The 100 Calorie Diet’s Nutrition Made Easy

Did you know that with a little help from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), nutrition is actually very simple? The 100 Calorie Diet breaks it down for you in an easy to understand format. Let’s take a look.

For optimal health and nutrition, the UDSA recommends you have the following each day:

Dairy
Women 3 Servings
Men 3 Servings
The dairy group includes milk, yogurt and cheeses. Generally your serving would equal 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of yogurt, 1 1/2 oz. of natural cheese, 2 oz. of processed cheese, 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese or 2 cups of cottage cheese.

Grains
Women 6 Servings
Men 8 Servings
Grain products are foods made from wheat, oats, rice, cornmeal or grains. The grain group includes bread, rice, pasta, grits, oatmeal and cereals. Each serving would generally equal 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of cereal, 1/2 cup of cooked rice, 1/2 cup of cooked pasta, 1/2 cup cooked cereal, 1 small tortilla, 1 small biscuit, 1 small muffin, 1 small pancake, 1 small waffle, 3 cups popped popcorn, 7 crackers, 1/4 of a large bagel, 1/2 of an English muffin or 1 small piece of cornbread.

Vegetables
Women 3 Servings
Men 3 Servings
The 100 Calorie Food Counter lists all your vegetables. Each serving equals 1 cup raw or cooked vegetables, 1 cup vegetable juice or 2 cups of raw leafy greens.

Fruit
Women 2 Servings
Men 2 Servings
The 100 Calorie Food Counter lists all your fruits. Generally, a serving equals 1 cup of fruit, 1 cup of fruit juice or 1/2 cup dried fruit.

Oil
Women 6 Servings
Men 6 Servings
Oil is an important part of nutrition. In this category are oils, margarine, mayonnaise, fat based salad dressings, nut butters, nuts, seeds and avocado. Make sure to have oils from a natural source like fish, nuts and vegetables. Limit oils containing saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol. Generally, each serving equals 1 teaspoon oil, 1 teaspoon margarine, 1 teaspoon mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon fat based salad dressings, 1 teaspoon of nut butter, 1/3 oz. nuts, 1/3 oz. seeds or 1/6 of a medium avocado.

Protein
Women 6 Servings
Men 7 Servings
The protein group includes beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish, beans, peas, eggs, nuts, seeds and nut butters. Make sure to choose lean cuts of meat and poultry. Each serving equals 1 oz. of beef, 1 oz. of pork, 1 oz. of lamb, 1 oz. of poultry, 1 oz. of fish, 1 egg, 1/2 oz. of nuts, 1/2 oz. of seeds, 1 tablespoon of nut butter, 1/4 cup cooked beans, 1/2 cup bean soup, 1/2 cup of pea soup, 1/2 cup of tofu, 2 tablespoons hummus, 1 oz. of tempeh or 1/2 of a soy or bean burger.

That’s all there is to it! The 100 Calorie Diet has a secret weapon to help you keep track of your nutrition – The 100 Calorie Food Journal. The 100 Calorie Food Journal has a Nutrition Made Easy section which has check off boxes for all these food categories. As you eat from a food group, you simple check off a box. At the end of the day, you can easily see how healthy you’ve eaten that day by how many boxes are checked off.