Questions about portions...

  • Okay, so one thing has puzzled me a little, and that's figuring out how much of certain things equals 1portion, compared to how WW tallies the points...for the sake of the healthy guidelines.

    The big area where I have questions is fruits & vegetables. The guidelines explanation says 1/2 cup = 1 serving. I imagine one whole medium apple, orange, peach, plum, etc would be one serving. But I thought I read a long time ago that 1/2 banana is one serving of fruit (though the points are given for 1 whole banana). And what about berries, cherries or melon?

    It's just a little confusing because the food companion will give you the points for, say, 1-1/2 cups of strawberries or 1 cup of cherries. But is that then 1 SERVING or 2 (for the healthy guidelines)?

    Thanks!

  • I think in the book for points values it tends to give you the MAX you can eat for 1 point when it comes to berries and other fruits. Hence why you see 1 1/2c of strawberries being 1 point, but a serving size may be fewer. Here is the official word on serving sizes:

    http://www.5aday.org/html/consumers/serving.php

    So if you eat a serving size of strawberries (1/2 c), you do not need to count it for points. This is how I have always interpreted that. I understand your confusion!
  • Thanks, Jaime!!

    It's funny that I sometimes have a hard time getting the fruits & veggies in. 1/2 cup of a fruit or veggie is really nothing.

  • Especially if you have a salad at all during the day, that's usually the majority of your requirements right there!