N2.2 Diet Planning Guides

USDA

United States Department of Agriculture

food patterns

Customary way of eating, reflecting a person's ethnic or cultural, social, religious, geographical, economic, and psychological components and family lifestyle

food groups

categories of similar-nutrient foods: fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, dairy

legumes

plants of the bean and pea family, with seeds that are rich in protein compared with other plant-derived foods

discretionary kcals

kcals remaining in a person's energy allowance after consuming enough nutrient-dense foods to meet all nutrient needs for a day

serving size

the amount of a food or drink that is generally served or recommended to be served

portion size

the amount or size of an individual serving

My Plate

A guideline, showing proportions, to help people choose what and how much to eat from each food group

healthy eating index

a measure that assesses how well a diet meets the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans

food lists

diet-planning tools that organize foods by their proportions of carbohydrate, fat, and protein

grains

Any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, or another cereal

bran

outer protective covering of the kernel of a wheat kernel, rich in nutrients and fiber

kernel

seed grain, often in a shell

endosperm

starch and protein inside a seed that feed a seedling while it grows

germ

the seed that can grow into a wheat plant; rich in vitamins and nutrients

husk

the outer, inedible part of a grain also called the chaff

chaff

the outer, inedible part of a grain also called the husk

whole grain

a grain that maintains the same relative proportions of starchy endosperm, germ, and bran as the original (all but the husk); not refined

whole wheat

Denoting flour or bread made from whole grains of wheat, including the husk or outer layer

refined grains

foods processed to remove course parts such as the bran and germ which removes the fiber and some vitamins and minerals

refined flour

finely ground endosperm that is usually enriched with nutrients and bleached for whiteness; aka white flour

white flour

finely ground endosperm that is usually enriched with nutrients and bleached for whiteness; aka refined flour

enriched

the addition to a food of specific nutrients to replace losses that occur during processing so that the food will meet a specified standard

fortified

the addition to a food of nutrients that were either not originally present or present in insignificant amounts

breakfast cereals

The most highly fortified foods on the market

50%

minimum recommended amount of daily grains that should be whole

58%

the current US score on the healthy diet index

fat-free milk

milk that has nearly all the fat removed; aka skim, nonfat, no fat, zero fat

low-fat milk

1% fat milk

reduced-fat milk

2% fat milk

whole milk

milk from which no constituent (such as fat) has been removed; about 3.5% fat