Top, Choose My Plate Dietary Guidelines

Welcome to day we'll be talking about the latest dietary methods used to promote healthy eating habits called choose my plate choose my plate illustrates the five food groups needed to provide the necessary building blocks for healthy eating these include fruits vegetables grains protein-rich foods and low-fat dairy fruits and vegetables should account for just over half of the food on your plate with vegetables making up the slightly larger portion vegetables include everything from eggplant broccoli and bell peppers to spinach lettuce and squash the best rule for choosing which vegetables to eat is simple boost variety and eat as many colors as possible this ensures that the body receives the optimal amount of vital nutrients vitamins and antioxidants when preparing vegetables try and eat them lightly grilled or raw if possible over steaming vegetables is a common mistake and causes the vegetables to lose most of their nutrients with fruits it's important to boost the variety and diversify the colors as well they are an excellent standalone option to eat raw or cut up in a fruit salad, and they also act as an excellent complement to sweeten up a salad or entry brightly colored fruits such as raspberries and blueberries are also very high in antioxidants that work to inhibit the development of heart disease in certain types of cancer next we have the grain portion of the mach us my plate model grains are an important part of the healthy diet is they supply complex carbohydrates and contain a significant amount of fiber with little fat and no cholesterol grains should make up about a quarter of your plate and are found in every thing from bread and cereal to pasta and oatmeal when we think of grains we usually think of wheat or rice, but options like quinoa millet and rolled oats make for even healthier options with all grains it's a good rule of thumb to choose whole grains rather than refined or processed grains to make sure the body gets the most nutrients possible protein foods will account for the rest of the plate this includes anything made from meat poultry seafood beans eggs processed soy products nuts and seeds from this group it's better to choose, lean or low fat choices like chicken fish and other seafood to ensure minimal intake of cholesterol and saturated fat that often leads to later health issues the final and smallest portion of to choose my plate dietary method is the dairy portion this includes all fluid milk products in foods that make that are made from milk like low-fat cheese and yogurt that retain calcium content as well as calcium fortified soy milk this does not include foods made from milk with little to no calcium such as butter cream and cream cheese it is important to try and eat around one cup per meal of low-fat dairy which is equivalent to one eight-ounce glass of milk one regular container of low-fat yogurt or one and a half or one and a half ounces of hard cheese to ensure the optimal health benefits with the new choose my plate dietary guidelines the delectable possibilities for nutritious meals are endless take what you've learned today and stock that fridge for the best foods that your body needs