Eating Well

You’ve probably heard people say, “You are what you eat.” This activity about eating well will help you to see what you are eating. When you have finished this activity, you will be able to make wise food choices.

In your journal, make a list of all of the food that you ate yesterday. Be honest! Now, go to the USDA’s My Pyramid web page to determine the foods you should be eating daily. This is based on your age, sex and amount of physical activity.

How does what you ate yesterday compare with what the USDA recommends? Record your conclusions. You may print the page so that you have a permanent copy of the recommendations. Vary the data that you enter to see the differences that activity level makes in the recommendations.

Now, let’s look at some of the specific foods that you ate and see what their nutritional value is. Pick one of the snacks that you had—maybe some potato chips. Go to the Nutrition Data website and enter your snack into the Food Search Box. Select your food from the closest match in the results. Carefully read over the nutritional information. Was this a wise food choice? Did it help you meet some of your recommended dietary goals? Record your observations and conclusions in your journal. Repeat the food search for other foods.

Based on your observations, what did you eat yesterday that helped you to reach the USDA’s dietary goals? Did you make good food choices? What do you need to change?

Additional Activitiy:

Continue to keep a record of what you eat and see if your choices change over time. In the week ahead, we will be looking at ways to adjust some of our favorite foods that may not be wise choices to make them better for us.