A Healthy "Balanced" Diet

All our lives, it seems, we've been told to "eat a balanced diet." Have you ever found yourself wondering what that means? Very simply, it means making daily meals and snacks of foods contained in the basic food groups. These are the kinds of foods known to make us healthy. All the foods in each group are very similar in their nutritional value.

Fruits and Vegetables
Salads, cooked vegetables, raw or cooked fruits and juices are in this group. They supply many of the vitamins and minerals your body needs.

Eat four servings or more each day.

One serving is considered to be:

• a piece of fruit or raw vegetable
• a half cup of cooked vegetable or fruit. This would be like the size of a scoop of ice cream.
• a small glass of juice.

Protein Foods

Meats, fish, poultry, eggs and cheese are in this group. They give you protein as well as many vitamins and minerals.

Eat three servings or more each day.

One serving is considered to be:

• Two ounces of meat, fish, chicken or turkey. An ounce is the size of a slice of bologna or other cold cut. A typical chicken leg has about two ounces of meat on it. A typical hamburger patty is three ounces.
• two eggs
• two slices of cheese or two 1-inch cubes
• one cup of cooked beans or peas. This would be about the size of two scoops of ice cream.
• two handfuls of nuts
• a thick coating of peanut butter on a typical slice of bread.

Bread and Cereal Group

Bread, grains and cereals are in this group. They have a variety of vitamins, minerals and some protein in them.

Eat four servings or more each day.

One serving is considered to be:

• one slice of bread
• one bowl of breakfast cereal
• one half cup of noodles, macaroni, rice or grits. This would be like the size of a scoop of ice cream. A typical plateful of spaghetti would be two or more servings.
• one pancake, waffle, tortilla or slice of corn bread
• one biscuit
• 5 crackers

Dairy Foods

Milk, cheese and yogurt are in this group. They give you protein, vitamins and a lot of calcium.

Eat two servings or more each day.

One serving is considered to be:

• 8 ounce glass of milk. This is about the size of a coffee mug.
• 8 ounces of yogurt. This is the size of the typical container of yogurt at the store.
• Two slices of cheese, or two 1-inch cubes.
• One bowl of pudding or custard, the size of a cereal bowl.
• One and one half cups of ice cream. This would be the amount in three scoops, or three ice cream bars.

Keep in mind that these are the minimum number of servings to eat each day. Only you know how much you need to eat to keep from losing weight. Because of the effect of HIV on our bodies, you may have to eat much more than usual to keep from losing weight