mdolla: 12/14/10

How large is 3 ounces of steak? What about an ounce of cheese or half a cup of spaghetti? Doling out food portions for a recipe or a diet plan is always a crapshoot-it's hard to tell 3 ounces from 10. Worse, we simply shovel down our chow until our plates are empty and it's time to leave the table. To help you monitor how much food you put in your mouth, compile a dozen easy conversions for standard servings. Just keep in mind that nutritional information will vary by brand and type of food.

Sausage

Food portion: 1 oz sausage link

Nutritional info: 54 cal, 5 g fat

Same size as: Shotgun shell

Butter

Food portion: 1 tsp butter

Nutritional info: 34 cal, 4 g fat

Same size as: Tip of thumb

Mashed Potatoes

Food portion: 1/2 cup mashed potatoes

Nutritional info: 112 cal, 5 g fat

Same size as: Half an apple

Swiss Cheese

Food portion: 1 oz cubed Swiss cheese

Nutritional info: 107 cal, 8 g fat

Same size as: Four dice

Cooked Spaghetti

Food portion: 1/2 cup cooked spaghetti

Nutritional info: 99 cal, 1 g fat

Same size as: Fist

Ice Cream

Food portion: 1/2 cup ice cream

Nutritional info: 143 cal, 7 g fat

Same size as: Tennis ball

Chicken Soup

Food portion: 1 cup chicken-noodle soup

Nutritional info: 175 cal, 6 g fat

Same size as: Baseball

Blue-Cheese Dressing

Food portion: 2 Tbsp blue-cheese dressing

Nutritional info: 154 cal, 16 g fat

Same size as: Golf ball

Dry Spaghetti

Food portion: 4 oz dry spaghetti

Nutritional info: 422 cal, 2 g fat

Same size as: The diameter of a quarter (when held tightly together and viewed from the end)