Sorting Out Serving Sizes
Sorting Out Serving Sizes
When you are away from home and do not have measuring cups or a food scale handy, it helps to know what a standard serving size looks like for some common foods. The table gives examples of some everyday items. You can also look at the Nutrition Facts label on packaged foods for serving sizes.
Get out measuring cups or spoons, or a food scale to measure some of your favorite foods, so you can see what a serving size looks like.
Sample Foods | Serving Size | Similar Sized Item |
Sugar | 1 teaspoon | Small marble or tip of thumb |
Oil, butter, margarine, honey, mayonnaise, ketchup | 1 tablespoon | Large marble, poker chip, or thumb to first knuckle |
Salad dressing, salsa, hummus, peanut butter | 2 tablespoons | 2 large marbles, 1 ping pong ball, or whole thumb |
Large egg, dried fruit, nuts | ¼ cup | Golf ball or cupped handful |
Burger patty, beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, cooked vegetables, mashed potatoes, small baked potato, cooked beans and peas, canned fruit, ice cream, 3-inch diameter by 1 inch bagel/biscuit/English muffin, cooked rice, or pasta | ½ cup or 4 ounces uncooked meat, poultry, or fish (3 ounces cooked) | Tennis ball, hockey puck, deck of cards, bar of soap, computer mouse, light bulb, or palm of hand |
Chopped raw vegetables/fruit, lettuce (4 leaves), medium apple or orange, small roll, chips, popcorn, pretzels, cereal, soup, yogurt | 1 cup | Baseball or woman’s fist |
Cheese | 1 ounce | 4 dice or 2 dominoes |
Thin pancake, small waffle | 1 | CD or DVD disk |
© 2006 — April 8, 2022, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
This handout is for informational purposes only. Talk with your doctor or health care team if you have any questions about your care. For more health information call the Library for Health Information at 614-293-3707 or email: health-info@osu.edu.
Last Revised: 4/8/2022
Author: OSUWMC
Medical Review: Patient Education