The USDA Food Guide is a planning reference to assist you in achieving healthy diet choices. The USDA Food guide divides foods into 5 main groups. The foods in each group have similar nutritional content. Choosing foods from each of the food groups encourages a well-balanced eating plan. The amount necessary of each food group is based on person’s own nutritional needs.
Five Main Food Groups:
1. Fruits
2. Vegetable
3. Grains
4. Meats and Legumes
5. Milk
USDA Food Guide:
Fruits
| Food Guides: | Consume a variety of fruits and no more than one half of the recommended intake as fruit juice |
| Major Nutrient Contributions: | Folate, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Potassium and Fiber |
| Serving Sizes | 1 c. fruit is equivalent to 1 c. fresh, frozen or canned fruit; ½ c. dried fruit; 1 c. fruit juice |
| Best Choices | Apples, apricots, bananas, blueberries, cantaloupe, cherries, grapefruit, grapes, guava, kiwi, mango, nectarines, oranges, papaya, peaches, pears, pineapples, plums, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, watermelon, dried fruit (dates, figs, raisons) |
| Choices to Limit | Canned or frozen fruit packed in syrup; juices, punches, ades, and fruit drinks with added sugars, fried plantains |
Vegetables
| Food Guides: | Choose a variety of vegetables each day, and choose from all subgroups several times a week |
| Major Nutrient Contributions: | Folate, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin E, magnesium, potassium and fiber |
| Serving Sizes | 1 c. vegetables is equivalent to 1 c. cut up raw or cooked vegetables; 1 c. cooked legumes; 1 c. vegetable juice; 2 c. raw leafy greens |
| Best Choices (a variety of each group each week) | Dark green vegetables: Broccoli and leafy greens such as arugula, beet greens, bok choy, collard greens, kale, mustard greens, romaine lettuce, spinach and turnip greens
Orange and deep yellow vegetables: Carrots, carrot juice, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and winter squash (acorn, butternut) Legumes: Black beans, blacked eyed peas, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), kidney beans, lentils, navy beans, pinto beans, soybeans, and soy products such as tofu and edamane, and split peas Starchy vegetables: Cassava, corn, green peas, hominy, lima beans, and potatoes Other vegetables: Artichokes, asparagus, bamboo shoots, beans sprouts, beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, cactus, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, egg plant, green beans, ice berg lettuce, mushrooms, okra, onions, peppers, seaweed, snow peas, tomatoes, vegetable juice, zucchini |
| Choices to Limit | Baked Beans, candied sweet potatoes, coleslaw, French fries, potato salad, refried beans, scalloped potatoes, tempura vegetables |
Grains
| Food Guides: | Make at least half of the grains selections whole grains. |
| Major Nutrient Contributions: | Folate, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, iron, magnesium, selenium, and fiber |
| Serving Sizes | 1 oz. grains is equivalent to 1 slice bread; ½ c. cooked rice, pasta, or cereal; 1 oz. dry pasta or rice; 1 c. ready to eat cereal; 3 c. popped popcorn |
| Best Choices | Whole grains such as amaranth, barley, brown rice, buckwheat, bulgur, millet, oats, quinoa, rye and wheat; Low fat breads, cereals, crackers and pastas; popcorn
Enriched bagels, breads, cereals, pastas (couscous, macaroni, spaghetti) pretzels, rice, rolls, tortillas |
| Choices to Limit | Biscuits, cakes, cookies, cornbread, crackers, croissants, doughnuts, French toast, fried rice, granola, muffins, pancakes, pastries, pies, pre sweetened cereals, taco shells, waffles |
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Legumes, Eggs and Nuts
| Food Guides: | Make lean or low fat choices. Prepare with little or no added fat. |
| Major Nutrient Contributions: | Meat, Poultry, Fish and Eggs -Protein, niacin, thiamin, Vitamin B 6 Vitamin B 12, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc
Legumes and Nuts- protein, folate, thiamin, Vitamin E, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc and fiber |
| Serving Sizes | 1 oz. meat is equivalent to 1 oz. cooked lean meat, poultry or fish, 1 egg; ¼ c. cooked legumes or tofu; 1 Tbsp. peanut butter; ½ oz. nuts or seeds |
| Best Choices | Poultry without the skin, fish, shellfish, legumes, eggs, lean meat with fat trimmed, lowfat tofu; tempeh, peanut butter, nuts (almonds, filberts, peanuts, pistachio, walnuts) or seeds (flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds) |
| Choices to Limit | Bacon, baked beans, fried meat, fish, poultry, eggs or tofu; refried beans, ground beef, hot dogs, luncheon meats; marbled steaks; poultry with skin; sausages, spare ribs |
Milk, Yogurt and Cheese
| Food Guides: | Make fat free or low fat choices. Choose lactose free products or other calcium rich foods if you don’t consume milk |
| Major Nutrient Contributions: | Protein, riboflavin, vitamin B 12, calcium, magnesium, potassium and when fortified, Vitamin A and Vitamin D |
| Serving Sizes | 1 c. milk is equivalent to 1 c. fat free milk or yogurt; 1 ½ oz. fat free natural cheese; 2 oz. fat free processed cheese |
| Best Choices | Fat free and fat free milk products such as buttermilk, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt; fat free fortified soy milk |
| Choices to Limit | 1 % low fat milk, 2 % reduced fat milk and whole milk; low fat, reduced fat and whole milk products such as cheese, cottage cheese, and yogurt; milk products with added sugars such as chocolate milk, custard, ice cream, ice milk, milk shakes, pudding, sherbet, fortified soy milk |
Oils
| Food Guides: | Select the recommended amounts among these sources. |
| Major Nutrient Contributions: | Vitamin E, Essential Fatty Acids and abundant calories |
| Serving Sizes | Vitamin E, Essential Fatty Acids and abundant calories |
| Best Choices | Liquid vegetable oils such as canola, corn, flaxseed, nut, olive, peanut, safflower, sesame, soybean, and sunflower oils; mayonnaise, oil based salad dressing, soft trans free margarine
Unsaturated oils that occur naturally in foods such as avocados, fatty fish, nuts, olives, seed (flaxseed, sesame seed) and shellfish |
| Choices to Limit | Hydrogenated shortenings, trans fatty acids, coconut oil, palm kernel oil, palm oil, popcorn oils, non dairy creamers |
Solid Fats and Added Sugar
| Food Guides: | Limit intakes of food and beverages with solid fats and added sugars |
| Major Nutrient Contributions: | Solid fats deliver saturated fat and trans fat and intake should be kept low. Solid fats and added sugars contribute abundant kcalories but few nutrients and should not exceed discretionary allowance.
Kcalories should be met first with nutrient dense foods that allow the needed energy and nutrients necessary. Abundance of solid fat and added sugar can lead to poor nutrient intakes and weight gain. Alcohol also contributes abundant calories but few nutrients and its kcalories are counted among the discretionary kcalories. |
| Serving Sizes | varies |
| Best Choices | None |
| Choices to Limit | All:
Solid fats that occur in foods naturally such as milk fat and meat fat Solid fats that are often added to foods such as butter, cream cheese, hard margarine, lard, sour cream and shortening Added sugars such as brown sugar, candy, honey, jelly, molasses, soft drinks, sugar and syrup Alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, and liquior |
Source: USDA Food Guide
