Goodbye Pyramid, Hello Plate
USDA's new food icon emphasizes fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins and dairy groups. Today, in an effort to help consumers make healthier food choices, the United
States Department of Agriculture unveiled its new, non-pyramid food icon,
MyPlate. The plate icon emphasizes the key messages from the 2010
Dietary Guidelines for Americans, launched earlier this year.
The new icon will replace the MyPyramid icon, a move that is sure to be welcome news for nutritionists across the country. The prior icon, released in 2005, was largely criticized for not presenting any useful advice in and of itself about food intake, but only requiring people to go online to a website for personalized food recommendations.
More about the new food icon can be found at ChooseMyPlate.gov.
The new Guidelines are mainly focused on improving consumer eating habits to reduce the prevalence of obesity in the country.
The Guidelines messages include balancing calories, avoiding oversized portions, making half of plates fruits and vegetables, switching to fat-free or low-fat dairy products, choosing foods lower in sodium, and drinking water instead of sugary drinks.
For example, we know nutrients that are low in our diets include calcium, vitamin D, B12, and potassium—all insufficiencies that can potentially be worsened by dieting. Also, we know that fast foods typically account for a major amount of sodium in a person’s diet; and sugary drinks often account for much of the extra calories. We know that Americans are getting only about half of the recommended amounts of dietary fiber they should be receiving.
Wondering how a certain food fits into the meal plan? What a serving is?
STARCHES (3 servings a day): include bread, rice, pasta and starchy vegetables like beans, peas, corn and potatoes.
Each of these servings contains about 15 grams of carbohydrates:
1-oz. slice whole grain bread; 6-inch corn or flour tortilla; 1/4 bagel; 1/2 cup cooked oatmeal, cream of wheat cereal; 1/3 cup cooked rice or pasta; 1/2 cooked beans, peas, or lentils; 1/2 cup corn/ 1/4 large baked potato or 1/2 cup mashed potato.
Starches are good sources of minerals, B vitamins, and fiber. Choose low-fat, low-salt and low-sugar
starches.
FRUITS (2-4 servings a day): include fresh, frozen, dried, and canned fruits as well as fruit juices in small amounts.
Each of these serving contain about 15 grams of carbohydrates:
1 small apple, orange, pear, or peach; 1/2 banana or mango; 1/2 large grapefruit; 17 small grapes; 1 cup honeydew or cantaloupe, 1/2 cup unsweetened canned pears; 1/2 cup unsweetened apple, orange, or grapefruit juice.
Fruits are good sources of vitamins A & C, minerals and fiber. Choose fruits without added sugar,
sweeteners, or syrups. Consume whole fresh fruits more often than juices. Eat the edible peelings
of fruits to get the most fiber.
MILK (3 servings a day): includes milk, soymilk and yogurt are in this group.
Each of these servings below contains about 12 grams of carbohydrates:
1 cup nonfat milk; 1 cup low-fat milk; 1 cup low-fat buttermilk; 1/3 cup fat-free dry milk powder; 1/2 cup evaporated fat-free milk; 1 cup plain, unsweetened low-fat soymilk; 3/4 cup (6 oz.) plain, low-fat yogurt; 1/3 cup low-fat frozen yogurt.
Milk products are good sources of protein, calcium, vitamins A & D. Drink Lactose-free versions if
you need to.
NON-STARCHY VEGETABLES (3-5 servings a day): includes broccoli, carrots, spinach and other greens, cauliflower, carrots, peppers, tomato, vegetable juice.
Each of these servings below contains about 5 grams carbohydrates:
1 cup raw broccoli; 1/2 cup cooked broccoli; 1 cup spinach and other greens; 1 cup raw cauliflower; 1 cup raw carrots; 1 cup fresh pepper; 1/2 cup canned tomato; 1/2 cup vegetable juice.
Vegetables are good sources of vitamins A & C, folate, fiber. Eat fresh or frozen vegetables more
often than canned vegetables. Prepare without sauces, fats or salts. Eat darker green, orange
and yellow vegetables.
MEAT and OTHER PROTEIN RICH FOODS (3 servings a day): includes fish, poultry, meat, eggs, cheese and tofu.
Each of these servings below contains 0 carbohydrates:
1 oz. cooked fish; 1 oz. cooked chicken (fat and skin removed); 1 oz. lean beef; 1 oz. low-fat cheese; 1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese; 1 egg or 2 egg whites; 1/2 cup tofu or other soy products, 1 TBSP peanut butter.
Meats are good sources of iron, zinc, B vitamins. Eat fish more often. Choose lean cuts of meat and
trim excess fat from poultry. Choose fat free or low-fat cheese. Instead of frying- bake, broil, grill
or roast meats.
OILS and FATS (3-5 servings a day): include vegetable oils, some nuts, saturated fats from animals.
Each of these servings contains 0 carbohydrates and about 5 grams of fat:
1 tsp olive, canola or peanut oil; 8 olives; 6 almonds or cashews; 1/8 avocado (2 TBSP); 1 tsp. corn, safflower or sunflower oil; 10 large peanuts or 20 small peanuts; 1 TBSP reduced-fat mayonnaise; 1 tsp. butter; 1 slice bacon; 2 TBSP cream or half-and-half.
Oils and fats that are good fats help the body run smoothly, provide flavor and texture. Read labels
and choose monounsaturated fats and oils. Less often, choose polyunsaturated fats and oils. Limit
or avoid saturated fats and trans fats.
Suggestion:
Limit your sugar to 15 grams a day. Stevia is a good natural sweetener.
Total carbohydrates per meal is close to 60 grams.
Total carbohydrates per meal is close to 60 grams.
25 grams of fiber a day.
We eat whole foods as much as possible and no prepared foods that contain more than 5 to 7 ingredients. Look at the labels!! You will be surprised at how many foods are full of ingredients that our bodies don't know what to do with.
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To Good Health,
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