Food Pyramid Page

No one food gives you all the nutrients you need to stay healthy. So it is best to eat a variety of different foods every day.

Use the Food Guide Pyramid to help you eat better every day...the Dietary Guidelines way. Start with plenty of Breads, Cereals, Rice, and Pasta, Vegetables, and Fruits. Add two to three servings from the Milk group and two to three servings from the meat group. Go easy on fats, oils, and sweets, the foods in the small tip of the pyramid.

What counts as one serving?

Breads, Cereals, Rice, and Pasta
1 slice of bread
1/2 cup of cooked cereal, rice, or pasta
8 ounce of dry cereal

Fruits
1 medium whole fruit
3/4 cup of juice
1/2 cup of canned fruit

Vegetables
1/2 cup of cooked vegetables
1 cup of tossed salad

Milk
1 cup of milk
8 ounces of yogurt
1-1/2 to 2 ounces of cheese

Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts
3 ounces of cooked meat, poultry, or fish (3 ounces of meat is about the same size as a deck of cards) 1/2 cup of cooked beans or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or 1 egg counts the same as 1 ounce of meat (about 1/3 serving)

Fats, Oils, and Sweets
Use sparingly

FOOD GROUP	Women & some older adults	Children teen girls, active women, most men	Teen boys & actuve men
Bread group	6	9	11
Vegetable group	3	4	5
Fruit group	2	3	4
Milk group	*2-3	*2-3	*2-3
Meat group	2	2	3

*Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, teenagers, and young adults to age 24 need 3 servings.

The small tip of the pyramid shows fats, oils, and sweets. These are foods such as salad dressings, cream, butter, margarine, sugars, soft drinks, and candies. Go easy on these foods because they have a lot of calories from fat and sugars, but few nutrients.

Name___________________ Date____________ Trimester_____________

Keep track of what you eat and drink for a week.
Complete the following chart by recording immediately after each meal or snack you eat. Using the food pyramid as a guide, record what food group the food belongs in. Record the food group for one day only.

Please use the following key

key:
Sweets, Oils, Fats Group = 1
Milk, Yogurt, Cheese Group = 2
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Eggs = 3
Vegetable Group = 4
Fruit Group = 5
Bread,Cereal, Rice, Pasta = 6

example: orange juice (5), cheese sandwich (2,6), tootsie roll (1), potato chips(1,4)

Please record on the chart below.
If you need more room you may use a more than one chart .

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

1. Select 3 days and put a plus (+) by each carbohydrate. Underline (___) each protein, and Circle (O) each fat.

2. Do you have sufficient carbohydrates in your diet? Yes______ No_______

3. Did you eat enough protein? Yes_________ No___________

4. Do you think your diet has too much fat? Yes_________ No__________

5. How many meals did you skip? _________________

6. How many cans of pop did you drink? _________________

7. Do you think that you are eating a balanced diet to promote your physical and mental growth? Yes___________ No____________

8. Changes you want to make in your diet.
More carbohydrates______________ Eat to gain weight____________
More protein_____________ Eat to lose weight____________
Less Fat____________ More fruit and veg.____________
Fewer missed meals_______________ Less pop____________
More milk____________ Other___________
Less sugar____________