General Nutrition

Healthy eating can be daunting. You may not know where to start or who to trust. Explore this page to learn the basics of heating healthy and fueling your body.

Let’s Start With The Food Groups

A great first step to understanding your nutrition is knowing what the food groups are and how much you should be getting from each. Food groups are categories of food that share similar nutritional properties. Click on the plus signs to learn more about each group.

  • Nutritional Benefits: Good sources of carbohydrates, fiber, B vitamins, and minerals like iron and magnesium.

    Examples: Rice, wheat, oats, quinoa, barley, bread, and pasta.

  • Nutritional Benefits: High in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.

    Examples: Leafy greens (spinach, kale), carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.

  • Nutritional Benefits: Rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and dietary fiber.

    Examples: Apples, bananas, berries, oranges, grapes, and melons.

  • Nutritional Benefits: High in calcium, vitamin D, protein, and other essential nutrients that support bone health and muscle function.

    Examples: Milk, cheese, yogurt, kefir.

  • Nutritional Benefits: Rich in protein, which is essential for muscle repair, growth, and overall cell function. They also provide essential amino acids, iron, and sometimes healthy fats.

    Examples: Meat (chicken, beef, pork), fish, eggs, legumes (beans, lentils), nuts, seeds, tofu.

How Much Should I Have?

In 2011 the USDA updated nutrition recommendations and replaced the food pyramid with MyPlate. MyPlate has personalized recommendations based on age, activity, and gender that are backed by up-to-date scientific research. Click the button below to take the MyPlate quiz and get your unique recommendations.

Next Steps

Now that you have a general idea of how much of each group to eat, it is time to move on to more specific recommendations. Click on each of the food groups for tips on how to make healthy choices in each.

  • When choosing grain products try to make half your grains whole grains and choose grain products with limited or no added sugars.

    Tips:

    • If a recipe calls for one cup of flour try subbing in ½ cup of whole grain flour and ½ cup of regular flour. This can help you get use to the whole grain texture.

    • Find fun ways to experiment with whole grains through new recipes. You can also get the whole family involved with selecting an preparing the recipe.

  • When choosing vegetables try and vary what kinds of vegetables you are consuming.

    Vegetables are generally divided into five major categories:

    • Starchy

    • Leafy Greens

    • Red/Orange

    • Beans/Legumes

    • Other

    Tips:

    • Prep vegetable snacks for the week to make it easy to eat vegetables on the go.

    • Expose yourself and your family to vegetables in a variety of ways from planting seeds to helping in the kitchen.

    • Try and get at least one serving of each vegetable subgroup in per week.

  • The main recommendation regarding fruit is to make sure you are consuming whole fruits with no added sweeteners. Whole fruits are preferred to juices due to their fiber content.

    Tips:

    • Keep fruit on hand. Having fruit available at home and on the go will increase the likelihood that you choose it over other snacks.

    • Add fruit in addition to other snacks. If you are having cheese and crackers add an apple into the mix.

    • Freeze your fruit to decrease waste. Many people, especially singles, avoid purchasing produce due to the worry that it will go bad before it is used. Freezing, dehydrating, and canning are all ways to lengthen the longevity of fruits and vegetables.

  • Dairy is recommended due to the high levels of calcium and protein. If you do not consume dairy it is important that you find other sources of calcium and increase your protein in other ways. After two yeears of age it is generally recommended to choose low fat or fat free dairy options

    Tips:

    • Combine whole fat milk with skim milk to slowly get use to a reduced fat flavor.

    • Add dairy into meals and dressings to boost the nutrients. Creating your own dairy based dressings will also reduce fat content.

    • If you don’t enjoy dairy find other calcium sources to enjoy like almonds.

  • The general recommendation for protein is to vary your sources of protein. If you are primarily getting your protein from meat or poultry it might be a good idea to add more seafood and plant based proteins into your routine.

    Tips:

    • Find recipes that incorporate multiple types of protein (ex: taco soup with beans and chicken).

    • Keep multiple sources of protein on hand (i.e. frozen shrimp, canned beans, tuna packets)

Additional Resources

This page was created by Hannah Eddy Nutrition for the use of Harvest for the Hungry.