¹    What is the meaning of eating healthy? It's not only about eating every type of food, but also about eating the right portion of every type of food. To help Americans understand how to maintain a balanced diet, scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services did a joint study and developed what is commonly known as the food guide pyramid.

²    In the food guide pyramid, there are four layers to hold six different food groups --

• Bread, cereal, rice, and pasta group
• Vegetables group
• Fruits group
• Milk, yogurt, and cheese group
• Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts group
• Fats, oils, and sweets group

³    Scientists place one food category each on both the top-end and the base of the food guide pyramid. Then, they split the two middle layers into four compartments and designate one compartment for each of the four remaining food types. The end result of the food guide pyramid looks just like the one shown on the food pyramid handout.

⁴    In addition to designing where in the food guide pyramid a food group belongs, scientists also recommend the amount of servings for each food group we should consume everyday. The concept is that our daily diet must contain at least the minimum servings that the food guide pyramid suggests for all six major food categories. Hence, even if we don't like fruits, we can't substitute them with, for example, a chocolate bar.

⁵    The table below shows the range of servings we should eat daily for each food group, and gives examples of what a single serving means in each category:

Sample

This is only a sample pre-made worksheet.