Perfect Portion Size Guide
Updated: Jan. 18, 2011
Most of us underestimate portions and, therefore, calories by at least 25 per cent—meaning that you could eat hundreds of extra calories every day and not even know it. Here’s how to estimate the perfect portion size every time. We give you two comparisons: one compares the portion size to everyday objects and the other to parts of your hand, for a take-anywhere system.
| The Perfect Portion | Looks like This | Or This |
| 90 g meat | a mini-pack of tissues | your outstretched palm |
| 90 g fish | a chequebook | your outstretched palm |
| 3–4 tablespoons beans | a tennis ball | a cupped handful |
| 40 g cheese | 3 dice | your thumb |
| 2 heaping tablespoons rice or pasta | a full cupcake wrapper | a rounded handful |
| 1 portion of mashed potatoes | a drink coaster | your palm |
| 25 g roll | a bar of soap | half of your palm |
| 1 small bun | the round part of a light bulb | half of your fist |
| 8 cm piece of cake | a pack of cards | about 3⁄4 of your palm |
| 1 teaspoon butter or margarine | a postage stamp | the tip of your thumb |
| 1 tablespoon oil or dressing | the base of a teacup | the centre of your cupped hand |
| potato chips | tennis ball | a cupped handful |
| nuts or dried fruit | a golf ball | a small cupped handful |
Originally Published: January 18, 2011
