Protein Group - How Much Protein Does Your Child And Family Really Need?

How Much Protein Does Your Family Need?

First, My Plate tells us that we need protein every day.  When you look at your plate, a balanced meal would have one fourth (1/4) of your plate filled with lean protein.  The protein represents the purple part of the My Plate or the Food Pyramid.

The exact amount of protein that each of your family members need really depends on these factors:

• your age
• your gender
• how active you are

To find out how much foods your child needs, visit our meal planner tool or for a print the daily requirements for your child.

General Daily Protein Needs

In general, the USDA My Plate has created these daily recommended guidelines:

See what counts as a protein serving.*

Recommended servings are shown in ounces or ounce equivelents.  You can see that you don't need a great deal of protein each day.  For example, having a 12 ounce steak at dinner is double the amount of protein needed in one full day!