Healthy Food Pyramid with a Twist!

Healthy Food Pyramid 

What categories are included in the food pyramid? 

Why is it important to incorporate variety and BALANCE in your daily food intake?

Why have I changed the food pyramid into a circle flow chart???

Tips for optimizing the food pyramid

The five categories, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, include grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, and protein foods.  If you want overall nutritional balance, I include water in my circle diagram, even though it is not a food group.

The five categories (Plus water)

Grains:

Grains are one of the most important food groups to understand, because there are so many “fake” grains (or grains that have little or no nutritional value). Fake grains (also known as white flour or enriched flour) can also cause excess fat to form around the mid-section, so if you want to shrink the mid-section, focus on making this food group count.

Foods made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or other cereal grain is a grain product. Examples of grain products include pasta, bread, oatmeal, cereals and granola, tortillas, and grits. On average, adults should get an average of 5-7 servings/day.  

According to the USDA, grains are divided into 2 subgroups, whole grains and refined grains.

When the entire grain kernel is present, it is considered 100% whole grain. It is important to consume mostly whole grains because the majority of the nutrients are found in the entire kernel. Furthermore, most of the nutrients are contained in the bran and the germ.  When looking at labels in the grocery store, a few examples of whole grains include:

Whole-wheat flour, bulgur (cracked wheat), oatmeal, whole            cornmeal, and brown rice

The USDA states, "refined grains have been milled, a process that removes the bran and germ. This is done to give grains a finer texture and improve their shelf life, but it also removes dietary fiber, iron, and many B vitamins. A few examples of refined grain products include:

White flour, de-germed cornmeal, white bread, and white rice"

When you look at the labels of most (but certainly not all) breads, pastas, donuts, tortillas, muffins and bagels at the grocery store, you will notice that most refined grains are enriched. DONT BE FOOLED BY THIS POSITIVE SOUNDING TITLE. This means SYNTHETIC B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid) and iron are added back after processing. 

ON AVERAGE, OUR BODY ONLY ABSORBS 5% OF SYNTHETIC VITAMINS. This means that if it says 50% B-vitamins, you are probably only absorbing 2.5% of those B-vitamins. What are you left with? A substance similar to play dough!!! Also, fiber is not added back to enriched grains. Check the ingredient list on refined grain products to make sure that the word “enriched” is NOT included in the ingredient list. Some food products are made from mixtures of whole grains and refined grains, which is better than all enriched.

Key to the grain category: look for 100% whole grains to ensure you are eating food that will nourish your body, rather than paste that will quickly turn to fat.

Vegetables:

FIBER. FIBER. FIBER. In addition to all the vitamins and nutrients vegetables provide, there are many vegetables that are high in fiber. A few examples include beans (1 C. black beans provide 19g. of fiber), steamed broccoli, chickpeas (think hummus), and figs.  Add a little variety to your fiber products and go for the real thing! Vegetables are low in calories and can help keep your weight in check. 

Vegetables and 100% vegetable juice count as foods in the vegetable group.  According to the USDA, "vegetables may be raw or cooked; fresh, frozen, canned, or dried/dehydrated; and may be whole, cut-up, or mashed."

On average, adults should get an average of 3-4 servings/day (and approximately 25-40g of fiber/day). Vegetables are important in bowel regularity. Give it a try for 2 weeks. Replace some of your "heavy snacks" like granola bars, chips, ice cream, and fiber replacements with snacks like carrots and hummus, broccoli and cheese or celery with peanut butter. Keep your portion sizes small and I bet you will feel lighter and see the scale start to drop - AND your motivation to make more healthy changes should rise as you see your healthy progress. YOU CAN DO IT!!

Fruit:

In addition to vegetables, fruits are a non-negotiable part of your healthy plate and weight! Fruits can and should be used to replace our sweet cravings (which often lead to over-calorie consumption and blood sugar spikes). If your palate is not ready for fruit by itself, try mixing whole or sliced fruit with a healthy yogurt or even real ice cream. Mix your favorite fruits together; strawberries and blueberries go nicely together and when given a few minutes of preparation are a great snack for the whole family!

Any fruit or 100% fruit juice counts as part of the fruit group. The USDA says, "fruits may be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried, and may be whole, cut-up, or pureed." On average, adults should get an average of 3-4 servings/day.

Challenge yourself to get a fruit or vegetable with EVERY meal and snack. Your body will feel GREAT and nourished and you will be less likely to spend your calories on unhealthy foods.

Dairy:

Time for calcium! "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 dairy group choices should be fat-free or low fat," states the USDA. On average, adults should get about 3 servings/day.

Protein:

Protein is important for muscle and bone repair, keeping you feeling full, fuel, and essential amino acids. According to the USDA "all foods made from meat, poultry, fish, dry beans or peas, eggs, nuts, and seeds are considered part of the protein foods group. Dry beans and peas are part of this group as well as the vegetable group."

When shopping for meat, look for less than 40% fat. More often than meat, however, choose foods with healthy oils like fish, nuts, and seeds. These healthy fats will help absorb your nutrients (A, D, E, K vitamins) from fruits and vegetables. On average, adults should get an average of 5-6 servings/day.

Water:

Water is beneficial for aiding in digestion, delivering nutrients to the blood stream, giving your body energy and keeping the metabolism healthy and strong. Everyone’s need for water is a little different based on climate, activity level and quantity of produce consumed. As a general guideline, you should consume ½ your body weight in oz of water per day. 

What food groups do you fill up the most?

What food groups do you lean toward the least?

I have included a picture of my circle flow chart to check the balance of your nutritional food groups and water. Create your own like the picture above and put a check mark in the box every time you have a serving of one of the food groups. Are you getting enough of each category? Are you getting more than enough of another? Balance will keep you feeling full longer and the mid-section healthier.

How can you consistently encourage balanced nutrition for you and your family?