What is a serving?

I started writing my blog on August 1, 2010 and one of the first things I posted was about serving sizes. I wanted to repost the information because it is good for all of us, plus I keep getting reminded by my doctor to cut back on my serving sizes. He also says to cut out ALL white foods. He can afford to purchase all the "good for you" foods and those of us on a fixed income must work with what we have in our budget. The following is my repost:

In our communities and on the news we are seeing more and more about the increase of diabetes.  This is due in a large part (pardon the pun) to the way we eat, how over weight we are becoming, but mostly to us not paying attention to serving sizes!

I am a Type 2 diabetic which is the kind you can control with medication (in the form of pills), diet and exercise. My doctor said a typical Type 2 diabetic is over weight, has thin/skinny legs, and thick middle. I said you mean like Humpty Dumpty...the doctor thinks I'm crazy...but that is what he meant. Diabetes is also more pronounced in some families. My Granddaughter is a Type 1 Juvenile Diabetic and will be on insulin for the rest of her life. She has a insulin pump, and has to reinsert the needle in her body every three days. Much better than the 5 to 7 shots a day they started her out doing. She also has to watch what she eats, but Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are totally different!

  

In this blog, I would like to share with you some interesting information I received from our local hospital. (Disclaimer: Check with your personal Doctor before using or doing anything shared in this blog.) My understanding is that diabetic guidelines are good for everyone.

I was very surprised when they told me what a serving actually was, and  the everyday objects that we can all use in our home or when we are out to eat to measure our servings. I am going to list the serving size and then how you can estimate the portion.

                                              WHAT IS A SERVING?

1 cup.................................................................................a small fist

1 ounce..............................................................................a thumb to first joint

1 to 2 ounces of snack food.................................................a handful

1 teaspoon.........................................................................a thumb tip

2 Tablespoons of liquid........................................................sits in a cupped hand

3 ounces.............................................................................palm of hand

                                                                                         (no fingers and thumb)

small apple..........................................................................a tennis ball

3 ounces of cooked meat.....................................................a deck of cards

1 ounce of cheese...............................................................4 stacked dice

1/2 cup broccoli, cooked......................................................a household light bulb

1 teaspoon of jam................................................................4 stacked quarters

1 slices of bread..................................................................a cassette tape

1/2 cup side salad................................................................1/2 tennis ball

1 cup scoop of ice cream......................................................a baseball

Do these measurements surprise you? They did me and I was just blown away by how much my regular servings really turned out to be in comparison! I can do pretty good when I am eating at home, but fail miserably when I eat out. I love to eat and I can consume an entire day's servings fairly quickly.     :(

According to the Diabetes Food Pyramid going from the bottom to the top...

We should have.......the following servings daily:

6 or more servings grains, beans and starchy vegetables

          1 ounce of bread product

          1/2 cup of cereal, grain, pasta, or starchy vegetables
                                                       (corn, peas, potato, yams)

          3/4 to 1 ounce of most snack foods (pretzels, chips, etc.)
                                                              less than a handful!!!!

3 to 5 servings vegetables

          1 cup raw leafy vegetables

          1/2 cup cooked (non-starchy) vegetables

          1/2 cup vegetable juice

2 to 4 servings fruits

          fruit or 1 small to medium fresh fruit

          1/2 cup of canned or fresh fruit juice

          1/4 cup dried fruit

2 to 3 servings milk

          1 cup milk

          1 cup yogurt

2 to 3 servings meat and others

          2 to 3 ounces of cooked beef, chicken, fish, pork

          2 to 3 ounces of cheese (high in fat unless fat-free)

          1/2 to 3/4 cup cottage cheese or tuna fish

Fats, sweets, and alcohol the very small tip of the pyramid

          1 tablespoon of regular salad dressing (fat)

          1 teaspoon of regular vegetable oil or margine (fat)

          2 teaspoons of peanut butter (fat)

          1/2 cup ice cream, sherbet (sweet)

          1/8 pie (sweet)      

          2 inch square of cake, unfrosted (sweet)

          12 ounce beer, 4 ounce wine, or 1 ounce liquor (alcohol)

Combination foods

          1/2 cup tuna noodle casserole, lasagna, chili with beans or
                          macaroni and cheese (meat, starch, fat)

          1/8 of a 10 inch pizza (starch, meat, fat)

Learn to read food labels and see what the serving size is and the other nutrition information on the label.

I subscribe to the Diabetic Gourmet newsletter and receive a daily recipe in my e-mail. Some of them are sooooo good it is hard to believe that they are actually good for you. I am adding their sites to the bottom of this blog. Check them out and I think you will love them! Next time you are putting food on your plate THINK............WHAT IS A SERVING?

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