How to use the guide

Homemakers who follow the guide will find it flexible enough to use in choosing foods for families.

Food choices within the groups are wide enough to allow for a variety of everyday foods. Meals can be planned to include family favorites, foods in season, and foods to fit the family budget.

The size of servings can be suited to the needs of family members—small servings for children and for those wanting to lose weight; extra large servings (or seconds) for very active adults, teenagers, and those wanting to gain weight. Pregnant and nursing women also need more food.

Foods from the Daily Food Guide fit easily into a three-meals-a-day pattern of eating. Foods from each group often appear in each meal—but this isn’t essential. The important thing is that the suggested number of servings from each food group be included sometime during the day.

Many people want and need more food than the minimum servings suggested from the four food groups. To round out meals and satisfy appetites, you can include additional foods from the four groups as well as other foods not listed in these groups.

A Daily Food Guide

MEAT GROUP

Foods Included