Portions, Food Labels, and Ingredients

Think……. The portion you’re getting is probably NOT the portion you need! Though big portions taste good, you might be getting more  FAT  CALORIES  JUNKY INGREDIENTS!

Grains How much do you need? 1 ounce of grains = 1 ounce of grains = ◦ 1/2 cup of oatmeal ◦ 1 cup of dry cereal ◦ 1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta ◦ 1/2 of an English muffin TIP: One serving size is like the size of a CD, baseball, or computer mouse!

What about bread??? 1 slice of bread = size of 1 regular CD

Fruits/Vegetables Aim for 5-9 cups of BOTH fruits and vegetables of DIFFERENT COLORS each day 1 cup fruit = 1 small apple 1 banana 1 cup fruit salad ¼-1/2 cup dried fruit 1 cup vegetable= 1 cup of most raw or cooked vegetables 2 medium carrots or a dozen baby carrots 1 medium white potato 2 cups raw leafy green vegetables (like lettuce).

Meats/Nuts/Legumes Get at least 5 ½ ounces per day 1 ounce of meat or beans = ◦ 1 ounce of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish ◦ 1/4 cup of cooked beans ◦ 1/4 cup of tofu ◦ 1 egg ◦ 1 tablespoon of peanut butter or 1/2 ounce of nuts or seeds

Meat TIP: One serving of meat = size of deck of cards

Dairy Dairy (including milk and cheese): Get about 3 servings a day 1 cup of dairy = ◦ 1 cup of milk ◦ 1 cup of yogurt ◦ 1.5 ounces of natural cheese (like cheddar or Swiss) 2 ounces of processed cheese (like American cheese slices)

Milk 1 cup = size of your fist (on average)

Cheese 1 serving of cheese = 6 dice

First things to check! HYDROGENATED 1. Ingredients – look for HYDROGENATED ◦ If the word Hydrogenated is there, it’s junk ◦ Hydrogenated = Trans Fats (BAD fat!) ◦ Leads to heart disease, increase in BAD cholesterol, decrease in GOOD cholesterol ◦ ***EVEN IF THE LABEL SAYS 0g TRANS FATS!!!** 2. Ingredients- Corn Syrup or High Fructose Corn Syrup(tons of sugar!) 3. Label: Saturated Fats (BAD fat!!) 4. Label: Sugar- do not exceed 4g per serving (that’s almost 1 teaspoon!)

Next…. Check for: 1. Serving Size: how much are you getting with one serving. Is it worth it? 2. Total calories: seem like a lot? Over 200? 3. Total fat: is it over 5-8g of fat per serving? 4. Cholesterol, sodium, etc. FINALLY: Does it contain vitamins & minerals? Good amounts? IS IT WORTH IT?