Most people know that chicken breasts, wild salmon, lentils, and fresh vegetables are healthy foods, whereas soda pop, donuts and French fries are unhealthy foods.  But fewer people know how to eat proportionally.

Even “good” foods like whole-grain pasta, lean meat, cheese, and potatoes can cause problems when people eat too much.

It’s harder when restaurant servings are often completely out of proportion.  You may get a giant slab of meat and a few scanty vegetables.  Or your pasta might come in a massive bowl that would be enough for three meals.

Many of us simply don’t know how much is “too much.”

The good news is, it’s easy to size your portions by comparing serving sizes to common objects.

For red meat and poultry, a serving of protein is about the size of a deck of cards.  For fish, it’s the size of a chequebook.  One egg is also a serving of protein.

Instead of filling your plate with meat and dropping a few vegetables on the side, fill the majority of your plate with vegetables instead.  Put your “card-deck” of chicken, “chequebook” of fish, or scoop of lentils on the side.

There’s nothing wrong with having two servings of protein in a meal (for example, two eggs for breakfast).  But measuring servings gives you the awareness to make healthy choices.

For example, what if you count up your servings for a day and realize you’ve had 15 servings of vegetables, but only one of protein?  You’ll know you need to make more room for protein in your future meals.   You’ll also know what to do if you’re at a restaurant and your order is a monster steak that’s the size of four decks of cards.  You may want to cut it in half and take some of it home to eat later, while balancing out the steak with a side salad.

Next week, we’ll be listing some serving size suggestions for grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy and oils.