Food_Guide_Pyramid (1).doc

Food Guide Pyramid The Food Pyramid, developed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), is an excellent tool to help you make healthy food choices. The food pyramid can help you choose from a variety of foods so you get the nutrients you need, and the suggested serving sizes can help you control the amount of calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar or sodium in your diet . ? Use the Food Pyramid to guide your choices ? Choose lowfat dairy and lean meat ? Limit saturated fat to 10% of your calories ? Base fat intake on calorie needs Bread, Cereal, Grain and Pasta Form the Base At the base of the food pyramid, you ’ ll see the group that contains breads, grains, cereals and pastas. These foods plex carbohydrates, which are an important source of energy, especially for a low-fat meal plan . You can make many low-fat choices from foods in this group. You ’ ll need 6 to 11 servings of these foods ina day. One serving of this group can be: ?1 slice of bread ? 1/2 cup of rice, cooked cereal or pasta ?1 cup of ready-to-eat cereal ?1 flat tortilla Try to eat whole-grain breads, cereal and pasta for most of your servings from this group. Whole-grain foods (which are made with whole wheat flour) are less processed and retain more valuable vitamins, minerals and fiber than foods made with white flour. When you purchase whole-grain foods, look for breads and pastas with "stonegr