One serving is one-half cup of fruit or vegetable or one piece, such as an apple or an orange. When in season, fresh fruits and vegetables are often good buys, and they have little or no fat and no added sugar or salt. At other times, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables may cost less. Some frozen and canned fruits have sugar added. Most canned vegetables and seasoned frozen vegetables have salt added.

BREADS AND CEREALS -

Wholegrain and enriched breads, cereals, rice, and pasta are important sources of B vitamins, which help your body use the foods you eat for energy. Breads and cereals also provide iron, protein, and energy. Whole-grain products provide fiber that helps prevent constipation. Economy meals count heavily on foods from this group.

Plan to feature them at every meal and snack—about 7 to 10 servings a day.

One serving is one slice of bread, one small roll, 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal, or 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cooked cereal, rice, or pasta.

To stretch your food dollar, you can use grain products as side dishes, and you can combine them with small servings of meat, poultry, or fish in main dishes. Breads, cereals, rice, and pasta have little or no fat. However, bakery products such as cookies, cakes, pies, pastries, and sweet rolls are high in fat and sugar. You should limit these
foods to special occasions.

MILK AND CHEESE -

Foods in this group are the best source of calcium— the nutrient that keeps bones strong. Many older people get less calcium than they need.

Try to have about two servings of milk or cheese every day. One serving is one 8-ounce cup of milk or 1-1/3 ounces of natural cheese. Or count 3/4 cup of ice cream as a half serving.

To make your food dollars count, choose from the less expensive forms of milk. Nonfat dry milk and skim milk are usually the best buys, and they have no fat. Low-fat and whole milk are bargains too, compared with other milk products such as cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and ice milk. These products can add variety to your diet, but they may cost two to three times as much as milk for the same amount of calcium. Many cheeses, yogurts, ice creams, and ice milks are high in fat or have sugar in them.

MEATS, DRIED BEANS, PEANUT BUTTER, AND EGGS -

This group includes red meats, poultry, fish, dried beans, dried peas, soybeans, lentils, eggs, seeds, nuts, and peanut butter. These foods provide protein, which helps build and repair skin, bones, hair, blood, and muscle. These foods are also good sources of many vitamins and minerals like vitamin B6 and iron. To use protein properly, you need vitamin B6. For healthy blood, you need iron. Because different foods provide different nutrients, it's a good idea to vary your choices within this group to get all the nutrients you need.

Include about two servings from this group every day.

Dried beans and peas and peanut butter are less expensive than many meats, poultry, and fish. Eating peanut butter and dried beans and peas some of the time will also add variety to your meals. To lower the amount of fat in meals, choose lean types of meat most often.

To avoid too much fat, sugar,and salt, know where to look. Fat in the diet comes from two sources:

• Fats are found naturally in some foods, like whole milk, cheese, nuts, seeds, meats, poultry, fish, and chocolate.

• Fats are added to your diet when you use butter, margarine, lard, drippings, mayonnaise and other salad dressings, shortening, and gravies.

To cut down on the level of fat in your diet—

• Choose low-fat foods more often.

• Fix foods the low-fat way.

• Trim fat from meats.

• Remove skin from poultry.

• Bake, boil, or broil instead of frying.

• Season vegetables with herbs and spices instead of butter or margarine.

• Go easy on fats added at the table. Limit the amount of butter, margarine, or salad dressing you use.

SUGAR has many names—syrup, molasses, and honey are some of them. Candy, jam, jelly, and many soft drinks are mostly sugar, too. Sugars are high in calories and low in nutrients. There are few of them in the sample menus. Try limiting them in your menu plan.

Much of the SALT in our diets is added to foods in cooking and at the table. Try using less table salt and eating less salty foods. Many of these foods have salt in them:

• Canned and instant soups

• Processed food such as prepared meals and rice or noodle mixes

• Seasoning mixes

• Sauces such as barbecue and soy sauce

• Snack foods such as salted chips and pretzels

Reference: Home and Garden Bulletin 244, USDA, 1985