Are you looking to create healthy and balanced meals for yourself and your family? Look no further than the Healthy Eating Plate. This interactive guide will help you make informed choices and ensure that your meals are nutritious and delicious. Let’s dive in and explore the key principles of a healthy diet.
Building a Healthy and Balanced Diet
Make most of your meal vegetables and fruits – ½ of your plate. Fill your plate with colorful and varied vegetables and fruits. Remember, potatoes don’t count as vegetables on the Healthy Eating Plate due to their impact on blood sugar levels.
Go for whole grains – ¼ of your plate. Opt for whole grains like whole wheat, barley, quinoa, oats, and brown rice. These grains have a more positive effect on blood sugar and insulin levels compared to refined grains like white bread and white rice.
Protein power – ¼ of your plate. Choose healthy protein sources like fish, poultry, beans, and nuts. These versatile options can be added to salads or paired with vegetables on your plate. Limit your intake of red meat and avoid processed meats such as bacon and sausage.
Healthy plant oils – in moderation. Select healthy vegetable oils such as olive oil, canola oil, soybean oil, and peanut oil. Avoid partially hydrogenated oils, which contain unhealthy trans fats. Remember, low-fat doesn’t always mean healthy.
Drink water, coffee, or tea. Stay hydrated by choosing water, coffee, or tea. Skip sugary drinks, limit milk and dairy products to one to two servings per day, and keep your juice intake to a small glass per day.
Stay active. Remember, staying active is vital for weight control. The figure running across the Healthy Eating Plate serves as a reminder to make physical activity a part of your daily routine.
The Healthy Eating Plate’s main message revolves around diet quality. It emphasizes that the type of carbohydrate in your diet is more important than the quantity. Some carbohydrates, like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans, are healthier choices than others. The Healthy Eating Plate also discourages the consumption of sugary beverages, a major source of empty calories in the American diet. Additionally, it encourages the use of healthy oils and does not set a maximum limit on the percentage of calories obtained from healthy fats, which contrasts the low-fat message that was previously promoted.
Your Questions Answered
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Copyright © 2011, Harvard University. For more information about the Healthy Eating Plate, please visit The Nutrition Source, Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (www.thenutritionsource.org) and Harvard Health Publications (www.health.harvard.edu).
Last reviewed January 2023.
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