ChooseMyPlate Assignment

Goals of the assignment:

  1. To identify how you can improve your diet using ChooseMyPlate food groups.
  2. To understand where foods fit into the ChooseMyPlate food groups.
  3. To determine your ideal food plan based on your age, gender, height, weight and activity level
  4. To identify appropriate portions of food items within the ChooseMyPlate food groups.
  5. To evaluate your individual food intake based on ChooseMyPlate guideline/recommendations
  6. To summarize how the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is related to the ChooseMyPlate Recommendations.

Instructions: There are 3 parts to this assignment.

 

Part 1 – this will identify your dietary intake – Worksheet 1:

Record one day’s food and drink intake – breakfast, lunch, dinner, any snacks and drinks in 24 hours. Estimate your portion sizes in cups, ounces and tablespoons as accurately as possible. You will need this to complete worksheet 2 and 3

Part 2 – Complete Worksheet 2

  1. Click on the suggested calorie level (please see attachments in the assignment link) to see your daily needs for each food group and enter the information on the worksheet provided with this assignment (Worksheet 2). – Please indicate the MyPlate plan that you will be using.

Suggested food group plan (calorie level)

1600 – weight loss

1800 – weight maintenance

2000 – active lifestyle

2400 – very active lifestyle or weight gain

  1. Look at your food intake recorded for the 24-hour period and complete worksheet 2 stating your food intake, your daily intake of each food group, the ideal daily intake of each food group from your plan and state amount lacking or exceeded for each food group. See the example below to get started.
  2. Go to the following link http://www.choosemyplate.gov/ and from the home page click on each food group, under “Eat Healthy” from the top navigation bar. Spend some time looking at the information that is available related to each food group, particularly recognizing portion sizes. Once you click on the food group, scroll to the bottom and open, for example “Ounce equivalent of grains”. For example, click on Daily Grain Table to see the amounts of grains that are recommended for each portion. Click on the One Ounce Equivalent of Grains table to see amounts for a variety of grains. Get familiar with figuring out food equivalents for each food group.
  3. Record all food groups for a mixed food item. For example, pizza is made up of the grain, vegetable, oil groups, solid fat and dairy.
  4. Note that there will be some foods that do not fit into any group and are considered Empty Calories. (i.e. Chocolate Cake or Beer)
  5. Do this for each of the food groups to complete the table on the worksheet. See the example below to get started.
Food Group Identify Foods and amounts consumed in 24 hrs. (from your intake – worksheet 1) Identify Total food groups consumed in 24 hours (from your intake) State Total Ideal food groups (Based on your MyPlate Plan; 1600, 1800 etc) State anything lacking/exceeded for each food group compared to the ideal
Grains 3 Slices bread

3 cups of popcorn

1c Oatmeal

 6oz 5oz 1oz exceeded

 

  1. Answer question 1 on worksheet 2 and evaluate your intake compared to the ChooseMyPlate recommendations (using calories levels from Part 2 Question 1). Be sure to fully analyze your diet to receive full points. You should be discussing what you lacked/exceeded and changes you can make.

Part 3

 

  1. Complete the table provided with meals that meet your ChooseMyPlate Plan (using calorie levels from Part 2 Question 1) by dividing these foods into the suggested meals on the table.
  2. Read the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Executive Summary at https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans_2020-2025.pdf and use these recommendations to answer the remaining questions on the worksheet. All materials for the Dietary Guidelines can be found at https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/resources/2020-2025-dietary-guidelines-online-materials