Estimating a serve of different foods
You need different amounts of food from each food group to give your body the nutrients it needs.
A serve is a way of measuring different foods from each food group that gives you roughly the same amount of nutrients and energy.
For example: one slice of bread or half a cup of pasta both equal 1 serve of grains.
The serve size of a food does not change but portion sizes can. A portion is the amount of food you eat and depends on your appetite or what type of meal you are eating.
For example: you might feel hungry at dinner time and decide to have one cup of pasta. This would give you two serves (half a cup plus half a cup) of grains.
You can estimate a serve of different foods by using your hands.
Whole fist
Useful for estimating:
- non-starchy vegetables
- legumes
- fruit
- milk
- yoghurt.
Half fist
Useful for estimating:
- starchy vegetables
- rice
- pasta
- cereal
- tofu.
Palm
Useful for estimating:
- bread
- lean meat
- poultry
- fish.
Cupped palm
Useful for estimating:
- dried fruit
- nuts.
Thumb
Useful for estimating:
- cheese.
Tip of thumb
Useful for estimating:
- healthy fats when cooking such as olive or canola oil.