Starches/Breads

Cereals/Beans/Grains/Pasta

Beans, cooked or canned (all kinds)

1/2 cup

Cereal, cooked (oatmeal, cream of wheat, rice, etc.)

1/3 cup

Cereal, dry (less than 100 calories per serving)
(serving sizes vary)

(see box)

Pasta, cooked (all kinds)

1/3 cup

Rice, cooked (all kinds)

1/3 cup

Starchy Vegetables

Corn, cooked or canned

1/2 cup

Corn meal, uncooked (masa or matzo meal)

2 Tbsp

Corn on the cob

6" piece

Peas (green), cooked or canned

1/2 cup

Plantain (green, mature); cooked

1/3

Potato, baked, boiled, steamed

1 sm (3 oz. weight)

Squash (winter, acorn, hubbard)

1 cup

Yam or sweet potato 

1/2 cup

Breads

Bagel

1/2 small or 1 mini

Bread (whole wheat, rye, whole grain)

1 oz. Slice

Dumplings or gnocchi; steamed

2 small

English muffin

1/2

Pita pocket bread (6"-8" across)

1/2

Roll (dinner)

1 small

Sandwich bun or roll (hamburger, hotdog, Kaiser)

1/2

Tortilla (6" corn or 8" flour)

1

Crackers/Snacks

Crackers (80 calories/serving)

4-6

Graham crackers (squares)

3

Pretzels (hard)

3/4 oz

Popcorn (plain, popped)

3 cups

Starches/Breads with Fat

(15 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams protein, 5 or more grams fat, and 125-150 calories per serving)

Count as 1 Starch/Bread AND 1 Fat serving.

Biscuit (2 1/2")

1

Corn, taco, or tortilla chips

1 oz

Potato chips

10

Refried beans

1/3 cup

Rice, fried or Spanish

1/3 cup

Spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce

1/2 cup

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Milk and Milk Products

Skim Milk and Skim Milk Products

(12 g carbohydrate and 90-110 calories per serving)

Buttermilk (low-fat)

8 oz

Hot cocoa from mix (sugar free)

1 envelope

Skim, 1/2%, or 1% milk

8 oz

Yogurt (nonfat, plain or light)

8 oz

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Other Carbohydrates/Sweets

Other Carbohydrates/Sweets

(15 grams carbohydrate, or 1 Starch, or 1 Fruit, or 1 Milk)

Sugars can be included in your meals if they are counted appropriately. Follow Food Guide Pyramid guidelines for keeping the amounts of sweets and fats in your overall diet small compared to more nutritionally valuable foods. Portion sizes of foods high in refined sugar are often very small. Read the label.

Cranberry sauce, jellied

1-2 Tbsp

Fruit juice bars, frozen, 100% juice

1 bar (3oz)

Fruit spreads, 100% fruit

1 Tbsp

Gelatin, regular

1/2 cup

Gingersnaps

3

Ice cream, light

1/2 cup

Jam or jelly, regular

1 Tbsp

Pudding, regular (made with low fat milk)

1/4 cup

Pudding, sugar-free (made with low fat milk)

1/2 cup

Salad dressing, fat-free

1/4 cup

Syrup, regular

1 Tbsp

Yogurt, frozen, fat-free, no sugar added

1/2 cup

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Vegetables

Vegetables

(5 grams carbohydrate and 25 calories per serving)

Vegetables are a great source of vitamins and minerals and many also provide some fiber. A serving is 1/2 cup of cooked vegetables, 1/2 cup of vegetable juice, or 1 cup of raw vegetables. (Starch vegetables like potatoes, corn, and peas are listed with Starches/ Breads. Vegetables with fewer than 20 calories per serving are listed with Free Foods.)

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Fruits

Fruits

(15 grams carbohydrate and 60 calories per serving)

You can estimate the serving size for fruits that aren’t
on the list as follows:

Fresh, canned, or frozen fruit, no sugar added

1/2 cup

Dried fruit (except raisins)

1/4 cup

Fresh Fruit

Apple, small (2" across)

1

Applesauce, no sugar added

1/2 cup

Banana (9")

1/2

Berries (raspberries, boysenberries)

1 cup

Berries (blackberries, blueberries)

3/4 cup

Cantaloupe or honeydew melon

1 cup

Cherries, raw (large)

12

Grapefruit (medium)

1/2

Grapes (small)

15

Mandarin oranges

3/4 cup

Mango, fresh (small)

1/2

Orange (small, 2 1/2" across)

1

Papaya

1 cup

Peach or pear (2 3/4" across)

1

Pineapple, fresh

3/4 cup

Plums, raw (2" across)

2

Raisins

2 Tbsp

Tangerine/Clementine

2 small

Watermelon

1 1/4 cup

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