Tough Enough Nutrition and Fitness: Tips For Building A Colorful Healthy Plate (www.choosemyplate.gov)

Choose a Colorful Variety of Fruits, Vegetables, Whole Grains, Proteins, and Dairy to Build your Healthy Plate

USDA My Plate

**I found this to be a humorous depiction of the American diet but it should be noted without a doubt there are distorted portion sizes and a busy American mentality that encourages fast food.**

Note: The information below correlates with suggestions based on the new USDA My Plate Guidelines. I personally find these standards challenging to understand BUT the information provided is still helpful for visualizing portion sizes. A My Plate 2000 calorie diet example includes 6oz grains, 2.5C vegetables, 2C fruits, 3 C dairy, 5.5oz protein, 6tsp oil. Once again, personal opinion, I think it is VERY HARD to understand a dietary breakdown like this, but, I wanted to give an example anyways. The main purpose of this information is to give a VISUAL for portions.

Fruit: Any fruit or 100% fruit juice. Fruits can be canned, fresh, frozen, or dried.

TIP: Avoid items in heavy syrup. Look for “packaged

fresh, flash frozen, or canned in 100% juice."

USDA Serving Size Guide: 1C fresh or 100% juice, 1/2C dried fruit.

ChooseMyPlate.gov What Counts as a Cup of Fruit Chart

Vegetables: Any vegetable or 100%

vegetable juice. Vegetables can be fresh, raw, frozen, canned, dehydrated, or cooked.

TIP: Avoid vegetables in cream and cheese sauces

and check food labels for sodium content. Daily salt

recommendations from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines

have dropped to 1500mg/day for the general

public. The 2005 recommendations had this amount for

those with high blood pressure and heart disease but

studies found over 85% of Americans consumed WAY

more than 2300mg/day and it was then decided to

decrease this number to 1500mg/day (2010 Dietary

Guidelines From USDA and HHS - Janet Kim, MPH

View Article).

USDA Serving Size Guide: 1C Fresh or 100% juice,

2C Leafy Greens.

ChooseMyPlate.gov What Counts as a Cup of Vegetables Chart

Grains: Any food made from rice, barley, wheat, oats

or cornmeal

EX: Bread, pasta, tortilla, oatmeal,

bulgur, grits, cereal

TIP: Look for labels that include the

terms bulgur, buckwheat, oatmeal,

WHOLE rye, WHOLE wheat, brown

rice, wild rice etc.

Whole Grain: Contain the entire grain kernel (endosperm, bran, germ) FYI: Most products that state bran, 100% wheat, stone ground etc. are not actually 100% whole grain. Look for the terms stated above.

Refined Grain: Milled and processed

grains give a more fine texture. This often

removes significant amounts of fiber, iron, and B vitamins.

USDA Serving Size Guide: 1oz in general

is similar to 1 slice of bread, 1/2C of cooked

hot cereal, cooked rice, cooked pasta, 1C of cold ready-

to-eat cereal.

ChooseMyPlate.gov What Counts as an Ounce of Grains Chart

Protein: Meat, poultry, seafood, beans, nuts, peas, seeds, eggs, processed soy

TIP: Look for low fat and lean options (sirloin, chicken

breast, egg whites)

USDA Serving Size Guide: 1oz

meat/poultry/fish, 1/4C cooked beans, 1

egg, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, 1/2oz

nuts or seeds.

ChooseMyPlate.gov What Counts as an Ounce of Protein - Chart

www.healthyeating.webmd.com

**A deck of cards is compared to a 3oz portion of meat/poultry/fish - for additional helpful visual comparisons look at the interactive tools below**

Dairy: All fluid milk products and anything made from milk

TIP: Look for low fat or no fat cheeses, milks, yogurt

USDA Serving Size Guide: 1C of milk, yogurt, or

soymilk, 1 1/2oz natural cheese, 2oz processed cheese.

ChooseMyPlate.gov What Counts as a Cup of Dairy - Chart

Oil: **Oils are not a food group** Some foods with high oil content can cross over into the oil category such as avocados and nuts but are actually a part of another group. Mayo and salad dressings are considered an oil and not in a "food" group.

USDA Serving Size Guide: 1 teaspoon

ChooseMyPlate.gov What Counts as a Teaspoon of Oil - Chart

ChooseMyPlate.gov Suggested Oil Allowance for Essential Fat Requirements

**The numbers on this chart are in teaspoons. This amount includes EVERYTHING in ALL foods throughout the day. Examples: nuts, fish, cooking oils, dressings. The fats suggested include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated not saturated or trans fats.**

**Portion Size- A portion is the size of food YOU choose to eat.

**Serving Size- The United States Department of Agriculture (choosemyplate.gov) has developed and defined a standardized specific amount for the five food groups + oil. These standards are to be considered as a recommended PORTION for ONE sitting. NOTE: This does not mean that the servings indicated on a food label reflect the USDA standards. Food labels are individual product specifications with their own sizes and nutritional information.

Fun Serving Size Interactive Tools and Resources