How to Make Healthy Food Choices

What Is Healthy Eating?

Healthy eating is making smart choices when choosing foods. This means:

1. Eating a Variety of Healthy Foods

There are five food groups to think about: vegetables, fruits, protein, grains, and dairy. When you eat foods from all the food groups, you give your body the nutrients (say: NEW-tree-ents) — like vitamins and minerals — to help you grow, think, play, and feel your best.

About half of what you eat each day should be fruits and vegetables. The rest should be divided between proteins, grains, and dairy. The healthiest meals have a balance of items from different food groups.

2. Eating Less of Some Foods and More of Others

It’s important to keep portion sizes in check. Regularly eating too much can cause too much weight gain. Try not to eat too many processed foods (foods made from ingredients that have been changed from how they are naturally, like potato chips or hot dogs) and added sugars.

And choose milk or water rather than sugary drinks.

Food Group Reminder

You know what fruits and vegetables are. But here's a reminder about what's included in the three other food groups: protein, grains, and dairy.

Protein

Foods packed with protein include:

• beef, poultry (like chicken), fish, and eggs
• nuts and seeds
• beans and peas (like black beans, split peas, lentils) and even tofu and veggie burgers

Protein builds muscles, skin, blood, and other tissues in your body and helps keep them working.

Grains

Grains include bread, cereal, rice, tortillas, and pasta. At least half of the grains you eat should be whole-grains, like whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, and brown rice. Whole grains have more fiber and help you feel full.

Dairy

Some dairy products are milk, yogurt, cheese, and soy milk and soy yogurt that have added calcium. Dairy foods give your body calcium and vitamin D, which help build strong bones and teeth.

Building a Balanced Meal

You may wonder: Do I really have to eat vegetables with breakfast? The answer is no, but you can eat healthy by having a variety of food groups at each meal.

For example:

• Breakfast could be a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese (grain + dairy). Just add fruit and a glass of milk. You can eat any missing food groups later in the day.
• If you’re making a sandwich, you could include whole wheat bread (grains), turkey or cheese (protein), lettuce and tomato (veggies), fruit on the side, and a glass of milk.
• Add fruits or veggies, like apple slices, berries, or carrot sticks, to snacks or lunches.

What Happened to MyPlate?

MyPlate was a picture of a plate divided into food groups to help people learn about balanced meals. It’s been replaced with a pyramid style chart, but the main ideas — eating a mix of food groups — are still the same.