Food Groups GRAINS Food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or other cereal grain is a grain product. Bread, pasta, oatmeal, breakfast cereals, tortillas and grits are examples of grain products. Nutritional Interest: Source of fiber, complex carbohydrates (good sources of energy), vitamins and minerals. Whole grains contain more dietary fiber, iron, and many B-vitamins than refined grains. "It is recommended to consume 3 or more ounce-equivalents of whole-grain products per day with the rest of the recommended grains coming from enriched or whole-grains products(U.S.Dietary Guidelines 2005) Example of whole grains present  in My Cuisine deLight diet= whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat couscous, brown rice, bulghur, oatmeal, quinoa. FRUIT Nutritional Interest: Fruits are interesting sources of vitamins, minerals and fibers. They also contains sugars (fructose), so their consumption must be limited to 3-4 per day if you are trying to lose weight. Fruit: EX: apple, apricot, banana, grapefruit, grapes, kiwi, lemon, lime, mango, nectarine, papaya, pum, orange, pear, raisins, tangerine, cherry, berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries) 100% fruit juices Mixed fruits (fruit cocktails) VEGETABLES Vegetables are important sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Dark Green Vegetables: Ex: brocolli, lettuce, spinach Starchy Vegetables: EX: corn, green peas, potatoes Orange Vegetables: Ex: carrots, pumpkins, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes Dry Beans and Peas: Ex: lentils, black-eyed peas, white beans, black beans, tofu Other vegetables: Ex: artichoke, asparagus, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, turnip, zucchini, okra, onion. MILK Milk and producys made from milk are very good of calcium and proteins.This group includes: Milk (Whole, low fat, reduced fat, fat free milk, flavored milk, lactose reduced milk) Cheese (Hard cheese contains more calcium, but also more fat than soft cheeses) Yogurt (fat free, low fat, reduced fat, whole milk with fruits..) Low fat milk or milk products should be preferred. MEAT The foods included in this group are high sources of iron and protein. It's important to select the leanest cuts and remove the skin from poultry to avoid the consumption of large amounts of fat and saturated fat. Meat: Pork, Veal, Lamb, Beef, Organ Meat Poultry: Chicken, Turkey, Duck Seafood: Fish, Crustaceans Eggs OIL  Oil is fat that is liquid at room temperature. Oils can be of animal or vegetable origin. EX:Canola Oil, Olive Oil, Sunflower Oil, Walnut Oil, Hazelnut Oil, Fish Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Cottonseed Oil, Safflower Oil. Most oils are high mono-unsaturated or poly-unsaturated fats and are low in saturated fats. Oils from plant sources (vegetable and nut oils) do not contain any cholesterol. In fact, no foods from plant sources contain cholesterol. However, a few plant oils, including coconut oil and palm kernel oil, are high in saturated fats and for nutritional purposes should be considered to be solid fats. Solid fats are fats that are solid at room temperature: butter and shortening. Solid fats from many animal foods and can be made from vegetable oils through a process called: hydrogenation. Some common solid fats are: butter beef fat (tallow, suet) chicken fat pork fat (lard) stick margarine shortening