Basic Six Food Groups

The Food Guide Pyramid also known as the food pyramid, is one way for people to easily understand how to eat healthy. A rainbow of colored, vertical stripes represents the five food groups plus fats and oils. Here's what the colors stand for:

Orange: grains

Any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or another cereal grain is a grain product. Bread, pasta, oatmeal, breakfast cereals, tortillas, and grits are examples of grain products. 

- Eat at least 3 ounces of whole grain bread, cereals, crackers, rice, or pasta everyday.

Green: vegetables

Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts as a member of the vegetable group. Vegetables may be raw or cooked; fresh, frozen, canned, or dried/dehydrated; and may be whole, cut-up, or mashed.

-  Eat more dark green and orange vegetables

Red: fruits

Any fruit or 100% fruit juice counts as part of the fruit group. Fruits may be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried, and may be whole, cut-up, or pureed.

- Eat a variety of fruit. Choose fresh, frozen, canned or dried fruit.

Yellow: fats and oils

Oils are fats that are liquid at room temperature, like the vegetable oils used in cooking. Oils come from many different plants and from fish.

- Make most of your fat sources from fish, nuts, and vegetable oils. Limit solid fats like butter, margarine, shortening, and lard.

Blue: milk and dairy products

Foods made from milk that retain their calcium content are part of the group, while foods made from milk that have little to no calcium, such as cream cheese, cream, and butter, are not.

- Go low-fat or fat-free

Purple: meat, beans, fish and nuts

All foods made from meat, poultry, fish, dry beans or peas, eggs, nuts, and seeds are considered part of this group.

- Choose low- fat, lean meats and poultry. Bake it, broil it or grill it.

Source: mypyramid.gov