raw vegetables
1 cup (250 mL)
4 lettuce leaves
Cooked, chopped, or raw nonleafy vegetables
1/2 cup (125 mL)
Tight fist or an ice cream scoop
Vegetable juice
1/2 cup (125 mL)
Small Styrofoam cup
Fruit
Chopped, cooked, or canned fruit
1/2 cup (125 mL)
1/2 of a baseball
Apple, banana, or orange
1 piece (125 mL)
-- Fruit juice
1/2 cup (125 mL)
Small Styrofoam cup
-- -- -- Milk, yogourt, and cheese
Milk
1 cup (250 mL)
Baseball
Yogourt
3/4 cup (175 mL)
--
Natural cheese
50 g (1.5 oz)
6 stacked dice
-- Meat, poultry, fish, tofu, dry beans, eggs, and nuts
Meat, poultry, or fish
1/2 cup [75 g (125 mL)
Deck of cards
Cooked dry beans
3/4 cup (175 mL)
Large egg
Tofu
3/4 cup [50 g (175 mL)
Large egg
Eggs
2 eggs
-- Peanut butter
2 Tbsp (30 mL)
1 thumb
Nuts
1/4 cup (60 mL)
1/2 golf ball
| Author: | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS | Last Updated: April 19, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Ruth Schneider, MPH, RD - Diet and Nutrition Rhonda O'Brien, MS, RD, CDE - Diabetes Educator Andrew Swan, MD, CCFP, FCFP - Family Medicine | |
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