3/28/22 blog post
tips for making a balanced plate
add different food groups to get nutrition you need!
What’s on the menu for your next meal? Do you have a fruit, a vegetable, a protein source, a serving of grain and dairy? That is a balanced plate!
By balancing our plate and making sure we have 3-5 food groups, we can often decrease our portion size for each individual food group. This helps us to balance our nutrition each meal.
Can you take your plate of macaroni and cheese (grain and dairy) and make it more robust? Maybe you can:
- Add in steamed broccoli?
- Add in some chicken?
- Offer a side of grapes?
For pizza night, you could have a salad on the side, a cup of applesauce or a can of pears to share with the family.
Having burgers and fries? What about having some carrot slices and apple slices too? This will help that burger and small fry fill you up so you do not need the double burger and/or the large fry! The image above breaks down each food group. You can view the full PDF here.
What are some other ideas you have for making a balanced meal?
If you are currently struggling to just get food on the table, please check out our Family Resource Connection and these resources from the Ohio chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
