If you are a thrifty food shopper, you learn to buy the kinds and amounts of food that your family will use—with a minimum of waste. To avoid waste and to make the most of your food dollar, you also need to know how many servings you get from a market unit, such as 1 pound of fresh carrots or a 10-ounce package of frozen peaches.
Information in this section can help you decide how much to buy to feed your family.
The amount of meat, poultry, and fish to buy varies with the amount of bone, fat, and breading.
| Servings | |
| per | |
| pound[1] | |
| MEAT | |
| Much bone or gristle | 1 or 2 |
| Medium amounts of bone | 2 or 3 |
| Little or no bone | 3 or 4 |
| POULTRY (READY-TO-COOK) | |
| Chicken | 2 or 3 |
| Turkey | 2 or 3 |
| Duck and goose | 2 |
| FISH | |
| Whole | 1 or 2 |
| Dressed or pan-dressed | 2 or 3 |
| Portions or steaks | 3 |
| Fillets | 3 or 4 |
For this table, a serving of vegetable is ½ cup cooked vegetable unless otherwise noted. A serving of fruit is ½ cup fruit; 1 medium apple, banana, peach, or pear; or 2 apricots or plums. A serving of cooked fresh or dried fruit is ½ cup fruit and liquid.
| Servings | |
| per | |
| pound[2] | |
| FRESH VEGETABLES | |
| Asparagus | 3 or 4 |
| Beans, lima[2] | 2 |
| Beans, snap | 5 or 6 |
| Beets, diced[3] | 3 or 4 |
| Broccoli | 3 or 4 |
| Brussels sprouts | 4 or 5 |
| Cabbage: | |
| Raw, shredded | 9 or 10 |
| Cooked | 4 or 5 |
| Carrots: | |
| Raw, diced or shredded[3] | 5 or 6 |
| Cooked[3] | 4 |
| Cauliflower | 3 |
| Celery: | |
| Raw, chopped or diced | 5 or 6 |
| Cooked | 4 |
| Kale[4] | 5 or 6 |
| Okra | 4 or 5 |
| Onions, cooked | 3 or 4 |
| Parsnips[3] | 4 |
| Peas[5] | 2 |
| Potatoes | 4 |
| Spinach[6] | 4 |
| Squash, summer | 3 or 4 |
| Squash, winter | 2 or 3 |
| Sweetpotatoes | 3 or 4 |
| Tomatoes, raw, diced or sliced | 4 |
[2] As purchased.
[3] Bought in pod.
[4] Bought without tops.
[5] Bought untrimmed.
[6] Bought prepackaged.
| Servings | |
| per package | |
| (9 or 10 oz.) | |
| FROZEN VEGETABLES | |
| Asparagus | 2 or 3 |
| Beans, lima | 3 or 4 |
| Beans, snap | 3 or 4 |
| Broccoli | 3 |
| Brussels sprouts | 3 |
| Cauliflower | 3 |
| Corn, whole kernel | 3 |
| Kale | 2 or 3 |
| Peas | 3 |
| Spinach | 2 or 3 |
| Servings | |
| per can | |
| (1 lb.) | |
| CANNED VEGETABLES | |
| Most vegetables | 3 or 4 |
| Greens, such as kale or spinach | 2 or 3 |
| Servings | |
| per pound | |
| DRY VEGETABLES | |
| Dry beans | 11 |
| Dry peas, lentils | 10 or 11 |
| Servings per | ||
| market unit[7] | ||
| FRESH FRUIT | ||
| Apples | ||
| Bananas | ||
| Peaches | 3 or 4 per pound | |
| Pears | ||
| Plums | ||
| Apricots | ||
| Cherries, sweet | 5 or 6 per pound | |
| Grapes, seedless | ||
| Blueberries | ||
| Raspberries | 4 or 5 per pint | |
| Strawberries | 8 or 9 per quart | |
[7] As purchased.
| Servings | |
| per package | |
| (10 or 12 oz.) | |
| FROZEN FRUIT | |
| Blueberries | 3 or 4 |
| Peaches | 2 or 3 |
| Raspberries | 2 or 3 |
| Strawberries | 2 or 3 |
| Servings | |
| per can | |
| (1 lb.) | |
| CANNED FRUIT | |
| Served with liquid | 4 |
| Drained | 2 or 3 |
| Servings | |
| per package | |
| (8 oz.) | |
| DRIED FRUIT | |
| Apples | 8 |
| Apricots | 6 |
| Mixed fruits | 6 |
| Peaches | 7 |
| Pears | 4 |
| Prunes | 4 or 5 |