A new symbol is born- MyPlate is now the new symbol for healthy eating

The USDA and Michelle Obama launched a new symbol for Americans to help us make healthy food choices.

The food pyramid is no longer the icon of choice to represent how to eat healthy.  Instead, a dinner plate showing the five food groups and their portions sizes.

We are excited about this new symbol.  We are busy creating new content and materials to help you use the symbol with children.  We are partners with the USDA and support their choices and agree that a food plate is easier to understand.

So how should your plate look!  Keep it simple for the kids

• Half of the plate should have fruits and vegetables (more vegetables than fruits)
• the other half of the plate should have a healthy lean protein and whole grains.

Don't worry if you still want to use the MyPyramid symbol as part of your nutrition program.  We will continue to carry the food pyramid content.   We have a great story and characters that help bring healthy foods to life as they explore inside the food pyramid, so we will continue to carry that content.

But stay tuned for some new games and tools and print material that will make MyPlate just as much fun as we did with the food pyramid!

We are interested in your thoughts on the new MyPlate, please share your comments below!

Check out our current games, tools, printables, and healthy nutrition tips:

Learn about our online nutrition games for kids Play and learn in English or Spanish - it's fun and free! Read what members and visitors say about our educational interactive website.

Healthy tips for parents

Healthy recipes for families

Nutrition tools

Nutrition lesson plans

Nutrition printables

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