Photo of colorful fruits and vegetables

Sample Eating Plans

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans includes two eating plans that illustrate the amounts from each food group that are recommended each day or each week. The USDA Food Guide and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Eating Plan can serve as basic guides for balanced nutrition for you and your family. Amounts are also provided for different foods within each food group.

Both eating plans are based on a 2,000 calorie daily intake (ENERGY IN). You will need to adjust the basic guide up or down depending on the individual needs for every family member. Use it with the Estimated Calorie Requirements to determine how much of these foods to eat to maintain your energy balance.

Download the eating plans from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
pdf icon (249K). Download Adobe Reader.

Last Updated: May 8, 2012

Twitter iconTwitterExternal link Disclaimer         Facebook iconFacebookimage of external link icon         YouTube iconYouTubeimage of external link icon