Have you ever looked on the back of a can and read the Serving Size details?
Go grab a few cans of commercially can foods from your pantry. I'll wait.
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Okay.
Now, look at the back of that can.
I have a can of green beans here.
It says on the back "4 Servings per can, Serving Size 1/4 cup.
HELLO!?!?!
I opened my can (don't worry, they won't go to waste)
I divided it into 4 servings.
17 green beans per serving is what it worked out to.
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Now, I raised mainly boys. If I had put 17 green beans on one of my kids plates (especially when they were teenagers), they would have accused me of trying to starve them!
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A can of collard greens looks a bit better.
"Serving size 3/4 cup"
Still...doesn't look like much when on a plate.
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There's a reason that QUART jars became the standard for canning. There was enough in a quart jar to feed a family.
If it is just you, maybe those itty-bitty commercially canned foods will be fine. They will even work for a couple.
But for an actual-to-goodness family, you need to open two cans or use self canned foods in quart jars.
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Back to serving sizes...
Who designates HOW MUCH is a serving size?
I guess, in the US, the Dept. of Agriculture or the Food and Drug Administration.
According to all the mandates, recommendations, etc. that are handed down, you need 4 to 5 "servings" of fruit and vegetables a day.
Sounds like a massive amount UNTIL you look at what is considered a "serving".
4 strawberries or a half a banana is considered a "serving".
1/2 cup of milk. 1 slice of bread. 2 or 3 ounces of meat. 1 carrot. 1 tablespoon mayo. 1/2 cup green beans. 1 slice of that pre-processed cheese *food*. 1/2 an apple.
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To me, a serving size is much different. I don't know about you, but I generally finish a whole apple. My sandwiches include TWO slices of bread.
What I am saying here is that *official* recommendations are NOT "one size fits all".
If you are dieting you may want/need less. If you are undergoing physical or medical stresses, you may need/want more of a specific food.
Or you just may want to sit down and scarf down a WHOLE banana!
ROFL, Lamb- you are so absolutely right! I eat a can of french cut green beans by myself, the Kid will do another...and we'll have four slices of bread each with a quarter pound of butter. Then there're the potatoes, meat, milk and (I HOPE!) blueberry pie dessert.
ReplyDeleteI have long thought those serving sizes were for infants, not real size people.
Shy III