Prompt the participants to recall the five food groups, filling in any unknowns: Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Proteins, and Dairy.

Dividing the class into pairs or small groups, explain that each group will have three minutes to come up with as many foods as they can from each food group. One member of the group will serve as scribe. At the end of three minutes, take turns sharing one food item from each food group.

Take note of the challenges and successes of the groups. 

• What was easy to think of: Fruits? Vegetables? Others?
• What food group was challenging?

In this lesson, participants will sort ingredients into food groups and plan a meal that reflects United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) "MyPlate" dietary guidelines.

• Identify and sort examples of MyPlate food groups as defined by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); and
• Plan a meal that reflects MyPlate dietary guidelines from USDA.

Read Put It on the List! by Kristen Darbyshire.

Although you may not be serving the "peanut butter and pickled grub on macaroni casserole" from Put It on the List, it is likely that at some point you have scoured cupboards to put together a meal. What makes a good meal? How do we know if it is meeting our family's nutritional needs?

For a much more expansive look at dietary guidelines, see the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 from the USDA. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/

A child’s brain develops rapidly between the ages of 1-5. Children benefit greatly from consistent healthy eating habits.

Share USDA MyPlate handout in English or Spanish.

MyPlate is a visual tool designed to support healthy eating. Healthy eating habits are important to start early as they help to reduce the risk for chronic disease and obesity, while supporting better quality of life. MyPlate focuses on the five food groups. Individually, these food groups offer vitamins and nutrients to benefit the body. When combined, their benefit increases.

Half of the recommended plate should be made up of fruits and vegetables, with more vegetables than fruits. The other half should be a bit more grain than protein. In this visual, dairy is represented by a glass of milk.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) developed MyPlate in 2011 to replace MyPyramid.

Refer to page 2 of USDA MyPlate handout in English or Spanish.

Model creating a balanced plate with a handful of ingredients. If possible, visually represent the foods with the provided food images (banana, lettuce, beans, tortilla, rice, chicken, and milk).

Over the course of a day, you are to have two cups of fruit. So, when preparing lunch, your plate may have a banana which will fulfill ½ of the desired daily fruit. Your vegetable may be a small salad or perhaps a cup of cooked beans. Your grain might include a tortilla and 1 cup of brown rice; and your protein might be 3 oz (about 85.05 g). of chicken. Getting 3 cups of dairy a day is not hard when you have a glass of milk, a slice of cheese, and a cup of yogurt. For lunch, you may choose to add a slice of cheese.

Together, these ingredients in the lunch could make a burrito with a banana on the side. This meal would fulfill almost half of the desired daily food group targets.

Choose whole grain pasta or brown rice pasta. Whole grains offer important nutrients (B vitamins, iron, zinc, magnesium, folate, and potassium) and fiber. These nutrients help to strengthen the immune system and reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

It is better to eat fresh fruit than to drink fruit juice. Whole fruits, fresh or frozen, offer fiber and fewer calories. In addition, the sugar within juices can impact dental health, even when watered down. Avoid offering sugary drinks in sippy cups. (source)

Now that we have a better understanding of what a balanced plate should look like according to USDA My Plate guidelines, let's put our knowledge to the test with a fun activity. Working in pairs or small groups, you will be given a “bag of ingredients” (small brown bag containing cut strips of paper from the Ingredient Lists). First, sort the ingredients into piles by food group: fruit, vegetable, grain, protein, and dairy. Then, your group will also have the chance to brainstorm what meals might be made with common ingredients.

Distribute the ingredient bags and instruct pairs/groups to sort the strips of paper into piles reflecting the five food groups. Circulate to confirm accuracy. In each bag, there is one ingredient that will likely stump the group (see italicized ingredients and explanations in the notes to teacher column).

Then ask, what can you make for a balanced meal with the ingredients you have in front of you? For instance, your group may have: a can of tuna, celery, lettuce, apples, mayonnaise, milk, and bread. What might you make with that combination? (tuna fish sandwich with some sliced apples and a glass of milk). Reviewing the food groups, do you have a vegetable? (celery and lettuce), a fruit? (apples), a grain? (bread), a protein? (tuna), and dairy? (milk).

Thinking back to the MyPlate graphic, to ensure that half of your meal is fruit and vegetables, you may wish to put the tuna fish over lettuce to make more of a tuna salad with a side of bread.

