What is a Food Guide Serving?

A Food Guide Serving is simply a reference amount. It helps you understand how much food is recommended every day from each of the four food groups.

Canada’s Food Guide provides examples of the amount of food that makes up one Food Guide Serving:

Vegetables and Fruit

125 mL (½ cup) fresh, frozen or canned vegetable or fruit or 100% juice
250 mL (1 cup) leafy raw vegetables or salad
1 piece of fruit

Grain Products

1 slice (35 g) bread or ½ bagel (45 g)
½ pita (35 g) or ½ tortilla (35 g)
125 mL (½ cup) cooked rice, pasta, or couscous
30 g cold cereal or 175 mL (¾ cup) hot cereal

Milk and Alternatives

250 mL (1 cup) milk or fortified soy beverage
175 g (¾ cup) yogurt
50 g (1 ½ oz.) cheese

Meat and Alternatives

75 g (2 ½ oz.)/125 mL (½ cup) cooked fish, shellfish, poultry or lean meat
175 mL (¾ cup) cooked beans
2 eggs
30 mL (2 Tbsp) peanut butter

Make each Food Guide Serving Count...wherever you are - at home, at school, at work or when eating out!

More examples of Food Guide Servings in each of the four food groups.

Counting Food Guide Servings

The amount of food that a person eats in a meal or snack may be more or less than one Food Guide Serving. For example, two slices of bread in a sandwich count as two Food Guide Servings of Grain Products. Or, 125 mL (1/2 cup) of milk in a bowl of cereal counts as half of a Food Guide Serving of Milk and Alternatives.

When eating a meal made of single items such as vegetables, rice and chicken, it can be straight forward to compare what is on your plate to Food Guide Servings. However, many meals are made of a mix of different foods such as casseroles, stir-fries and stews which can make counting servings more complicated.

Look at the example below to learn more about counting Food Guide Servings in a meal and mixed dishes.

Here is an example:
Vegetable and beef stir-fry with rice, a glass of milk and an apple for dessert.
250 mL (1 cup) mixed broccoli, carrot and sweet red pepper	=	2 Vegetables and Fruit Food Guide Servings
75 g (2 1⁄2 oz.) lean beef	=	1 Meat and Alternatives Food Guide Serving
250 mL (1 cup) brown rice	=	2 Grain Products Food Guide Servings
5 mL (1 tsp) canola oil	=	part of your Oils and Fats intake for the day
250 mL (1 cup) 1% milk	=	1 Milk and Alternatives Food Guide Serving
1 apple	=	1 Vegetables and Fruit Food Guide Serving