Portion sizes
The guide below will give you an indication of what a portion size should be, what counts and what doesn’t.
(These portion sizes are for adults. Children under five should also eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day, but the sizes may be smaller.)
Portion guide tables
Quick guide to fruit portions:
Fresh fruit:
- Small-sized fruit: 2 or more, for example 2 plums, 2 satsumas, 3 apricots, 2 kiwi fruit, 7 strawberries, 14 cherries, 6 lychees
- Medium-sized fruit: 1 medium fruit, such as 1 apple, banana, pear, orange, nectarine, or 1 sharon fruit
- Large fruits: half a grapefruit, 1 slice of papaya, 1 slice of melon (2-inch slice), 1 large slice of pineapple, 2 slices of mango (2-inch slices)
Dried fruit:
- 1 tablespoon of raisins, currants, sultanas, 1 tablespoon of mixed fruit, 2 figs, 3 prunes, 1 handful of banana chips
Tinned fruit:
- Roughly the same quantity of fruit that you would eat as a fresh portion: 2 pear or peach halves, 6 apricot halves, 8 segments of tinned grapefruit
Juices:
- A glass (150ml) of 100% juice (fruit or vegetable juice or smoothie) counts as 1 portion, but you can only count juice as 1 portion per day, however much you drink. This is mainly because it contains very little fibre. Also, the juicing process 'squashes' all the natural sugars out of the cells that normally contain them, which can be harmful for teeth - especailly if you drink a lot of it in between meals
Quick guide to vegetable portions:
Green vegetables:
- 2 broccoli spears, 8 cauliflower florets, 4 heaped tablespoons of kale, spring greens or green beans
Cooked vegetables:
- 3 heaped tablespoons of cooked vegetables such as carrots, peas or sweetcorn
Salad vegetables:
- 3 sticks of celery, 2 inch piece of cucumber, 1 medium tomato, 7 cherry tomatoes
Tinned and frozen vegetables:
- Roughly the same quantity as you would eat as a fresh portion. For example, 3 heaped tablespoons of tinned or frozen carrots, peas or sweetcorn
Pulses and beans:
- 3 heaped tablespoons of baked beans, haricot beans, kidney beans, cannelloni beans, butter beans or chick peas. Remember that beans and pulses do count, but only as 1 of the 5 portions, no matter how much you eat
Potatoes and other related root vegetables:
- Because they are considered a 'starchy' food, potatoes don't count towards your 5 A DAY. (Starchy foods are foods like potatoes, rice, pasta and bread.) We’re not suggesting you don’t eat them, but they should form the ‘starchy carbohydrate’ part of your meal
All adults and children over five years of age should be encouraged to eat a varied, balanced diet that is low in fat, salt and added sugars. This means a diet which includes a wide variety of foods, plenty of fruit and vegetables and starchy foods (such as bread, rice, potatoes and pasta), moderate amounts of meat and/or alternatives and moderate amounts of milk and dairy products.
