Portion guide
How much should I eat?
Healthy eating is less about cutting foods and more about right-sizing them. Here is how to portion your favourite Ghanaian meals without weighing anything.
Build your plate
No counting needed. Fill your plate in these proportions and portions take care of themselves.
½ Vegetables & fibre
Leafy greens, salad, and vegetables. Fills you up for very few calories.
¼ Protein
Fish, chicken, eggs, or beans. Keeps you full and protects muscle.
¼ Carbs
Rice, yam, plantain, or a swallow. Your energy, kept in a moderate portion.
Measure with your hand
Your hand scales with your body, so it is a portion guide you always carry with you.
Your fist
One portion of swallow or cooked carbs
banku, fufu, rice balls, tuo zaafi, eba
Your palm
One portion of protein
fish, chicken, lean meat (palm-sized piece)
A cupped hand
One portion of grains or beans
cooked rice, oats, beans, waakye
Your thumb
One portion of fats
oil, peanut butter, avocado (about 1 tablespoon)
Portion sizes by food
Grains & Staples
- White rice / jollof / any rice dish½–1 cup cookedAdd beans or veggies to boost fibre
- Waakye (rice + beans)½–1 cup cookedAdd veggies to boost fibre
- Banku1 fist sizeFermented, good for gut health
- Kenkey½–¾ ballAdd enough protein and veggies to boost fibre
- Millet / sorghum / brown rice½–1 cup cookedGreat whole-grain option
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