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Portion sizes and diabetes

Nov 1, 2018

Knowing portion sizes with your hand or plate can help with counting carbohydrate if you do not have measuring cups, measuring spoons, or a scale.

Counting carbohydrates in a recipe

Some recipes may not have nutrition information. Here is how to figure it out.

  • Use a food label, the internet, or a book to look up the carbohydrate in each ingredient in the recipe. The amount needed in the recipe may be different than the serving size on the label.
  • Add all the carbohydrate grams together for the recipe to get the total amount of carbohydrates for the whole recipe.
  • Make the recipe.
  • Divide into equal portions by cutting, using measuring cups, or using a scale.
  • Divide the total grams of carbohydrates (from step 2) by the number of portions you just made (in step 4).
    • This number is the amount of carbohydrates in each serving.
  • You do not need to do the math again the next time you make the recipe. Write down these 3 things:
    • The total number of carbohydrates in the whole recipe
    • The number and size of the portions you made
    • The total carbohydrates in each serving

Example recipe for practice

  • 1 pound 93 percent fat-free ground turkey
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 28-ounce can of "no sodium added" diced tomatoes
  • 1 16-ounce can of "no sodium added" kidney beans
  • 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 cups water

Using the nutrition information on these ingredients can help you add the total carbohydrates. Then follow the previous instructions to determine the carbohydrates per serving.