Standard serve sizes from the Australian Eat For Health guide

What is a standard serve?  When nutritionists talk about a "serve of vegetables", exactly how much do they mean?  Is it a cup or a couple of spoonfuls? Check out the official list of standard serves from the 2013 edition of the Five Food Groups as published in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating so you know how much is meant.

Vegetables and legumes/beans

One serve means:

• ½ cup (75 g) cooked green vegetables (broccoli, green beans, peas etc)
• ½ cup (75 g) cooked orange vegetables (carrots, pumpkin)
• 1 cup (35-40 g) raw green leafy vegetables or salad greens
• ½ cup (75 g) cooked dried or canned beans, chickpeas or lentils, no added salt
• 75 g starchy vegetables eg 1 small or ½ medium potato, or equivalent of sweet potato, taro, sweet corn or cassava
• 75 g other vegetables eg 1 small-medium tomato

Fruit

One serve means:

• 1 piece (150 g) of medium-sized fruit eg apple, banana, orange, pear
• 2 pieces (150 g) of small fruit eg apricots, kiwifruit, plums
• 1 cup (150 g) diced, cooked or canned fruit, no added sugar
• ½ cup (125 ml) 100% fruit juice - only occasionally
• 30 g dried fruit eg 1½  tablespoons sultanas or 4 dried apricot halves - only occasionally

Grains (cereal) foods, mostly whole grain

One serve means:

• 1 slice bread or ½ bread roll or flat bread (about 40 g)
• ½ cup cooked rice, pasta, noodles
• ½ cup cooked porridge or polenta
• 2/3 cup (30 g) breakfast cereal flakes
• ¼ cup (30 g) muesli
• 3 crispbread
• 1 crumpet (60 g)  or 1 small English muffin or scone (35 g)
• ½ cup cooked barley, buckwheat, semolina, cornmeal, quinoa
• ¼ cup flour

Lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, and legumes/beans

One serve means:

• 65 g cooked lean red meats or about 90-100 g raw weight eg beef, lamb, pork, venison, kangaroo such as:
  
  • ½ cup lean mince
  • 2 slices roast meat
  • 2 small chops
• 80 g cooked poultry eg chicken, turkey (about 100 g raw weight)
• 100 g cooked fish fillet (about 115 g raw weight)
• 1 small can tuna or salmon, no added salt, not in brine
• 2 large eggs (120 g)

OR  Vegetarian protein alternatives

• 1 cup (150 g) cooked beans, lentils, chick peas, split peas or canned beans
• 170 g tofu
• Handful (30 g) nuts or seeds or nut/seed paste, no added salt

Milk, yoghurt and cheese

One serve means:

• 1 cup (250 ml) milk, fresh, UHT or reconstituted dried
• ½ cup (125 ml) evaporated unsweetened milk
• 1 carton or 3/4 cup (200 g) yoghurt
• 2 slices cheese or 40 g block or wedge 4x3x2cm of hard cheese eg cheddar
• 1/2 cup (120 g) ricotta

Fats and oils

The AGHE includes a small daily allowance of 7-10 grams of "unsaturated spreads, oils, nuts and/or seeds" but doesn't create a separate group for these. It says to use these in small amounts.

   Source:  Australian Guide to Healthy Eating 2013 Educator edition. National Health and Medical Research Council: Canberra, 2013. Or go to Eat for Health website.