How Should Your Plate Look? Protein? Vegetables? Fruits? Grains? Dairy? MyPlate What is MyPlate? The new visual icon from the USDA, replacing the MyPyramid. I It s a guide to how you can eat healthy lh and balance nutrient intake The three components of the MyPlate Message: Balancing Calories Foods to Increase Foods to Reduce Why has the USDA made these changes? MyPlate vs. MyPyramid MyPlate is simple and easy to understand. It gives you a visual of what your plate should look like. It has personalized meal plans and numerous food examples to try today! Recipes for every food group! They want to make eating healthy easier to understand for everyone, and they believe teaching people how to create a healthy plate at each meal will accomplish this. GOLDEN TICKET The MyPyramid food image, while useful as a teaching tool, was perceived by many as outdated d and too complicated. (MyPyramid was originally released in 2005) MyPlate illustrates the five food groups using a familiar mealtime visual. Everyone should enjoy their food, just aim for balanced meals with a variety of foods. Balancing l i calories means not too many of your calories from only one macronutrient category: fats, carbohydrates, proteins We can do this by avoiding oversized portions. Balancing Calories Changing Portion Sizes 1
What exactly is a serving size? One serving of fruits or vegetables is the size of a tennis ball. One serving of pasta, brown rice, or cereal is about half of a tennis ball. One bagel or English Muffin is about the size of a hockey puck. Serving size continued! 3 oz of meat is about the size of a deck of cards. 1 oz of cheese is about the size of 4 dice stacked together. Foods We Should Increase: Vegetables and Fruit Try to cover half your plate with fruits and vegetables for every meal! Fruits and veggies offer up very important soluble and insoluble fiber which keeps us full longer, which is really important when trying to shed some pounds. Make your plate colorful! Phytochemicals and antioxidants from plant colors and compounds may protect our bodies cells from destructive free radicals thought to be associated with the initiation of cancer in cells DNA. How many servings of vegetables do you need? Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts as a member of the Vegetable Group. Vegetables may be raw or cooked; fresh, frozen, canned, or dried. Daily Recommendation of Vegetables: 2 ½ cups For women age 19 to 50 years that participate in less than 30 minutes of physical activity per day. For women over 51, the amount decreases to 2 cups per day. How many servings of fruit do you need? In general, 1 cup of fruit or 100% fruit juice, or ½ cup of dried fruit can be considered as 1 cup from the Fruit Group. Example: 1 cup whole grapes, ½ large apple, 8 large strawberries, 1 medium grapefruit, 1 large banana. Daily Recommendation Fruit: 19-30 years old = 2 cups 31-50 years old = 1 ½ cups 51+=1.5 cups 2
The importance of Grains! We should take in grain products multiple times per day. Carbohydrates are very important for our energy and metabolism of other nutrients. As often as you can, choose WHOLE grains. Whole grains can offer fiber and antioxidants Check the ingredients list on food packages to find the word whole. Don t be tricked! Food manufacturers are allowed to list a brown bread as wheat when it has as little as 5% wheat flour in the product. That is NOT a whole grain product. How much of your plate should be grains? For women ages 19-50 years old who participate in less than 30 minutes of physical activity per day. The daily recommendation, in general, is 6 oz equivalents You can go on and put in your age, sex, and level of physical activity to find out exactly how For women ages 51+, the recommendation is 5 oz to find out exactly how many servings of each food group you need. equivalents. 1 piece bread=1 oz 1 small tortilla = 1 oz ½-3/4 cups cereal=1 oz Minimum Daily Recommendations of whole grains is 3 oz Vary Your Protein Food Choices If the budget allows and you like it, incorporate seafood into your diet twice a week. There are SO many choices! The top Omega 3 fish for healthy hearts: Mackerel, Trout, Herring, Salmon, Sardines Eggs are a great choice! An egg or two per week is healthy. The yoke supplies vast amount of nutrients; the white is nearly pure protein. Hardboiled eggs make great snacks! Consume meat and poultry in small amounts and purchase lean cuts that can be stewed or braised to make tender. What s a small amount? 