Foods from each of the different food groups have standard serving sizes, or portion sizes, established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help you understand how much food is appropriate to eat in a balanced diet. These servings sizes are incorporated into the guidelines set forth in the Dietary Recommendations for Americans and illustrated by the food pyramid. The Food and Drug Administration has also established serving sizes for food labeling purposes that are sometimes, but not always, the same as the USDA sizes. The purpose of serving sizes on food labels is to help keep nutrition information somewhat uniform and easy to understand. You can use the serving sizes on food labels to compare the nutritional value of similar types of foods manufactured by different companies.
Milk Group
Dairy products are grouped together in the milk group on the food guide pyramid. This group also includes dairy substitutes, such as fortified soy beverages. According to pyramid servings sizes, a serving of milk or yogurt is 1 cup and a serving of natural cheese is 1 1/2 oz. If you cannot measure your food, you can use the image of a baseball to know what 1 cup of yogurt looks like and the image of two 9-volt batteries to picture the size of a 1 1/2-oz. piece of cheese. The guidelines recommend eating two to three servings from the milk group each day.
Meat and Beans Group
The food pyramid recommendation for the meat and beans groups is to eat enough to equal 5 to 7 oz. each day. A serving of meat is 2 to 3 oz., a serving of cooked beans is 2 oz. or 1 cup. Nuts are included in the meat and beans group because of their protein content. A serving of 2 tbsp. of peanut butter is considered the equivalent of 1 oz. of meat. So, for instance, if you eat a 5-oz. piece of meat or chicken breast, that is the equivalent of two servings. If you eat 1 cup of cooked beans, 2 tbsp. of peanut butter and 3 to 4 oz. of meat, you have met your recommendation of foods from this group for the day. To visualize serving sizes, 2 to 3 oz. of meat is about the size of a deck of cards and a cup of cooked beans is about the size of a baseball.
Vegetable Group
A serving of vegetables equals 1 cup of raw, leafy vegetables such as romaine lettuce or spinach or 1/2 cup cut-up cooked or raw vegetables. To visualize these serving sizes, one cup of leafy vegetables takes up as much space as a baseball and 1/2 cup vegetables is the equivalent of a small computer mouse. USDA guidelines recommend eating three to five servings of vegetables each day.
Fruit Group
One medium apple, orange, pear or other fruit is considered one serving from the fruit group. The serving size for chopped or canned fruit is 1/2 cup and the serving size for fruit juice is 3/4 cup or a 6-oz. can. You can visualize fruit servings by picturing a baseball as the equivalent of a medium fruit and a small computer mouse as 1/2 cup of cut-up fruit. The daily recommendation from the fruit group is two to four servings.
Grains Group
The grains group includes bread, pasta, rice, cereal and other grain foods. A single serving is the equivalent of one slice of bread, 1 cup of cold cereal or 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, pasta or rice. If you make a sandwich with two slices of bread or eat 1 cup of pasta, each is the equivalent of two servings from this group. The USDA recommends you eat six to 11 servings of foods from the grain group each day.
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