• Brown rice/Wild rice
• Oatmeal
• Popcorn
• Whole Wheat Cereal
• Whole Wheat Bread/buns
• Whole Wheat Crackers
• Whole Wheat Pasta
• Whole Wheat Tortillas

(Teen boys and girls should try to get 3 - 3 1/2 ounces each day)

2. Vegetables

Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts as a member of the vegetable group. Vegetables may be raw or cooked; fresh, frozen, canned, or dried/dehydrated; and may be whole, cut-up, or mashed.

Vegetables are organized into 5 subgroups, based on their nutrient content. Here are some good examples from the 5 subgroups.

Good Examples:

Dark Green Vegetables:

1. Spinach
2. Dark Green Leafy Lettuce

Orange Vegetables:

1. Carrots
2. Sweet Potatoes

Dry Beans and Peas:

1. Black Beans
2. Kidney Beans

Starchy Vegetables:

1. Corn
2. Green Peas
3. Potatoes

Other Vegetables:

1. Cauliflower
2. Celery
3. Green Beans
4. Tomatoes

(Teen boys and girls should try to get about 2 1/2 to 3 cups each day)

3. Fruits

Any fruit or 100% fruit juice counts as part of the fruit group. Fruits may be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried, and may be whole, cut-up, or pureed. Some commonly eaten fruits are:

• Apples
• Bananas
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Watermelon
• Oranges
• Peaches

Here are a few great tips to help you eat more fruit!

• Keep a bowl of whole fruit on the table, counter, or in the refrigerator.
  
• At breakfast, top your cereal with bananas or peaches; add blueberries to pancakes; drink 100% orange or grapefruit juice. Or, try a fruit mixed with low-fat or fat-free yogurt.
• At lunch, pack a tangerine, banana, or grapes to eat, or choose fruits from a salad bar. Individual containers of fruits like peaches or applesauce are easy and convenient
• Many fruits taste great with a dip or dressing. Try low-fat yogurt or pudding as a dip for fruits like strawberries or melons.
• Make a fruit smoothie by blending fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt with fresh or frozen fruit. Try bananas, peaches, strawberries, or other berries

(For teen girls and boys try to get about 1 1/2 - 2 cups of fruit each day.)

4. Milk, cheese and yogurt

All fluid milk products and many foods made from milk are considered part of this food group. Foods made from milk that retain their calcium content are part of the group, while foods made from milk that have little to no calcium, such as cream cheese, cream, and butter, are not. Most milk group choices should be fat-free or low-fat.

Some commonly eaten choices in the milk, yogurt, and cheese group are:

• Milk (skim, low fat, reduced fat and whole)
• Milk based desserts- Puddings, ice milk, frozen yogurt
• Cheese (hard and soft)
• Yogurt (fat free, low fat, reduced fat and whole milk yogurt)

(For teen boys and girls try to get about 3 cups of the milk group each day.)

Here are a few great tips to help you:

• Include milk as a beverage at meals. Choose fat-free or low-fat milk.
• If you usually drink whole milk, switch gradually to fat-free milk, to lower saturated fat and calories. Try reduced fat (2%), then low-fat (1%), and finally fat-free (skim).
• Have fat-free or low-fat yogurt as a snack.
• Make a dip for fruits or vegetables from yogurt.
• Make fruit-yogurt smoothies in the blender.
• For dessert, make chocolate or butterscotch pudding with fat-free or low-fat milk.
• Top cut-up fruit with flavored yogurt for a quick dessert.

5. Meats and Beans

All foods made from meat, poultry, fish, dry beans or peas, eggs, nuts, and seeds are considered part of this group. Dry beans and peas are part of this group as well as the vegetable group.
Most meat and poultry choices should be lean or low-fat. Fish, nuts, and seeds contain healthy oils, so choose these foods frequently instead of meat or poultry.

Some commonly eaten choices in the Meat and Beans group:

• Lean cuts of beef, pork, and ham
• Poultry meat such as chicken or turkey
• Eggs
• Beans such as black beans and kidney beans
• Nuts and seeds such as almonds, peanuts and walnuts
• Fish such as salmon, tuna and haddock
• Shell fish such as shrimp

(Teen boys and girls should try to get about 5-6 ounces each day)

Here are a few great tips...

• Choose extra lean ground beef. The label should say at least " 90 % lean." You may be able to find ground beef that is 93% or 95% lean.
• Buy skinless chicken parts, or take off the skin before cooking.
• Boneless skinless chicken breasts and turkey cutlets are the leanest poultry choices.
• Choose lean turkey, roast beef, ham, or low-fat luncheon meats for sandwiches instead of luncheon meats with more fat, such as regular bologna or salami.

6. Oil

Oils are fats that are liquid at room temperature, like the vegetable oils used in cooking. Oils come from many different plants and from fish.

(Try to limit to 5-6 teaspoons of fat each day.)

Consuming oil is important in your diet.

Most of the fats you eat should be polyunsaturated (PUFA) or monounsaturated (MUFA) fats. Oils are the major source of MUFAs and PUFAs in the diet. PUFAs contain some fatty acids that are necessary for health - called "essential fatty acids."

Because oils contain these essential fatty acids, there is an allowance for oils in the food guide separate from the discretionary calorie allowance.

The MUFAs and PUFAs found in fish, nuts, and vegetable oils do not raise LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels in the blood. In addition to the essential fatty acids they contain, oils are the major source of vitamin E in typical American diets.

While consuming some oil is needed for health, oils still contain calories. In fact, oils and solid fats both contain about 120 calories per tablespoon. Therefore, the amount of oil consumed needs to be limited to balance total calorie intake.

 

To learn more, please check out: http://www.mypyramid.gov/index.html