USDA's MyPlate symbolizes a personalized approach to healthy eating and physical activity. It provides 30 steps to help you take steps to a healthier you, including eating more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, seafood, and choosing options lower in added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium. Physical activity recommendations include short bouts of moderate activity throughout the day such as walking during breaks at work or while watching kids play.

1. 30 MyPlate Steps
to a Healthier You Know how. Know now.
Alice Henneman, MS, RD, UNL Extension Educator
USDA’s MyPlate symbolizes a personalized approach to Here are some tips from http://choosemyplate.gov to help
healthy eating and physical activity. It reminds us to make you take steps to a healthier you.
healthy food choices and to be active every day.
This is a peer reviewed publication
1
On the Internet,
2 3 Eat foods
4 Broil, grill, roast,
5
Make most of your
6
Select
go to and beverages low poach, or boil meat, fruit choices whole or vegetables
http://choosemyplate.gov in “added sugars.” poultry, or fish instead cut-up fruit rather than with more potassium often,
to calculate your Naturally occurring of frying. Skip or limit juice, for the benefits such as sweet potatoes,
personalized sugars such as those the breading. Breading dietary fiber provides. white potatoes, white beans,
“Daily Food Plan.” which are in milk and adds calories. tomato products (paste,
Order a veggie pizza with sauce, and juice), beet
toppings like mushrooms, fruits do not count as greens, soybeans, lima
green peppers, and onions, added sugars. beans, spinach, lentils, and
and ask for extra veggies. kidney beans.
7
Make half your
8
Dried fruits make
9 10 11
Try a main dish
12
plate fruits and a great snack. They salad for lunch. Go light
vegetables. Vary your fruit are easy to carry and Sauces or seasonings can on the salad dressing.
and vegetable choices, store well. Because add calories, saturated fat, Walk up and down
as they they are dried, 1/4 cup and sodium to vegetables. the soccer or softball
Use the Nutrition Facts label field sidelines while Make at least half of
differ in is equivalent to 1/2 cup your grains whole grains.
nutrient of other to compare the calories and watching the kids play.
content. fruits. % Daily Value for saturated For a change, try brown
fat and sodium in plain and rice or whole-wheat
seasoned vegetables. pasta.
13 14
Popcorn, a
15
Do stretches,
16
Many vegetables
17
Physical activity
18
Color is
whole grain, can be a exercises, or pedal taste great with a dip may include short bouts not an
healthy snack if made a stationary bike while or dressing. Try a low-fat of moderate-intensity indication of
with little or no added watching television. salad dressing with raw activity. The accumulated a whole grain.
salt and butter. broccoli, red and green total is what is important Bread can be brown
peppers, celery and can be accumulated because of molasses or
sticks or through three to six other added ingredients.
Trim away all of the cauliflower. Read the ingredient list to
visible fat from meats and 10-minute bouts over the
course of a day. see if it is a whole grain.
poultry before cooking.
19 20 21
Choose seafood at 22 23 24
If you drink
least twice a week as cappuccinos or lattes
the main protein food. — ask for them with
Look for seafood rich in Experiment
by substituting whole wheat fat-free (skim) milk.
omega-3 fatty acids, such
Frozen juice bars (100% Park further from your or oat flour for up to half of
as salmon, trout, and Stock up on frozen
juice) make healthy destination (work, the flour in pancake, waffle,
herring. vegetables for quick muffin, or other flour-based
alternatives to high-fat shopping, etc.) and walk
snacks. the rest of the way. and easy cooking in the recipes. They may need a
microwave. bit more leavening.
25
Never
26
Keep a bowl of
27
Select fruits with
28 29 30
let raw meat, cut-up vegetables in a more potassium often, Replace a coffee
poultry, eggs, see-through container in such as bananas, prunes break with a brisk
cooked food, or cut fresh the refrigerator. Carrot and prune juice, dried 10-minute walk. Ask a
fruits or vegetables sit at peaches and apricots, For fresh fruit salads,
and celery sticks are friend to go with you.
room temperature more than cantaloupe, honeydew mix apples, bananas, or
traditional, but consider For dessert, make
two hours before putting melon, pears with acidic fruits
red or green pepper chocolate or butterscotch
them in the refrigerator or and like oranges, pineapple,
strips, broccoli florets, pudding with fat-free or
freezer (one hour when the orange or lemon juice to keep
or cucumber slices.
temperature is above 90°F). juice. low-fat milk. them from turning brown.
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cooperating with the Counties and the United States Department of Agriculture.
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and the United States Department of Agriculture.