The Definitive Serve

We all know (I hope) that lots of fruit and vegetables in the diet are not only good for energy but help with maintaining a healthy weight, good concentration and even quality sleep.  The standard recommendation is two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables per day.  And most Australians eat only half of that recommendation.

But I've never really been clear on what a "serve" means.  I've always just guessed as to what a serve of fruit or vegetables is.  Well the Australian Government has a definitive answer to this.  And I thought it was worth posting, just in case you worried that five serves a day was five cabbages or five pumpkins!  You can get some clarity right now!

What is a serve?

One serve of fruit is 150g of fresh fruit, e.g.

  1 medium sized piece of fruit (e.g. apple)

  2 smaller pieces (e.g. apricots)

  1 cup canned or chopped fruit

  1 1/2 tablespoons dried fruit (e.g. sultanas)

  4 dried apricot halves

One serve of vegetables is 75 grams, e.g.

  1/2 cup cooked vegetables

  1 cup salad vegetables

  1/2 cup cooked legumes (dried beans, peas or lentils)

So there you have it - the true size of a serve.  Now go straight to the fridge and serve yourself a serve!