Do you ever wonder how much you are eating? According to MyPlate, adult females should aim to eat 2 and 1/2 to 3 cups of vegetables each day. But what if you aren’t measuring your food out each time? There are visual tricks for estimating the amount of food you eat based on common household items. Imagining these items as you serve yourself and others can help you visually “measure” your portion sizes.

Visit myplate.gov to see how much of each food group you and your family members should try to eat in a day based on your ages. Then use these tricks to estimate how much you actually eat and to help you get closer to your daily goals.

Portion estimation tricks

• Tennis ball = 1 medium fresh fruit
• Light bulb = 1 cup raw veggies
• Computer mouse = 1/2 cup fruit
• 4 dice = 1 ounce cheese
• CD = 1 slice bread
• Deck of cards = 3 ounces meat
• Quarter in diameter = 1 teaspoon oil
• 6-oz. can tuna = 6-oz. bagel or roll

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