for each category and include these suggestions into your meal planning and shopping list.
• Highlight the foods that are presently in your food plan and use a different color highlighter for the foods you want to try. Make a goal to try a new food each week. Remember that variety is important for healthy eating.
• Take this with you to the supermarket for a quick check on the nutrients in foods that may not have nutrition facts—fruits, vegetables, bulk items, meat, poultry, and fish.
Using Nutrition Facts
MyPlate Key Messages
Take action on the Dietary Guidelines by making changes in these three areas. Choose steps that work for you and start today.
Balancing Calories
• Enjoy your food, but eat less.
• Avoid oversized portions.
Foods to Increase
• Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
• Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.
• Make at least half your grains whole grains.
Foods to Reduce
• Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals—and choose foods with lower numbers.
• Drink water instead of sugary drinks.
Go to ChooseMyPlate.gov for a personalized food plan based on your age, sex, weight, and activity level. Find food lists and specific serving size photos.
Why Eat Grains?
Grains are important sources of many nutrients, including dietary fiber, several B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folate), and minerals (iron, magnesium, and selenium). Eating whole grains as part of a healthy diet may reduce the risk of heart disease and help with weight management. Additionally, consuming foods containing fiber, such as whole grains, may reduce constipation and diverticulitis. B vitamins play a role in metabolism and are essential for a healthy nervous system. Folate (folic acid), a B vitamin, is important before and during pregnancy because it helps prevent birth defects.
Daily Goal
6 one-ounce servings for an adult on a 2000-calorie diet
48 grams of whole grains
One-ounce equivalents:
1 slice bread
1 cup dry cereal
½ cup cooked rice or pasta
1 six-inch tortilla
Shopping Tips
• Make at least half your grains whole grains.
• Look for a whole grain as the first ingredient—whole wheat, brown rice, oatmeal, bulgur, or whole corn meal are examples of whole grains.
• Substitute whole wheat flour for up to half of regular flour in baking.
Shopping List Essentials
Whole wheat bread
Brown rice
Whole wheat flour
Whole wheat pasta
Whole grain cereal
Oatmeal
Popcorn
Red Flags
“Wheat flour” or “corn starch” are not whole grains. If a product claims “whole grain” or sounds like it is made with whole grains, look for the amount of whole grains on the label or the Whole Grain Stamp found on many but not all whole grain foods.
| Food Serving size | Cal. | (g) TotalFat | (g) Sat.Fat | (mg) Chol. | (g) Carb. | (g) Fiber | (g) Sug. | (g) Prot. | (mg)Sod. |
Acorn Flour, Full Fat
| 1 oz (28.35g) | 142 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 15 | -- | -- | 2 | 0 |
Amaranth Grain, Cooked
| 1 cup (246g) | 251 | 4 | -- | -- | 46 | 5.2 | -- | 9 | 15 |
Amaranth, Uncooked
| 1 cup (193g) | 716 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 126 | 12.9 | 3 | 26 | 8 |
Arrowroot Flour
| 1 cup (128g) | 457 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 113 | 4.4 | -- | 0 | 3 |
Barley Flour or Meal
| 1 cup (148g) | 511 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 110 | 14.9 | 1 | 16 | 6 |
Barley Malt Flour
| 1 cup (162g) | 585 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 127 | 11.5 | 1 | 17 | 18 |
Barley, Hulled
| 1 cup (184g) | 651 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 135 | 31.8 | 1 | 23 | 22 |
Barley,
