Serving Sizes

All the time we hear about serving sizes. Sometimes it is hard to picture what a true serving size is, so I am going to list some common every day items that might help you to picture a proper serving size. It is hard to keep in mind especially when going out to eat and the plates and the serving sizes are growing larger and larger. So even if you are being savey and split a meal with a friend it is still helpful to know what serving size you are eating.

For breads and pastas one serving size is 1 slice of bread, 1/2 cup of pasta or rice, or 1 oz of ready to eat cereal. To picture this the slice of bread should be the size of a standard 3G (or blackberry) cell phone, 1 cup (remember a serving is 1/2 cup) of rice or pasta is around the size of a tennis ball or ice cream scoop, cornbread is the size of a bar of soap.
For vegetables one serving size is, 1/2 cup of cooked or chopped veggies, 3/4 cup of veggie juice, or 1 cup of raw chopped veggies. To picture, 1 cup of raw salad greens is the size of a baseball, 3/4 cup is the size of a small child's serving cup at Starbucks, a 1/2 cup of chopped veggies is the size of an ice cream scoop. Also a 1/2 cup is 6-8 asparagus spears, or 7-8 baby carrots.
With fruit a serving size is 1 whole apple, banana, or orange, 3/4 cup for just juice, or 1/2 cup for chopped or canned fruit. To picture it, 1/2 cup of grapes or other chopped fruit is the size of a light bulb. A medium sized fruit is the size of a tennis ball.
For proteins a serving size is 2-3oz of animal meat, or 1/2 cup of cooked dried beans, 1 egg or 2 TBSP of peanut butter. To picture it, 1 serving of meat is generally the size of a deck of cards. With Chicken, 1 drum stick and one thigh or one breast is one serving of meat. With 2TBSP, that is generally the size of a ping pong ball.
Diary has it's own catagory here since it contains fat and protien. One serving size is 1 cup of milk or yogurt, or 1 and a 1/2 to 2 oz of cheeze. To picture it all yogurt would be the size of a tennis ball, and milk is the size of a full small (smaller than tall) kids cup at Starbucks, ice cream would be one scoop, and cheese in cube form 1 oz is the size of a pair of dice or a 9 volt battery.
Finally for fats one serving size is 1 Tsp of Butter or 2 TBSP of salad dressing. To picture these, 1 tsp is the size of a stamp and the thickness of a pencil. Typically 1 pad of butter has 2 Tsp. For 2 TBSP of salad dressing or oil picture the size of a ping pong ball. Most of the carafes that the dressings are served in at a restaurant are 3-4 TBSP.
Hopefully these are helpful to keep in mind even though there is quite a few of them. Once you get a general idea of what a serving size is.