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CHAPTER 2
Rate Your Plate
T
o see how your diet measures up to the recommendations in the MyPyramid plan, follow
these steps.
Step 1: Write down everything you ate yesterday, including
meals and snacks. Make note of portion sizes as well.
(Refer to Table 2-6 for help with conversions.)
Step 2: Identify the food group for each item you ate. (Refer
to Figure 2-5 for help.)
Step 3: Using the five food groups, determine the amounts
that are right for you. Go to www.mypyramid.gov
and type in your age, sex, and activity level under
the “MyPyramid Plan” and click on “submit.” This
will give you a plan with a good estimate of the
amount of servings you need from each food group.
In addition, it will give you the approximate number
of calories you require.
Step 4: Circle the estimated amounts you should eat from
the middle column. In the right column, write down
the amounts you ate yesterday. (Refer to Table 2-6 and
the Savvy Diner feature in this chapter for help with
conversions.) Compare the two columns to see how
your diet rates.
AMOUNT YOU
SHOULD EAT
Grain group
servings (ounces)
Vegetable group
servings (cups)
AMOUNT
YOU ATE
5 6 7 8 9 10 ___________
2 21⁄2 3 4
___________
Fruit group
servings (cups)
1
2 2 ⁄2 3
___________
Milk group
servings (cups)
3
___________
5 51⁄2 6 7
___________
Meat & Bean group (ounces)
Solid Fats and
Added Sugars
Use
Discretionary
Calories
___________
Step 5: Decide what changes in your eating habits will make
your diet more healthful. If your diet is “un-proportional,”
with too many foods coming from one food group,
make gradual changes to develop a diet with more
variety. The chapters that follow offer tips on how to
do so.
Food Labels
Considering the great variety of packaged foods available, using the food label to
understand the nutrients a food supplies or lacks is essential (see Figure 2-7). The
label is one of the most important tools you can use to eat healthfully.
By law, all labels must contain the following:
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The name of the food, also known as the statement of identity.
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The name of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor, as well as the firm’s city,
state, and ZIP code.
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The net quantity, which tells you how much food is in the container so that
you can compare prices. Net quantity has to be stated in both inch or pound
units and metric units.
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The ingredients list, with items listed in descending order by weight. The
first ingredient listed makes up the largest proportion of all the ingredients
in the food, the second, the second largest amount, and so on. If the first
ingredient in the list is sugar, for example, you know the food contains
more sugar than anything else. The list is especially useful in helping people
identify ingredients they avoid for health, religious, or other reasons (see
Figure 2-8).
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The Nutrition Facts panel, unless the packge is small—no larger than 12
square inches of surface area (about the size of a small candy bar or a roll of
breath mints). Small packages must carry a telephone number or address that
consumers can use to obtain nutrition information (see Figure 2-9).
ingredients list a listing of the ingredients in a food, with items listed in
descending order of predominance by
weight. All food labels are required to bear
an ingredients list.
Nutrition Facts panel a detailed breakdown of the nutritional content of a serving of a food that must appear on virtually
all packaged foods sold in the United
States.