As Inter-Faith Food Shuttle works to increase access to fresh and local produce in low-income communities, Food Matters ensures that people have the knowledge and skills to utilize it by presenting this information at Inter-Faith Food Shuttle Mobile Markets. In November, our Food Matters Nutrition Education team is focusing on protein options and their corresponding portion size at our Mobile Markets.
For meat and seafood, the portions are fairly simple to regulate:
- 3 oz of seafood is the size of a checkbook
- 3 oz of poultry or meat is the size of a deck of cards.
For plant-sources of protein (nuts, beans, and dairy) there is a different requirement. In order to receive the full benefit of these proteins, they need to be paired with a grain. Examples of this include:
- rice and beans
- peanut butter and whole wheat toast
- string cheese with whole grain crackers
The serving size for nut butters is usually about the size of a golf ball (2 tbsp); compared to a serving size of nuts being about 1/4 cup. A portion of beans is 1/2 cup, and a portion of cheese is about 1 1/2 oz, or 3 stacked dice.
We'll also be have a recipe demo of Black Bean Chili Dip for participants to sample! Yum!
