Fruit & Vegetable Portions - A Rough Guide

Written By Kate Burton

A portion of fruit or vegetables is 80g fresh, frozen or canned. If you don’t fancy weighing this out here is a handy little rough guide as to what makes up a portion.

VEGETABLES

  • Artichoke: 2 globe hearts

  • Asparagus: fresh 5 spears

  • Aubergine/Eggplant: one third of an aubergine

  • Beans, borlotti: cooked 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Beans, black eye: cooked 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Beans, broad: cooked 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Beans, butter: cooked 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Beans, cannellini: cooked 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Beans, French: cooked 4 heaped tablespoons

  • Beans, kidney: cooked 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Beans, pinto: cooked 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Beans, runner: cooked 4 heaped tablespoons

  • Beans, soya / edamame: cooked 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Beetroot: fresh 3 'baby' whole, or 7 slices

  • Broccoli: 8 florets

  • Brussels sprouts: 6 to 8 Brussels sprouts

  • Butternut squash: diced and cooked 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Cabbage: cooked 4 heaped tablespoons

  • Cabbage: shredded 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Carrots: fresh slices/grated 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Cauliflower: 8 florets

  • Celery: 3 sticks

  • Chickpeas: cooked 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Chinese leaves: shredded 4 heaped tablespoons

  • Courgettes: half a large courgette

  • Cucumber: 5cm piece

  • Curly kale: cooked 4 heaped tablespoons

  • Leeks: 1 medium leek

  • Lentils: 3 tablespoons

  • Lettuce (mixed leaves): 1 cereal/dessert bowl

  • Mange-tout: 1 handful (22 mange-tout)

  • Marrow: diced and cooked 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Mixed vegetables: frozen 3 tablespoons

  • Mushrooms: 14 button or 3-4 heaped tablespoons

  • Mushrooms: dried 2 tablespoons

  • Okra: 9 medium

  • Onion: 1 medium onion

  • Pak choi: shredded 4 heaped tablespoons

  • Parsnips: 1 medium

  • Peas: fresh/frozen 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Pepper: fresh half a pepper

  • Pumpkin: diced and cooked 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Radish: 6 radishes

  • Spinach: cooked 2 heaped tablespoons

  • Spinach: fresh 1 cereal bowl

  • Spring greens: cooked 4 heaped tablespoons

  • Spring onion: 5 onions

  • Swede: diced and cooked 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Sweet potato: 1 medium

  • Sweetcorn: baby 6 to 8 baby corn

  • Sweetcorn: canned/frozen 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Sweetcorn: on the cob 1 cob

  • Tomato puree: concentrated 1 heaped tablespoon

  • Tomato: canned plum 2 whole

  • Tomato: fresh 1 medium, or 7 cherry

  • Turnip: diced and cooked 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Watercress: fresh 1 cereal/dessert bowl

    Please note beans and pulses count as a maximum of one portion a day, however much you eat. This is because, while pulses contain fibre, they don’t give the same mixture of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients as fruit and vegetables.

FRUIT

  • Apple: fresh 1 medium apple

  • Apricot: fresh 3 apricots

  • Avocado: half an avocado

  • Banana: fresh 1 medium banana

  • Blackberries: 1 handful (9 to 10 blackberries)

  • Blackcurrants: 4 heaped tablespoons

  • Blueberries: 2 handfuls (4 heaped tablespoons)

  • Cherries: fresh 14 cherries

  • Clementines: 2 clementines

  • Damsons: 5 to 6 damsons

  • Fig: fresh 2 figs

  • Fruit salad: fresh 3 heaped tablespoons

  • Grapefruit: fresh half a grapefruit

  • Grapes: 1 handful (14 grapes)

  • Kiwi fruit: 2 kiwi fruit

  • Kumquat: 6 to 8 kumquats

  • Lychee: fresh 6 lychees

  • Mango: fresh 2 slices (2-inch / 5cm slice)

  • Melon: 1 slice (2-inch / 5cm slice)

  • Nectarine: 1 nectarine

  • Orange: 1 medium orange

  • Passion fruit: 5 to 6 fruit

  • Peach: fresh 1 medium peach

  • Pear: fresh 1 medium pear

  • Pineapple: fresh 1 large slice

  • Plum: 2 medium plums

  • Prunes: canned, drained 6 prunes

  • Prune: ready to eat 3 prunes

  • Raspberries: fresh 20 raspberries

  • Rhubarb: cooked 2 heaped tablespoons

  • Satsuma: 2 small satsumas

  • Strawberry: fresh 7 strawberries

  • Tangerine: 2 small tangerines

  • Tomato puree: concentrated 1 heaped tablespoon

  • Tomato: canned plum 2 whole

  • Tomato: fresh 1 medium, or 7 cherry

    DRIED FRUIT (Adult portion sizes = 30g - equivalent of 80 fresh)

  • Apple: dried rings 4 rings

  • Apricot: dried 3 whole

  • Cherries: dried 1 heaped tablespoon

  • Cranberries: dried 1 heaped tablespoon

  • Currants: dried 1 heaped tablespoon

  • Dates: dried 3 dates

  • Fig: dried 2 figs

  • Mango: dried 1 heaped tablespoon

  • Mixed fruit: dried 1 heaped tablespoon

  • Peach: dried 2 halves

  • Pear: dried 2 halves

  • Pineapple: dried 1 heaped tablespoon or 2 rings

  • Prune: dried 3 prunes

  • Raisins: 1 heaped tablespoon

  • Sultanas: 1 heaped tablespoon

  • Tomato: sundried 4 pieces

Kate Burton
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