Recommendations from many sources give statements about amounts of food to eat. These may be described as a “serving” or “portion”. However, people eat what they eat based on many influences. From research we know that most people, whether nutrition professionals or lay individuals, simply cannot accurately state the measurement of given amounts of foods. The food gallery was developed to help people recognize the appearance of various amounts of foods on a plate. The plates are standard 10-inch diameter plates. You can select a food item to view on the larger plate. A description of the amount of that food will appear below the picture. Then by looking at different amounts of that food you will become familiar with the amount of space a given amount of food takes up on a plate.
We have used two sizes of bowls depending on the foods being depicted. Breakfast cereals and beans as entrees are pictured in bowls that are 5-1.2” in diameter and 3-1/4” deep. The small bowls used for fruits, seeds and nuts are 4-5/8” in diameter and 2” deep. These dimensions will appear on the gallery pages. I hope these will be useful to you.
Grains Gallery: Foods classified as grains in MyPyramid are pictured in this gallery. The descriptions are based on those found in MyPyramid enabling you to incorporate these foods into the recommendations that meet you calorie goals.
Vegetable Gallery: MyPyramid classifies vegetables into five subgroups. Foods in those subgroups are pictured here. For vegetables that can be classified either as “meat, and beans” or “vegetables” we have given the description for both. You will determine how you are using the food in a meal for yourself which will then determine how you count that food in your total intake for the day.
Fruit Gallery: Fruits provide flavor, color, texture and nutrients to the diet. Fruits are pictured in a range of portion sizes in this gallery. Note that if the fruits you select are canned in a sugar syrup additional calories will be classified as some of your “discretionary calories” for that day. Fresh fruit and those canned in water will not have any added sugars and will be classified only as fruit.
Meat and Beans Gallery: Foods that are rich in protein are pictured in this gallery. Those foods that USDA’s MyPyramid classifies as good protein sources are included in this gallery. A variety of portion sizes are pictured for flesh foods as well as plant sources of protein. Seeds and nuts are also sources of oils and for these foods both the meat-beans portion and the oil portion are given. Again, the plant protein portions are described both for the meat and beans group and for the vegetable group.
Milk Gallery: Dairy products that are classified in the milk group in MyPyramid are pictured in this gallery. Butter, a dairy product, is not included as it is considered a solid fat. Many milk products are used as part of the diet. If those foods are not made from fat-free milk then the food also includes discretionary calories that should be counted toward the total allotted for an individual. For example whole milk has nearly twice the calories as fat-free milk and all of those additional calories are allocated to the discretionary calorie group. One must observe amounts on containers as the same size container may contain different amounts of a food. For example, whipped yogurt may be only 4 ounces while the same size container of plain yogurt may be 6 ounces. Yogurt is also available in 8-ounce single serving containers. Look at the container that you select to determine the amount of that food. Frozen desserts can also be deceiving. We have pictured several portions to help you determine the amount you usually consume.
Oils Gallery: Plant oils are recognized in MyPyramid as providing essential nutrients. Oils may be used in salad dressings, with flavorings for dipping sauces and in cooking. Some portions of these foods are pictured in this gallery to assist you in estimating how much oil you are actually including in your diet.
Discretionary calories: Many discretionary calories are ‘hidden’ in prepared foods. However, we do use sugars and jellies in our diets. This gallery includes pictures of a variety of amounts of these foods to help you describe and understand the amount you include in your diet.
If you have any problems, questions, or comments regarding these files, please contact Dr. Andrea Arquitt.
