How to MyPlate with meal examples

Jun 1

MyPlate's birthday is June 3rd. In 2011, it replaced MyPyramid as the USDA's primary food group symbol. The USDA celebrates MyPlate's birthday on June 3rd and encourages people to "Start Simple with MyPlate." So we decided to create a quick video to show you how to assemble favorite meals quickly using the food groups.

This quick and simple guide to MyPlate’s food groups will help you build balanced, healthy dinners. Learn how each part fits together—and how to make it work for your tastes and lifestyle!

Here are the meals below: We made a burrito bowl, burger, burrito, tacos, jerk chicken, stir fry and spaghetti. Sometimes the configuration looks exactly like MyPlate while other times the proportions of the ingredients are maintained but the items are layered or rolled up in a tortilla. While we use fruit most of the time (and maybe all the time if you consider that tomatoes are fruits), we are always filling up half the plate with veggies and fruits or just veggies.

MyPlate is meant to be a flexible guide that is easy to do and best of all it is easy for you to make it your own so that you and your family enjoy all of your meals.

Here are the 5 food groups: Vegetables, Protein, Grains, Fruit, and Dairy.

The dairy group is served on the side with our meals and sometimes we incorporate cheese and yogurt into our recipes, too!

Enjoy!

Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there, she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world-famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland, where she focused on pastry arts and baking. After a decade in food service for Hyatt Hotels, Judy launched Food and Health Communications to focus on flavor and health. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude distinction from Johnson and Wales University with a BS in Culinary Arts, holds a master’s degree in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and runs a food photography & motion studio where her love is creating fun recipes and content.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.

How to MyPlate with meal examples

Air Fry Dinner

Salade Nicoise