by jaybob

Created on: September 28, 2008   Last Updated: December 09, 2010

One of the most important aspects of a healthy diet is understanding the proper portions of food that we use to measure the "daily recommended intake" of the four basic food-groups. As much as we may have had that saying knocked into our culinary noggin as children, as it turns out, very few people may actually know the proper dimensions of a serving of say vegetables or meat. By getting your head wrapped around how to gauge how many peas on your plate count as a serving, you will be well on your way on the road to healthy eating.

Protein

The American Heart Association recommends getting two servings of meat every day. As you may have well heard, a portion of steak or chicken breast about the size of a deck of cards counts as a single serving. Luckily, for any carnivores who felt their hearts sink when they initially heard this, two decks of cards is actually about six ounces of steak. An important note that you may well enjoy, a serving of raw protein is actually four ounces, so technically a nice eight ounce blue steak is a daily requirement. Mind you, saturated fats may come into play at a point with beef, so your barbecue grilled servings of nice lean chicken or pork may become a daily ritual.

Carbohydrates / Grains

Despite what Atkins may be telling you, it's actually recommended that you get around six servings of rice, bread, cereal or pasta every day. You may already be aware that a single slice of whole-wheat bread counts as a single serving, as does around a half cup of granola or cooked cereal. But an interesting trick for when you're dining out and having a meal with a side of rice is to know that a single serving or half cup of cooked rice is about the size of a tennis or billiard ball. Same goes for cooked pasta; portion aside as many billiard ball sized spools of fettuccini as you need for the rest of your daily requirement for grains, and then save the rest in a doggy bag for lunch tomorrow. One of the best ways to stay on your diet is to know when you've had enough and should save the rest for later.

Dairy

For the most part, dairy is an essential but easily regulated part of your diet. Your daily recommended intake of dairy is three servings. That would be a single cup of low-fat milk counting as a serving; half a cup of cottage cheese or yogurt (where most single serving cups you can buy in the grocery store are anyway); and a single ounce of cheese about the size of one of your old school erasers counts as a single serving as well.

Fruits & Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables can be a bit tricky, but when it is recommended you get five servings a day, you should take the time to get their portions right. A medium sized piece of fruit (again, about the size of a tennis or billiard ball) of say an apple or orange counts as a single serving. If you're cutting slices from a melon or honeydew, you may want to revert to the billiard ball rule again where a tennis ball sized piece counts as a single serving. As far as raw vegetables go, you really have to take a moment to estimate how much of the salad on your plate would fit into a cup. For cooked vegetables, however, it would be half a cup per serving. To do this effectively, you really have to almost take a cup of vegetables and dump it on your plate to gauge the contents of your dinner if you're eating out. Once you do, however, you'll be able to look at a plate and instantly know how many servings of vegetables you'll have during your meal. Luckily, fruits and vegetables are one of the food groups your doctor won't shake his head at if you should happen to have more than your daily recommended intake on a regular basis.

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