Size it Up !
By: Brenda Hernandez and Brillyth Martinez
Food Pyramid!
The Food Pyramid is made of different types of food, from fish, oils and sweets being on the top of the pyramid the lowest to bread, cereal, rice, and pasta being the largest in the pyramid to the highest that we need. There is also the meat and milk group having 2-3 servings. The fruit group having 2-4 servings, the vegetable group having 3-5 servings, lastly is the grain group from 6-11. Fish and oil is recommended to use very lightly. Each person needs an average of each food group, it all depends on gender and age as well, but how big is a serving from each food group?
How much of each food group should young females and older women eat each day?
Age is nothing but a number, but the amount of each food group serving is not. Both young females and older women need a total of 2,200 calories a day. That's is where the food pyramid and the serving sizes come in, like bread and cereal total of 9 servings, for example, 1 piece of bread or about 1 cup of cereal, from the vegetable group is 4 servings, can either eat 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables or 3/4 cup of vegetable juice, fruit group is 3 servings, milk and yogurt is 2-3 servings (recommended fat free or low fat) for example, 1 cup of milk or yogurt or 1 1/2 oz of natural cheese (Cheddar), meat and poultry is 2 serving for a total of 6 oz, (recommended low fat or lean meat) such as, 2-3 oz of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish, or 1/2 cup of cooked dry beans. You can always mix it around with different types of grain, fruits, vegetables, etc. Just make sure the servings you eat per day falls in the category you are in.
How much of each food group should young and older males eat each day?
Males practically need to eat more than females because they weigh more and at times do more things than the females. Men need to consume 2,800 calories, 600 more calories than women. For the males bread and cereal is 11 servings, such as 1 slice of bread, about 1 cup of cereal or 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, rice, or pasta. The vegetable group is 5 servings, for example, 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables, 1/2 cup of other vegetables cooked or raw, or 3/4 cup of vegetable juice. Fruit group is 4 servings, it can be 1 medium apple, banana, orange, pear, 1/2 of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit. Another thing is the milk and yogurt is 2-3 servings (recommended low fat or fat free), it can be 1 cup of milk or yogurt, or 2 oz of processed cheese. Lastly, meat and poultry 3 servings for a total of 7 oz, it can be from 2-3 oz of lean meat up to fish or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Males tend to mix it up and eat the things they need the most, some males need to eat more due to lifting and others can just eat the servings from the food pyramid.