· Follow a Healthful Eating Plan Classroom Connections: - Writing - Art - Creative thinking - Nutrition Teach your students about healthful eating by using the Food Guide Pyramid as an easy-to-understand visual aid. The Pyramid is a great tool to help put Dietary Guidelines for your students into action. The Pyramid calls for eating a variety of foods to get the nutrients they need and, at the same time, the right amount of calories to maintain or improve their weight. Here's the information your students need to know: Cooking and preparing food at home allows you to tailor daily meals to fall within the recommended range of servings, as opposed to dining out where you may be unsure how many servings you are eating from each of the five food groups. How many servings should people eat from each group every day? YOUNG CHILDREN (ages 2 to 6) Grain Group    - 6 servings Vegetable Group    - 3 servings Fruit Group    - 2 servings Milk Group    - 2 servings Meat Group    - 2 servings Fats and Sweets    - Use sparingly OLDER CHILDREN, YOUNG ADULTS, AND ADULTS Grain Group    - 6 to 11 servings Vegetable Group    - 3 to 5 servings Fruit Group    - 2 to 4 servings Milk Group    - 2 to 3 servings Meat Group    - 2 to 3 servings Fats and Sweets    - Use sparingly What counts as a serving? Grain Group    - 1 slice of bread    - 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal    - ½ cup of cooked cereal, rice, or pasta    - 3 to 4 small crackers    - ½ bagel or English muffin    - 2 to 3 graham cracker squares Vegetable Group    - 1 cup raw leafy vegetables    - ½ cup of other chopped vegetables, cooked or raw    - ¾ cup of vegetable juice Fruit Group    - 1 medium apple, banana, or orange    - ½ cup of chopped fruit, cooked or canned    - ¾ cup of fruit juice Milk Group    - 1 cup of milk or yogurt    - 1½ ounces of natural cheese    - 2 ounces of processed cheese Meat Group    - 2 to 3 ounces of cooked meat    - ½ cup of cooked dry beans or 1 egg counts as 1 ounce of meat    - 1 egg; 2 tablespoons of peanut butter; ½ cup cooked dry beans, peas, or lentils; or      1/3 cup of nuts count as 1 ounce of meat Source: "The Food Guide Pyramid," USDA Home and Garden Bulletin, Number 252 Classroom Connection Incorporation Ideas: - Have students design a meal with foods grown or produced in the local area following the Food Guide Pyramid. If budget permits, take students on a field trip to local farms, markets, mills, etc., to show them how the food is grown or produced. Then, have them bake the meal they designed for their family members, or bake the meal together as a class for a lunchtime treat. - When approaching a holiday, have students design a meal the whole family can enjoy based on the Food Guide Pyramid eating plan. Have students write/draw out the meal on a large piece of paper, roll the plan up, and have the student present to their parents. - Have students clip baking recipes out of magazines and newspapers and have them put each ingredient into the food group it is derived from. - Have students create a recipe utilizing at least four of the major food groups. Have them bake the recipe at home and bring the recipe in to share with the rest of the class. - Have the entire class create a month's worth of menus for the school's cafeteria following the Food Guide Pyramid. Back to Educators Resource Page