In a super sized world knowing how much to put on your plate can be tricky.

We are constantly exposed to bigger portions - Texas muffins, super-sized combos, giant cookies and big restaurant meals - so learning to judge a perfect portion can seem daunting.

Here is an easy guide to help you...


Meat: Use the size of your palm as a guide, this is roughly equal to 100-150g.

Carbohydrates: For carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, couscous and potato, the size of your fist is a good indication of a serving size. One piece of bread also equals a serve.

Dairy: A serve includes 1 glass of milk (250ml), 1 pottle of yoghurt (150g), 2 scoops of ice cream or 2 slices of cheese. Choose low fat varieties to cut down on saturated fat intake.

Fruit: While the obvious such as an apple, banana or orange is one serve, a serve of fruit also includes ½ a cup of canned fruit (buy in fruit juice rather than syrup which is full of sugar), 25g dried fruit, or 1 cup of fruit juice.

Vegetables: One serve equals ½ cup cooked vegetables or 1 cup of raw vegetables.

So that’s the main food groups covered, but what about other foods such as snack foods? Foods such as nuts and dried fruit make a healthy snack, but it’s important to watch the portion size to avoid an overload of calories. Here are some examples:

Almonds

This is the size of a small handful, (11 almonds) and weighs approximately 13g.
This contains:
72 calories
6.6g fat
2.2g protein
0.55g carbohydrate

This is a large handful almonds ( ¼ cup almonds) and weighs approximately 40g.
This contains:
235 calories
22g fat
8g protein
2g carbohydrate

The Verdict: While a small handful of nuts is a good snack, with a larger handful the calories quickly add up - watch your portion size to avoid excess calories. A larger handful is a good size for men or very active people.

Dried Apricots

50g, approximately 7 dried apricots
This contains:
108 calories
0.1g fat
2.2 g protein
24.4g carbohydrate


100g, approximately 12 -14 dried apricots
This contains:
216 calories
0.2 g fat
4.4g protein
48.8 g carbohydrate


Once again, watch your portion size - it’s easy to eat more than a small portion with these. Count out your apricots before eating then put away the packet so you don’t overdo it.

Crackers

5 Griffins Vitalife Wellgrain Spirulina & Garlic Crackers
This contains:
145 calories
4.1g protein
3.2 g fat
24.3g carbohydrate


These make a good snack by themselves, but be careful what you add to them. Steer away from butter as it adds unhealthy fat and calories. Try Marmite and cottage cheese for a low fat topping.

5 Vitalife Wellgrain Spirulina & Garlic Crackers with 25g grated Edam cheese
This Contains:
230 calories
9.8g fat
10.4g protein
24.4g carbohydrate

Cheese adds fat and calories. While Edam cheese is lower in fat than most cheeses, cut the serving down to 3 or 4 crackers to cut down on fat and calories. Again, the larger serving size would be good for someone who was very active or a male.

Remember portion sizes do make a big difference to your daily energy intake. Rising portion sizes are one of the contributions to an increasingly overweight nation. Use this article as a guide to gain good judgment and help keep your body fit and well.

Nicola Graham