Portion Size Quiz and Worksheet

Name:
Section: Date:
1. An ounce and a half of hard cheese-equivalent to one serving from the dairy group-looks most like
one domino.
two dominoes.
three dominoes.
2. A half cup of cooked pasta, considered a serving from the grain group, most easily fits into
an ice cream scoop (the kind with a release handle).
a ball the size of a medium grapefruit.
a cereal bowl.
3. One drink of wine roughly fills
two-thirds of a coffee cup.
one coffee cup.
two coffee cups.
4. One serving of green grapes consists of how many grapes?
10
15
20
5. Three ounces of beef, a serving's worth, most closely resembles
a TV Guide.
a regular bar of soap.
a small bar of soap (as from a hotel).
6. One serving of brussels sprouts consists of how many sprouts?
4
8
12
7. Two tablespoons of olive oil more or less fill
a shot glass.
a thimble.
a Dixie cup.
8. Two tablespoons of peanut butter make a ball the size of
a marble.
a tennis ball.
a ping-pong ball.
9. How many shakes of a five-hole salt shaker does it take to reach I teaspoon (approximately the maximum amount recommended per day)?
5
10
60
10. There are eight servings in a loaf of Entenmann's Raspberry Danish Twist. A serving is the width of
one finger.
two fingers.
four fingers.





Review the following list of actual Food Guide Pyramid Serving
Sizes. For foods that you typically eat, write in your typical portion size and see how it compares.

BREAD, CEREAL, RICE, AND PASTA
(6-11 servings/day)
Your Typical
Portion Size		 Pyramid Serving
Sizes
  GENERALLY:
1 slice of bread
1/2 hamburger or hot dog bun
1/2 English muffin or bagel
1 small roll, biscuit, or muffin (about
1 ounce each)
1/2 cup cooked cereal
1 ounce ready-to-eat cereal
1/2 cup cooked pasta or rice
5 to 6 small crackers (saltine size)
2 to 3 large crackers (graham cracker square size)
  SPECIFICALLY:
4-inch pita bread
3 medium hard bread sticks, about 4-3/4 inches long
9 animal crackers
1/4 cup uncooked rolled oats
2 tablespoons uncooked grits or Cream of Wheat cereal
1 ounce uncooked pasta (1/4 cup macaroni or 3/4 cup noodles)
3 tablespoons uncooked rice
1 7-inch flour or corn tortilla
2 taco shells, corn
1 4-inch pancake
9 3-ring pretzels or 2 pretzel rods
1/16 of 2-layer cake
1/5 of 10-inch angel food cake
1/10 of 8-inch, 2-crust pie
4 small cookies
1/2 medium doughnut
1/2 large croissant
3 rice or popcorn cakes
2 cups popcorn
12 tortilla chips
FRUITS
(2-4 servings/day)
Your Typical
Portion Size		 Pyramid Serving
Sizes
  GENERALLY:
a whole fruit (medium apple, banana, peach, or orange, or a small pear)
grapefruit half
melon wedge (1/4 of a medium
cantaloupe or 1/8 of a medium honeydew)
3/4 cup juice (1 00% juice)
1/2 cup berries, cherries, or grapes
1/2 cup cut-up fresh fruit
1/2 cup cooked or canned fruit
1/2 cup frozen fruit
1/4 cup dried fruit
  SPECIFICALLY:
5 large strawberries
7 medium strawberries
50 blueberries
30 raspberries
11 cherries
12 grapes
1-1/2 medium plums
2 medium apricots
1 medium avocado
7 melon balls
1/2 cup fruit salad, such as waldorf
1/2 medium mango
1/4 medium papaya
1 large kiwifruit
4 canned apricot halves with liquid
14 canned cherries with liquid
1-1/2 canned peach halves with liquid
2 canned pear halves with liquid
2-1/2 canned pineapple slices with liquid
3 canned plums with liquid
9 dried apricot halves
5 prunes


VEGETABLES
(3-5 servings/day)
Your Typical
Portion Size		 Pyramid Serving
Sizes
  GENERALLY:
1/2 cup cooked vegetables
1/2 cup chopped raw vegetables
1 cup leafy raw vegetables, such as lettuce or spinach
1/2 cup tomato or spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup cooked dry beans (if not counted as a meat alternate)
  SPECIFICALLY:
3/4 cup vegetable juice
1 cup bean soup
1 cup vegetable soup
       Raw vegetables:
1 medium tomato or 5 cherry tomatoes
7 to 8 carrot or celery sticks
3 broccoli florets
1/3 medium cucumber
10 medium whole young green onions
8 green or red pepper rings
13 medium radishes
9 snow or sugar peas
6 slices summer squash (yellow or zucchini)
1 cup mixed green salad
1/2 cup coleslaw or potato salad
VEGETABLES
(3-5 servings/day)
Your Typical
Portion Size		 Pyramid Serving
Sizes
       Cooked vegetables:
2 spears broccoli
1-1/2 whole carrots
1 medium whole green or red pepper
1/3 summer squash (yellow and zucchini)
1 globe artichoke
6 asparagus spears
2 whole beets, about 2 inches in diameter
4 medium brussels sprouts 2 medium stalks of celery
1 medium ear of corn
7 medium mushrooms
8 okra pods
1 medium whole onion or 6 pearl onions
1 medium whole turnip
10 french fries
1 baked potato, medium
3/4 cup sweet potato



MEAT, POULTRY, FISH, EGGS, DRY BEANS, AND NUTS
(2-3 servings/day)
Your Typical
Portion Size		 Pyramid Serving
Sizes
  GENERALLY:
2-3 ounces cooked lean meat without bone
2-3 ounces cooked poultry without skin or bone
2-3 ounces cooked fish without bone
2-3 ounces drained canned fish
Meat alternates (count as 1 ounce, about 1/3 serving):
1 egg (yolk and white)
1/2 cup cooked dry beans (if not counted as a vegetable)
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/4 cup seeds
1/3 cup nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, or peanuts
1/2 cup baked beans
1/2 cup tofu
Meat/fish products (count as 1 ounce, about 1/3 serving):
1 ounce lean ham or Canadian bacon
1-1/2 frankfurters (10 per pound)
1 frankfurter (8 per pound)
2 ounces bologna (2 slices)
3 slices dry or hard salami
2 ounces liverwurst (2 large slices)
3 pork sausage links
5 canned vienna sausages
1/2 can meat spread (5.5-ounce can)
1/4 cup drained canned salmon or tuna
1/3 cup drained canned clams or crab meat
13 frozen fried breaded clams
4 Pacific oysters or 11 Atlantic oysters
4 medium fried breaded shrimp
1/4 cup drained canned lobster or shrimp
MILK, CHEESE, AND YOGURT
(2-3 servings/day)
Your Typical
Portion Size		 Pyramid Serving
Sizes
  GENERALLY:
1 cup milk (skim, lowfat, and whole)
1 cup yogurt (all kinds)
1-1/2 ounces natural cheese
2 ounces process cheese
  SPECIFICALLY:
2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup frozen yogurt
1-1/2 cups ice cream



Sources: Quiz from What's in a portion? Tufts University Diet and Nutrition Letter, September 1991. Used with permission of the publisher. Serving size information from Shaw, A., et al. 1997. Using the Food Guide Pyramid: A Resource for Nutrition Educators. Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. U.S. Department of Agriculture (http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/Fpyr/guide.pdf; retrieved January 8, 1998).