What Size Baked Potato Is Equal To One Cup Of Vegetables?

hummus and vegetables

It's important to fuel your body properly. You may be eating plenty of food. But you may non exist eating the nutrient-dumbo foods your torso needs for skilful health. Nutrient-dense foods have vitamins, minerals, fiber, complex carbohydrates, lean protein and healthy fats. They also are relatively depression in calories.

A salubrious diet emphasizes certain foods and recommends a number of servings per day. But you may have a question: Just what counts as a serving, anyway?

It'due south a great question. It can be easy to consider as well much as a single serving, especially with tasty foods nosotros like.

Here'south the breakdown of recommended servings per day for several kinds of foods for a 2,000-calorie diet with examples of servings sizes of foods inside each group:

Grains: 6 ounces (oz) per day. Serving sizes =½ cup cooked rice, pasta or cooked cereal; ane oz. dry pasta or rice; 1 slice breadstuff; 1 cup ready-to-eat cereal flakes.

Vegetables: 2 ½ cups per day. Serving sizes =i cup equivalent of vegetables is 1 cup raw vegetable or vegetable juice, two cups leafy salad greens.

Fruits: 2 cups per solar day. Serving sizes = 1 loving cup equivalent is ane loving cup fruit or ½ cup of 100% fruit juice (orangish juice, etc.) or 1/3 cup of a fruit juice blend.

Protein foods (meat, poultry, fish, dry beans and nuts): 5 ½ oz. per day. Serving sizes = three oz. cooked lean meat, poultry or fish; two egg whites or one egg; ¼ cup cooked beans; one tbsp. peanut butter; ½ oz. unsalted basics/seeds. Note that ¼ cup cooked beans = 1 oz. protein equivalent but ½ loving cup cooked beans = one vegetable.

Fatty-costless or depression-fat dairy foods (milk, yogurt and cheese): iii cups per solar day. Serving sizes: 1 loving cup equivalent is ane cup milk or yogurt, one½ oz. natural cheese such every bit cheddar cheese, or two oz. processed cheese.

Helpful rules of thumb

Here are a few helpful serving size guidelines to remember:

One cup of raw leafy vegetables or a baked irish potato should be about the size of a baseball game or boilerplate-sized fist.
3 ounces of cooked lean meat or poultry is about the size of a deck of cards or the palm of your hand.
A teaspoon of soft margarine is most the size of a stamp stamp.
One serving of fat-free or depression-fat cheese is most the size of a pair of dice.

Consider setting a goal to eat healthy, nutrient-dense foods 85% of the time. You lot can apply the remaining fifteen% for an occasional treat, or for times when you're crunched for time and have to prioritize convenience over diet

And here'southward food for thought: In one case you commencement eating correct, it volition exist easier to get your loved ane started on some centre-good for you, nutritious habits too.

Written by American Heart Association editorial staff and reviewed by scientific discipline and medicine directorate. Run across our editorial policies and staff.