Your group does not have to use all the ingredients within the ingredient bag to create your meal. Assume that you have oil/spices and needed equipment (e.g., stove, pans, measuring spoons) for the recipes you might have in mind. Check to make sure that your meal has representation from all the food groups. Circulate throughout to offer assistance when needed.

Once each group has completed their plan, share with others. Ask participants:

• What did you have in your bag?
• What did you decide to make?
• Are all five food groups represented?

After sharing meal plan ideas as a group, ask participants:

• Was this challenging or easy?
• Did you see any other possibilities from the ingredients? Was there an ingredient that you wished you had?
• Is this something you have made or eaten before?

Be prepared to answer whether a tomato is a fruit or vegetable. Botanically a tomato is a fruit (contains seeds and ripens from a flower). However, nutritionists categorize it as a vegetable.

Before class, cut the ingredient lists into small strips of paper. Each list should be separated into "ingredient bags" for the activity.

Ingredient bag #1 contains:

chicken broth, couscous, black beans, onion, garlic, green pepper, frozen corn, cilantro, brown rice, instant vanilla pudding, milk, yogurt, and bananas.

Ingredient bag #2 contains:

pasta (ziti or penne noodles), frozen vegetables, tomato sauce (8 oz. can), tomatoes, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, ground turkey or beef, onion, garlic, margarine/butter, apples, oatmeal, flour, and brown sugar.

Ingredient bag #3 contains:

lettuce, tomato, bell peppers, ground turkey or beef, onion, pinto beans, black beans, salsa, brown rice, tortillas, cheddar cheese, apples, and peaches.

Ingredient bag #4 contains:

ground beef, kidney beans, tomato sauce, onion, brown rice, tomato, egg, carrots, celery, bouillon cubes, spinach, strawberries, banana, and apple.

Ingredient bag #5 contains:

chicken breasts, a can of cream of chicken soup, carrots, celery, potatoes peppers, chicken broth, rice, yogurt, berries, and granola.

** ingredients in italics may not be easily sorted and raise discussion.

• Instant vanilla pudding would be considered part of the dairy food group as it is made with milk.
• Brown sugar and bouillon cubes are typically classified as seasonings and flavorings, which is not one of the five main food groups outlined by USDA MyPlate.
• Generally salsa is made from chopped tomatoes, onions, and peppers, which all fall under the vegetable group. However, some salsas contain mango or pineapple.
• A can of cream of chicken soup would typically belong to the protein and grains food groups, as it usually contains chicken as the protein source and grains in the form of wheat flour.

During ILA, parents/caregivers will be sorting food with their children and practicing meal-planning and making grocery lists together.

 

These meals reflect the "MyPlate" dietary guidelines from the USDA. To meet these guidelines, you had to identify and categorize foods into one of the five food groups: fruit, vegetable, grain, protein, and dairy. In making positive nutritional choices, you are supporting your child’s physical and mental growth.

 

Each of these bags contained ingredients that are within recipes offered on the myplate.gov website. The ingredients in each bag could make two different recipes and create healthy balanced meals.

Bag #1 ingredients will make black bean and couscous salad, or Cuban beans and rice with Lisa's famous dessert.

Bag #2 ingredients will make skillet or baked pasta or pasta primavera with apple crisp.

Bag #3 ingredients will make soft tacos, taco salad or stuffed peppers  with pocket fruit pies

Bag #4 ingredients will make meatball soup or quick chili with fruit salsa/salad (or maybe meatloaf?).

Bag #5 ingredients will make 2-step chicken with side of roasted vegetables and rice or chicken soup with berry parfait.

(optional) Share the myplate.gov recipe links– hyperlinked above. At the bottom of each recipe within the MyPlate website is nutritional information and MyPlate food group information.

Eating healthy can take some planning, but over time becomes easier as you develop favorite recipes and meal combinations that can be rotated throughout the week.

When envisioning your future meals, look to have half of your plates filled with vegetables and fruits. This does not need to be fancy, in fact the simpler can often be better: mixed vegetables, roasted carrots, salads, or sliced fruit. The remainder of the plate should be grain and protein.

Planning meals as a family can be a wonderful activity. Start with some basic ingredients, consider what is already within your cupboards or what is readily available. These can become the building blocks for meals. This easily connects with creating grocery lists, searching for coupons or weekly deals, and shopping for food together.

The USDA MyPlate website has a lot of recipes that are searchable by ingredient and food group. In addition, there are resources for learning more about nutrition, shopping tips, and there is even an app for your phone.

Another online source for recipes and information:

Good and Cheap by Leanne Brown