The tips below are really important to eating a balanced diet and staying healthy.

1. Use the Food Guide Pyramid as your daily guide for eating.
2. Eat breakfast.
3. Snack smart with food-group snacks from the lower part of the Food Guide Pyramid.
4. Allow enough time to eat. It takes time for your brain to get the message from your stomach that you have had enough.
5. Choose many foods lower in saturated fat and sugars.
6. Enjoy the great flavors of fruits and vegetables; try different varieties. Experiment and try something you have never had before.
7. Try to eat three good meals a day around the same time each day.

For recipes kids can make, check out http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/recipes/recipe_links.html

To help measure your eating habits, try keeping track of what you eat for a week. Use the chart below or the printer friendly version of the chart, and fill in how many servings you have each day. For help on what a serving means, check out "What Is a Serving?"

	Fats, Oils, Sweets	Milk, Yogurt, Cheese	Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, Nuts	Vegetables	Fruits	Bread, Cereal, Rice, Pasta	Calcium
Day 1
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snack
Total
Day 2
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snack
Total
Day 3
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snack
Total
Day 4
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snack
Total
Day 5
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snack
Total
Day 6
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snack
Total
Day 7
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snack
Total