1. ChooseMyPlate.gov

2. Food Groups Grains Group Vegetable Group Fruit Group Dairy Group
Make at least half your grains whole
Whole grains contain fiber which may reduce constipation.
Vegetable Group
Vary your veggies
Helps reduce blood cholesterol levels.
Fruit Group
Focus on Fruits
May reduce risk for heart disease.
Dairy Group
Get your calcium-rich foods
Improves bone health reduces the risk of osteoporosis.
Protein Foods Group
Go lean with protein
Proteins function as:
building blocks for bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood.

3. Empty Calories calories from solid fats and/or added sugars.
They add calories to your body but no nutrients.
Foods high in empty calories:
Cake, pizza, ice cream, soda, and cheese.

4. Food with some empty calories
Food with few or no empty calories
- Sweetened applesauce (contains added sugars)
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Regular ground beef (contains solid fats)
- Extra lean ground beef (95% or more lean)
- Fried chicken (contains solid fats from frying and skin)
- Baked chicken breast without skin
- Sugar-sweetened cereals (contain added sugars)
- Unsweetened cereals
- Whole milk (contains solid fats)
- Fat-free milk

5. Other Important Info Balancing Calories Foods to Increase
Enjoy your food, but eat less
Avoid oversized portions
Foods to Increase
Make half your plate fruits & vegetables
Make at least half your grains whole grains
Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk
Foods to Reduce
Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, & frozen meals
Drink water instead of sugary drinks

6. Dietary Trends Increased or Decreased?
Calories
The average number of daily calories per capita in the U.S. food supply increased by over 5001—the equivalent of adding a quarter-pound cheeseburger, 365 days a year, to the diet of every U.S. citizen.
Sugar
Added sugar intake increased by 11 percent.1 While this may not seem like a large increase, added sugar intake was already high in 1970 — as much as two 12-ounce cans of soda.
Soda
Soda consumption more than tripled, while milk consumption nearly halved.

7. Dietary Trends Increased or Decreased?
Snacks
Children’s snack consumption doubled. By 2006, nearly one-fifth of calories consumed by 2- to 18-year-olds were in the form of grain desserts, pizza, and soda.
Fruits/Vegetables
Vegetable intake increased by 12 percent and fresh fruit intake increased by 28 percent,1 but the average American still falls short of dietary recommendations.

8. PART THREE – Complete on handout provided.
Draw an arrow from the left to the right
List replacement foods for the foods you already eat
If you label a food with “no change” – explain why
Example: apple sauce fresh apple
Example: French fries baked potato