Does Your Diet Comply with the MyPlate Nutrition Guide?

By Zachary Smith

Photo by Lily Banse @lvnatikk

The benchmark for a nutritious meal as decided by the United States is MyPlate. Replacing the food pyramid in 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion new nutrition guide is based on the reccomedations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The breakdown of MyPlate is approximately 30 percent grains, 40 percent vegetables, 20 percent protein and 10 percent fruits, with a seperate smaller circle representing dairy. How much a person should eat of each food group is determined by a number of factors including biological sex and age.

So what is considered a part of each food group?

Although it may seem like a silly question for some categories, it's important to know exactly what is counted in a serving for each food group.

Fruit

  • Whole Fruit
  • 100% Fruit Juice
  • Canned Fruit
  • Frozen Fruit
  • Dried Fruit

Serving size: 1 cup of fruit or fruit juice, or 1/2 cup dried fruit.

Vegetables

  • Whole Vegetables
  • Vegetable Juice
  • Canned Vegetables
  • Frozen Vegetables
  • Dried Vegetables
  • Dark or leafy greens

Serving size: 1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables, 1 cup of vegetable juice, or 2 cups of greens.

Animal Protein

  • Meat
  • Poultry
  • Seafood
  • Eggs

Serving size: 1 oz of meat, poultry or fish, or 1 egg

Vegetable Protein

  • Beans, Peas, and Lentils
  • Nuts and Seeds
  • Nut butters and Hummus
  • Tofu, Tempeh, and other Soy products

Serving size: 1/4 cup cooked beans, 1/2 oz of nuts and seeds, or 1 Tbs of peanut butter

Grains

  • Bread and Tortillas
  • Rice
  • Oats and Cereal
  • Pasta

Serving size: 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of cereal, 1/2 cup of rice or pasta. At least half the grains you eat in a week should be whole grains.

Dairy

  • Milk
  • Yogurt
  • Cheese
  • Soy alternatives

Serving size: 1 cup of milk or yogurt or 1.5 oz of natural cheese

     

Are you following the MyPlate nutrition guideline?

First identify your biological sex and your age group, then fill in your weekly servings of each food group accoring to the table above. You will find out where you are doing well in your diet, and in which areas you could improve.

Fruit

cups

Vegetables

cups

Animal Protein

oz

Vegetable Protein

oz

Grain

oz

Dairy

cups

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