06 Nov Health & Wellbeing Newsletter – November 2020
Watch your portion size
Packaged food, take-away food and restaurant meals have been getting bigger and bigger over the last couple of decades, and are now served in very large portions. We may think bigger serves are better value for money, but they’re actually costing our health a great deal more!
To help keep to healthy portion sizes, use a smaller plate, avoid going back for seconds and freeze leftovers. Aim to fill half your plate with veg, one quarter with meat or meat alternatives (e.g: meat, chicken, legumes) and the last quarter with cereals and grains (e.g: rice, pasta, bread). Try and choose wholegrain options when possible.
See below for ideal serving sizes, and how many servings from each food group you need a day.
What is a serve of vegetables?
A standard serve is about:
- ½ cup cooked green or orange vegetables (for example, broccoli, spinach, carrots or pumpkin)
- ½ cup cooked dried or canned beans, peas or lentils (preferably with no added salt)
- 1 cup green leafy or raw salad vegetables
- ½ cup sweet corn
- ½ medium potato or other starchy vegetables (sweet potato, taro or cassava)
- 1 medium tomato
Most adults should eat at least 5 serves from the vegetable group a day.
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What is a serve of fruit?
A standard serve is about:
- 1 medium apple, banana, orange or pear
- 2 small apricots, kiwi fruits or plums
- 1 cup diced or canned fruit (no added sugar)
Or only occasionally:
- 125ml (½ cup) fruit juice (no added sugar)
- 30g dried fruit (for example, 4 dried apricot halves, 1½ tablespoons of sultanas)
Did you know that by the age of nine, 2 serves of fruit per day are recommended!
What is a serve of grain* (cereal) food?
A standard serve is:
- 1 slice (40g) bread
- ½ medium (40g) roll or flat bread
- ½ cup (75-120g) cooked rice, pasta, noodles, barley, buckwheat, semolina, polenta, bulgur or quinoa
- ½ cup (120g) cooked porridge
- ²/³ cup (30g) wheat cereal flakes
- ¼ cup (30g) muesli
- 3 (35g) crispbreads
- 1 (60g) crumpet
- 1 small (35g) English muffin or scone
*Grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or high cereal fibre varieties
Consuming at least 4-6 serves of grain (cereal) foods per day is recommended for Australian adults.
How much is a serve of lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, and legumes/beans?
A standard serve is:
- 65g cooked lean red meats such as beef, lamb, veal, pork, goat or kangaroo (about 90-100g raw)
- 80g cooked lean poultry such as chicken or turkey (100g raw)
- 100g cooked fish fillet (about 115g raw) or one small can of fish
- 2 large (120g) eggs
- 1 cup (150g) cooked or canned legumes/beans such as lentils, chick peas or split peas (preferably with no added salt)
- 170g tofu
- 30g nuts, seeds, peanut or almond butter or tahini or other nut or seed paste (no added salt)*
*Only to be used occasionally as a substitute for other foods in the group (note: this amount for nuts and seeds gives approximately the same amount of energy as the other foods in this group but will provide less protein, iron or zinc).
The Guidelines recommend that you eat 1-3 serves of foods from this food group a day, depending on your age. During pregnancy, 3-4 serves a day are recommended.
How much is a serve of milk*, yoghurt*, cheese* and/or alternatives?
A standard serve is:
- 1 cup (250ml) fresh, UHT long life, reconstituted powdered milk or buttermilk
- ½ cup (120ml) evaporated milk
- 2 slices (40g) or 4 x 3 x 2cm cube (40g) of hard cheese, such as cheddar
- ½ cup (120g) ricotta cheese
- ¾ cup (200g) yoghurt
- 1 cup (250ml) soy, rice or other cereal drink with at least 100mg of added calcium per 100ml
*Choose mostly reduced fat
If you do not eat any foods from this group, try the following foods, which contain about the same amount of calcium as a serve of milk, yoghurt, cheese or alternatives (note: the kilojoule content of some of these serves (especially nuts) is higher so watch this if trying to lose weight).
- 100g almonds with skin
- 60g sardines, canned in water
- ½ cup (100g) canned pink salmon with bones
- 100g firm tofu (check the label as calcium levels vary)
Most people need at least 2-3 serves each day, however, the minimum recommended will vary according to your age, sex and life stage for example, women over 51 years need 4 serves a day as their calcium requirements are high.
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