3 oz chicken, beef, turkey, pork 5-6 oz fish How much protein do you need? Not as much as we Americans tend to eat. Your requirement depends on your age, sex, and physical activity For women age 19-30 5 ½ oz equivalents a day For women ages 31+ 5 oz equivalents per day Small portions (~ 3 oz) are the better options, but if consuming 5 ½ oz equivalents, reach for lean meats. It will say on the package! Go to to find out all of your serving size (oz equivalents) requirements!! What counts as 1 oz equivalent serving of protein? In general, 1 oz of meat, poultry or fish, ¼ cup cooked beans, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, or ½ ounce of nuts or seeds can be considered as 1 ounce equivalent from the Protein Foods Group. All fluid milk products and many foods made from milk are considered part of this food group. Most Dairy Group choices should be fat-free or low-fat (1%). On to Dairy! Foods made from milk that have little to no calcium, such as cream cheese, cream, and butter, are not considered part of the dairy group. Read labels and consider consuming products that also are fortified with Vitamin D so that the calcium you consume is absorbed! Calcium-fortified soymilk (soy beverage) is also part of the Dairy Group. 3
FAT-FREE: 0 grams of fat 90 calories per cup Fate-Free vs. Whole Milk LOW-FAT (1%): 2.5 grams of fat 110 calories per cup REDUCED FAT (2%): 5 grams of fat 130 calories per cup WHOLE MILK: 8 grams of fat 160 calories per cup How much Dairy do you need? Women and men of all ages should consume 3 cups of Dairy a day. What counts as 1 serving? 1 cup of milk, yogurt, or soy milk 1 ½ oz natural cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, Swiss, Parmesan) 1/3 cup shredded cheese 2 ounces processed cheese (American) I cup pudding made with milk 1 ½ cups ice cream 2 cups cottage cheese Lactose Intolerant? Foods to Reduce: Choose Low Sodium! For those who are lactose intolerant, smaller portions (such as 4 oz of milk) may be well tolerated. Lactose-free and lowerlactose products are available. These include lactose-reduced or lactose-free milk (Lactaid), yogurt, and cheese, and calcium-fortified soymilk Compare the amount of sodium on food labels to make your selection. What foods are highest in sodium? Canned soups, gravies, bacon, salami, beef jerky, and various snack foods. Pay attention to condiments! Foods like soy sauce, ketchup, pickles, olives, salad dressings, and seasoning packets are high in sodium. Drink water instead of sugary juices and soft drinks. Go with the half plan: Cut a juice in half with a fizzy water. To Review MyPlate Tools What are the benefits of MyPlate? The individual is able to actually see what their plate should look like. There is less confusion as to how much should be consumed. The website is very user friendly and is packed with tools to expand anyone s knowledge. Visit the website today!! ChooseMyPlate.gov has specialized categories so that anyone can find out how many calories they need and how many servings of each food group. General Population Pregnant/Breastfeeding Kids Weight Loss Daily Food Plan for all different categories. MyFoodapedia: search any food and discover calories and what food group it belongs to, OR compare foods. 4
Food Tracker Online dietary and physical activity assessment tool that provides information on your diet quality, physical activity status, related nutrition messages, and links to nutrient and physical activity information. You enter in the foods you ve consumed and you are able to get an analysis MyPlate Tools cont d The Food Calories/Energy Balance This feature automatically calculates your energy balance by subtracting the energy you expend from physical activity from your food calories/energy intake. MyPlate Tools cont d Menu Planner Allows you to plan what you will eat for the day. Just enter your information then choose foods you plan on eating. While you are choosing foods it shows you if you have met all of your protein, grain, dairy, fruit, and vegetables needs. **Helps you reach your goals.** Can you make your plate healthy? Give it a try!! The more you do it, the more balanced your plate will become! Go on and see how it can help you! Thank you! Question???? SPECIAL THANKS to Tina Dugdale, Anna Garrett, and Danielle Dziedzic!!! 5