What are the main food groups listed on USDA MyPlate quizlet?

December 9, 2025 •

4 min read

According to the USDA, a balanced diet should be constructed from the five core food groups illustrated by the MyPlate icon. This guide simplifies these groups—fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy—providing the essential information often sought on platforms like Quizlet.

Quick Summary

The five major food groups of MyPlate are fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy. Each group provides specific nutrients crucial for overall health and is represented proportionally on the visual guide.

Key Points

Five Food Groups: USDA MyPlate organizes foods into five essential groups: Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Protein Foods, and Dairy.
Visual Balance: The MyPlate icon visually shows that a balanced meal should consist of roughly half fruits and vegetables, with the remaining half split between grains and protein, plus a side of dairy.
Half Whole Grains: The guidelines recommend making at least half of your daily grain intake from whole grains, such as brown rice or whole-wheat bread.
Vary Your Choices: Eating a variety within each food group, especially vegetables and protein, ensures a wider range of essential nutrients.
Portion Control: The MyPlate diagram is an intuitive tool for managing portion sizes without complex calculations.
Replaced Food Pyramid: MyPlate replaced the more confusing food pyramid in 2011, providing a simpler and more practical visual guide for healthy eating habits.
Focus on Nutrient-Dense Foods: The MyPlate recommendations emphasize choosing nutrient-dense foods over those high in added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium.

Understanding the Five Core Food Groups

In 2011, the USDA introduced MyPlate, replacing the more complex Food Pyramid with a simple, visual guide to healthy eating. MyPlate helps individuals, including those studying on Quizlet, quickly understand how to build a balanced meal. It is based on the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and visually represents the five food groups that are the building blocks of a nutritious diet. By making small changes, like filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables, you can improve your eating habits significantly.

The Fruit Group

The fruit group includes all fresh, frozen, canned, or dried fruits and 100% fruit juice. They are a great source of dietary fiber, potassium, and vitamin C.

Key takeaway: Focus on whole fruits more often than fruit juice to maximize fiber intake.
Examples: Apples, bananas, berries, oranges, and melons.

The Vegetable Group

Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice falls into this category. The USDA further divides vegetables into five subgroups based on their nutrients: dark green, red and orange, beans/peas/lentils, starchy, and other vegetables.

Key takeaway: Vary your vegetable choices to ensure a broad spectrum of vitamins and minerals.
Examples: Broccoli, spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, and black beans.

The Grains Group

This group includes any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, or other cereal grains. Grains are categorized into two subgroups: whole grains and refined grains. MyPlate recommends that at least half of your daily grain intake should be whole grains.

Key takeaway: Opt for whole grains (e.g., brown rice, oatmeal) over refined grains (e.g., white bread) to get more dietary fiber, iron, and B vitamins.
Examples: Whole-wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal, and quinoa.

The Protein Foods Group

Protein is vital for building and repairing tissues and can be sourced from both animal and plant-based foods. The Protein Foods group includes meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds, and soy products.

Key takeaway: Vary your protein sources, choosing lean or low-fat options and incorporating more seafood, beans, and nuts.
Examples: Lean beef, chicken breast, fish, eggs, lentils, and nuts.

The Dairy Group

This group encompasses milk, yogurt, cheese, lactose-free milk, and fortified soy milk. Dairy products are known for providing calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and protein, which are essential for strong bones.

Key takeaway: Choose fat-free or low-fat dairy options to limit saturated fat and calorie intake.
Examples: Skim milk, low-fat yogurt, and natural cheese.

MyPlate vs. Old Food Pyramid: A Comparison

MyPlate represents a significant evolution from the original Food Pyramid. The new model offers a more intuitive, balanced approach to meal planning. The key distinctions are outlined in the table below:


Feature	USDA MyPlate (2011)	Food Pyramid (1992-2005)
Visual Aid	Depicts a plate and glass, a familiar meal setting.	A pyramid, where the largest base implied higher consumption.
Key Message	Balance and variety at each meal; emphasizes proportions.	Hierarchy based on servings; focused on limiting fats and sugars at the top.
Fruits & Vegetables	Fill half the plate, visually showing their importance.	Grouped together but not prioritized visually over grains.
Grains	Occupy one-quarter of the plate, with emphasis on whole grains.	Formed the large base, potentially overemphasizing carbohydrates.
Fats & Sugars	Not included on the main graphic, with guidance to limit intake.	Displayed at the very top, to be used sparingly.
Portion Guidance	Visual representation on a plate promotes portion control.	Serving sizes and numbers were more abstract and harder to visualize.

Practical Application and Health Benefits

Implementing the MyPlate guidelines goes beyond simply identifying the food groups. It is about creating a healthy eating pattern over time. Following these recommendations helps ensure your body receives essential nutrients, supporting growth, repair, and energy production. Choosing nutrient-dense foods over those with empty calories, which are high in solid fats and added sugars, is a central theme. The benefits of this approach accumulate with each conscious food choice. For further personalized guidance based on your age, sex, and activity level, the USDA offers a MyPlate Plan on their website.

Conclusion

For students using platforms like Quizlet, remembering the five USDA MyPlate food groups—Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Protein Foods, and Dairy—is a foundational step toward understanding nutrition. By remembering the visual representation of half a plate of fruits and vegetables, and the other half split between grains and protein, individuals can make mindful, balanced food choices. This easy-to-understand model is a powerful tool for developing long-term healthy eating habits and moving away from diets heavy in empty calories and processed foods. The ultimate takeaway is not just to know the groups, but to use this simple guide daily to foster better health. For a comprehensive, personalized plan, the official MyPlate.gov website offers excellent resources.

Frequently Asked Questions

On the MyPlate icon, the five colors represent the five food groups: Red is for Fruits, Green for Vegetables, Orange for Grains, Purple for Protein, and Blue for Dairy.

No, the MyPlate graphic does not explicitly include a category for fats and sugars. The guidelines recommend knowing your limits for these items, which are often high in calories and low in nutrients.

MyPlate uses the visual of a plate to help with portion control. It suggests that half of your plate should be filled with fruits and vegetables, and the other half with grains and protein, making it easy to eyeball portions.

According to the MyPlate guidelines, approximately half of your plate should be composed of fruits and vegetables.

Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel, including the bran, germ, and endosperm, providing more fiber and nutrients than refined grains, which have been milled to remove these parts. MyPlate recommends making half your grains whole grains.

Beans, peas, and lentils are versatile foods that are included in both the Vegetable Group and the Protein Foods Group, offering flexibility in how you meet your dietary goals.

The USDA provides a personalized MyPlate Plan on their official website (MyPlate.gov). You can input your age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity level to get specific food group targets.