What’s Your Healthy Eating Style? Fruits, Vegetables and the 5 Food Groups

The key to healthy eating is to enjoy a variety of nutritious foods from each of the five food groups.   In return, our bodies will be provided with the nutrients and vitamins needed to function properly.

Identifying the five food groups:

1. Fruits: may be fresh, canned, frozen or dried. They can be whole, cut up, pureed or juiced. 
2. Vegetables: may be fresh, canned, frozen or dried. They can be whole, cut up, pureed or juiced.
3. Grains: any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, or another cereal grain is a grain product.  Examples include bread, pasta, oatmeal, tortillas and grits.
4. Protein: all foods made from meat, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, eggs, soy, nuts and seeds.
5. Dairy: all fluid milk products and many foods made from milk are considered a part of this food group. Foods that are made from milk retain their calcium content, however, foods made from milk that have little to know calcium, such as cream cheese, cream and butter, are not part of this group. Calcium-fortified plant based "milks" are also part of this group. 

Fruits Vs. Vegetables:
Fruits and Vegetables provide us with many options for healthy meals.
Fruits and vegetables are an excellent source of the nutrients needed for healthy growth and development.  

How do you know if a plant is a fruit of a vegetable?

If there are seeds it is a fruit!  

Tomato: fruit or vegetable? Many might say vegetable but it really is a fruit!  

In order to get the recommended daily value of fruits and vegetables the USDA recommends that children between the ages of 4-8 consume approximately 1-1.5 cups of fruit and 1-1.5 cups of vegetables per day.  For children between the ages of 9 and 13, the USDA recommends 1.5 cups of fruit and 2-2.5 cups of vegetables per day.

 An easy way to remember how many fruits and veggies we need is:

Eating healthy makes us feel good and gives us energy to grow, learn and play. 

We eat many different parts of plants, including the fruit, leaves, stems, flowers, seeds and roots.

                      The following list provides some examples of edible plant parts: 


Food groups are collections of foods with similar nutritional benefits.  In Oregon, farmers and ranchers grow over 220 different types of crops and many of them may be your favorite foods.

Participate this fun hands-on, online Food Group Sorting Activity to categorize various foods and meals into their appropriate food group.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/15yCHozVNhTGOUyYlk7LKSySQLSXwb77JTxkiD0_b148/edit?usp=sharing

In the comments below, or in your notebook at home, please answer the following questions:
a. What are the five food groups?
b. Why is eating healthy food so important?
c. What is your favorite food?
d. Where does food come from?