Healthy Plate Model

The Healthy Plate Model makes nutritious eating easy.

It divides one’s plate into three sections: 1/2 Non-starchy Vegetables and Fruits, 1/4 Starch, and 1/4 Protein:

Non-starchy vegetable examples include leafy green vegetables like lettuce and kale, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, summer squash like zucchini, peppers, and jicama.

Starch (a.k.a. carbohydrate-rich) examples include whole grain bread and pasta, brown rice, potatoes, yams, winter squash like butternut, corn and peas.

Protein examples include: meat, seafood, eggs, dairy, nuts, seeds, and legumes like beans, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and lentils.

Fat is distributed throughout the three sections.  For example, in salad dressing, cheese, avocado and/or olives on one’s salad, the oil in nuts, the butter used to sauté spinach, the germ in whole grains, and the fat in a burger patty.

For its 2010 Dietary guidelines, the  USDA transformed My Pyramid into My Plate:

The USDA explains that “the recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines and in MyPlate are for the general public over 2 years of age. MyPlate is not a therapeutic diet for any specific health condition. Individuals with a chronic health condition should consult with a health care provider to determine what dietary pattern is appropriate for them.”