The Nutrition Information Centre of the
University of Stellenbosch (NICUS)
Food and guidelines for healthy eating
Rate your plate
Use the following table together with the tables showing serving sizes and serving distributions to plan your diet. Distribute the foods that you eat throughout the day. Then follow the plan you have developed. Use the sample menu as a guide. Don't skip any meals. Healthy snacks can be eaten in-between meals if desired. Keep track of your eating throughout the day using the checklist.
Remember to choose foods from all the food groups especially from the EAT MORE OF choices.
Answer the questions according to your present eating habits |
Do you eat (or drink) ... Answer yes, no or sometimes |
at least 3 meals a day? |
breakfast everyday? |
at least 6 servings from the bread, cereals, rice & pasta group everyday? |
whole grain foods regularly? |
at least 3 different kinds of vegetables everyday? |
dark green leafy vegetables, like spinach, mustard and collard greens every other day? |
yellow vegetables, like carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin every other day? |
at least 2 kinds of whole fruit or fruit juice (200ml)? |
citrus fruit or any other high vitamin C food (e.g. strawberries, guava, paw-paw, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, potato, cabbage) everyday? |
at least 2 servings of lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dry beans, or nuts? |
at least 2 - 3 servings of milk (1 cup) or other dairy products? |
6- 8 glasses of water |
a wide variety of foods? |
Do you? |
cut the visible fat off food before cooking e.g. the skin on chicken or fish? |
eat red meat >3 times per week? |
use low fat / fat free dairy products? |
Ideally you should answer yes to these questions, so get
FEEDBACK»