By: Angel Steiner
I am currently in my third year at Kaplan University studying nutrition. This does not make me an expert, but I am simply a wife, mother and woman who wants to share some much needed information with those around me. This week I want to discuss the food groups. Simple, right? Over the past decade or two, the USDA have adjusted the groups, and there is an incredible website, MyPlate.gov. Their design, instead of a pyramid, they give a plate for reference of the various food groups. In the following paragraphs, the daily recommendations are all subject to the person’s age, sex and physical activity level, so check out the website for specifics.
In the fruit group, 1-2 cups of fresh, frozen, dried or canned fruit is recommended a day. Note: When using canned fruit, select ones that are canned in juice, not syrup. Fruit juice should be 100% juice. One small apple, a large banana, one large orange or peach, eight large strawberries or a ½ cup of dried fruit are all examples of a cup of fruit.
Vegetables are a little more complex when determining how much to eat a day. They are categorized into 5 sub-categories: dark-green, starchy, red/orange, beans and peas, and others. A person needs anywhere from 1 cup to 2 ½ cups of vegetables today. The recommendations per week: Dark-Green – ½-1½ cups, Red/Orange – 2½-5½, Beans & Peas – ½-1½ cups, Starchy – 2-5 cups, and Others – 1½-4 cups. One cup of vegetables are 12 baby carrots, three spears of broccoli, one large pepper, one whole tomato about 3” diameter, one large sweet potato, two large stalks of celery or one medium white potato.
Grain group consists of wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, and barley. There are two sub-categories of grains – whole and refined. These are a controversial group in the pop culture of nutrition now-a-days, mostly because the majority of people consume too many refined grains causing all kinds of digestive and issues… but that’s a topic for another day… . Per day, a person should have 3-6 ounces of grains, half of which should be whole grains. This equates to a one inch mini bagel, two inch biscuit, slice of bread, five crackers, half an English muffin, small muffin, one pancake, three cups of popcorn, half cup of rice or pasta, and one tortilla.
Protein foods include meat, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, eggs, processed soy products, nuts and seeds. Beans and peas are included in both this group AND the Vegetable group because they are high in protein content as well as having qualifying micronutrients criteria to be considered a vegetable. Daily recommendations of protein foods are 2-5½ ounces. Examples of this include one small steak, hamburger or chicken breast, one can of tuna, one egg or three egg whites, 12 almonds, 24 pistachios, seven walnut halves, one tablespoon of peanut butter, ¼ cup of beans or peas, ¼ cup tofu, and two tablespoons hummus.
Dairy foods are made from animal milk or calcium-fortified soy products. A person should consume 2-3 cups per day of the dairy group. Dairy foods are milk, yogurt, soymilk (calcium fortified), natural cheese, and processed cheese. Dairy foods can be high in fat content which should be monitored if a person is on a special diet with caloric restrictions. Since the vegan population – another hot nutrition topic for another day – do not consume dairy, they have no reason to fret about their calcium intake if they consume products such as green leafy vegetables (collards, turnip greens, kale, and bok choy), soy, and some beans.
Oils are not technically a food group, but need to be mentioned because we use them all the time in the kitchen. There are liquid oils like canola and olive oils, and solid fats like butter and shortening. People get enough oil in the foods that they eat like nuts, fish, cooking oil, and salad dressings, but the following are the daily recommendations: 3-7 teaspoons. For example, there are 3 teaspoons of oil in ounce of nuts.
These are the basics of the major food groups which we all should build our plates around. In fact, MyPlate.gov is an excellent resource for gathering information about the food groups and all sorts of other health related topics. There are many other foods that are not mentioned in these basic groups like herbs and spices. Did you also notice Doritos, Twinkies and Monster drinks were not included in ANY of these food groups? There is a reason for that – it is not real food! Treats (aka junk) are not meant to be a daily staple in our diets, but as something special to be enjoyed occasionally. Now, this is all fine and dandy information, you may be thinking, but sometimes I just gotta have a potato chip! Well, have that pile of chips, just remember to eat your veggies too! Thanks for reading!
