Serving size vs portion size. What’s the difference?
A serving is a set amount of food or drink, such as one slice of bread or one cup of milk. Serving size is based on the amount of energy (kilojoules/calories) in the food.
A portion is the amount of food that you choose to eat for a meal or snack. For example, your portion size at breakfast may be a small tub of yoghurt on 1 cup of muesli. But this is actually one ‘serve’ of yoghurt, but four ‘serves’ of muesli!
Boring but important information!
Blah blah blah. Yes, we know, you’ve heard it all before, but just in case, here’s a recap:
Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from these five groups every day.
Examples of one serve
Grain (cereal) foods, such as breads, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles, and oats:
- 1 slice (40 g) bread
- 1/2 cup (75-120 g) cooked rice, pasta, noodles etc.
- 1/2 cup (120 g) cooked porridge
- 2/3 cup (30 g) wheat cereal flakes
- 1/4 cup (30 g) muesli
Vegetables, legumes, and beans:
- 1/2 cup cooked vegetables (including beans or lentils)
- 1 cup green leafy or raw salad vegetables
- 1/2 cup sweet corn
- 1/2 medium potato
Fruit:
- 1 medium apple, banana, orange, or pear, or 2 small apricots, kiwi fruit or plums
- 1 cup diced or canned fruit
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) fruit juice (no added sugar)
- 30 g dried fruit (such as, 4 dried apricot halves, 1.5 tablespoons of sultanas)
Milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or their alternatives:
- 1 cup (250 ml) milk or other cereal drink
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) evaporated milk
- 2 slices (40 g) or cubes (40 g) of hard cheese (the size of two dice)
- 3/4 cup (200 g) yoghurt
*Reduced fat milks are not suitable for children under the age of 2 years
Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds, and legumes/beans:
- 65 g cooked lean red meats or 80 g cooked lean poultry (about size of the palm of your hand)
- 100 g cooked fish fillet or one small can of fish
- 2 large eggs
Start measuring the amounts of food you eat, so you can see what one serve looks like. If you are in the habit of filling a bowl or plate – a good idea is to downsize your crockery!
The average daily intake for adults is 5-6 serves of vegetables, 2 serves of fruit, 6 serves of grains, 3 of lean meat and 3 of dairy. To find out exactly how much you should be eating, go to:
https://www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/Articles/F_I/Healthy-eating
Source: https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/how-much-do-we-need-each-day/serve-sizes
