An average cheeseburger may be 590 calories as noted above, but it’s certainly not the max.  Can you believe a Jalapeno burger with fries at a famous retail chain is a whopping 2120 calories?  Worse still, it’s not just fast foods that have increased in size.  Even serving sizes in the American classic, Joy of Cooking, have increased 35% over its multiple editions.  Why has this happened?  Food businesses realized that they could win more customers, looking to get more for their dollar, by increasing sizes for a minimal price.  Larger sizes in restaurants distorted our sense of portion sizes so much that even portion sizes in the home increased!   

To see a visual of how large portions have increase, take a look at this entrée:

 
The steak serving is so big, it is off the plate! 

Maybe the portions in the picture above look normal today, but both the meat and potato portion exceeds appropriate portion sizes for one person.  So what?  Why is it important to understand normal portion sizes?  Knowing the appropriate serving size for one person can help one accurately gauge how much we are eating in a given day.  

Eating the right portion of good foods for optimal health…Easier said than done, right?  We know how hard it is to conceptualize one serving size in a culture where bigger is better.  Well, here’s an easy trick: imagine an everyday item as a comparison to accurate portion sizes.  Check out some examples:  

 
Deck of cards = one serving of meat, fish or poultry

Baseball = 1 cup cooked pasta, rice

Tennis ball = ½ cup of mashed potatoes or ice cream

Computer mouse = 1 small baked potato

4 dice = 1 oz serving of cheese

Golf ball = ¼ cup serving of nuts or dried fruits

Golf ball = 2 tbsp of peanut butter or salad dressing

Do you think imagining various balls and playing cards will help you avoid large portion pitfalls the next time you plan your meal?