The Fabulous Food Groups

Our bodies need lots of energy to keep us going throughout the day. Do you know where we get that energy? That's right! From the food we eat! All kinds of different people enjoy different kinds of food. Whether your favorite meal includes noodles or nectarines, tortillas or tofu, most types of food have some of what our bodies need to stay healthy. You might already know that we can put different kinds of food into different groups. We call these, you guessed it, food groups. Let's check out each group and see what kind of food belongs where. Let's start with the fruit group. You've got to love sweet, delicious fruit. This group includes things like apples, pears, oranges, and strawberries. Fresh fruit is the best for you, but fruit that's canned or frozen counts, too. After all, many fruits are hard to find in the winter, and some fruits only grow in certain parts of the world. But don't forget about fruit that's been dried! Raisins are just dried grapes, and prunes are dried-up plums. Even juice is part of the fruit group, but only if it's all fruit juice and doesn't have added sugar. Next comes the grain group. Grains are plants, like oats, wheat, and barley. If a food is made from one of these plants, or any other grain plant, it belongs here. That means things made of flour, like bread and noodles, breakfast foods like oatmeal and cereal, and even rice are all part of this group. Next up, the vegetable group. I bet you already figured out what goes here. Vegetables come from plants, too. But unlike grains, they're either the roots, stems, or leaves of certain plants that we can eat. Carrots, for example, are the sweet, orange roots of the carrot plant. A head of lettuce is just a bunch of crunchy leaves. And asparagus is actually a stem of the tasty asparagus plant. There are so many kinds of veggies out there that we can actually split this group into smaller groups. For example, there are dark green veggies, like spinach, and starchy vegetables, like potatoes and sweet potatoes. Then, there are red and orange veggies, like beets and carrots, just to name a few. Now, what other foods can you think of? What about the stuff that's inside your sandwich? Meats, like chicken or hamburger, belong to the protein group, and so do fish, like tuna. And eggs? Made any way you like. But not all members of this group come from animals. Other foods, like beans, peanut butter, and tofu, which is made from soybeans, are full of protein. So they're also proud members of the protein group. And that leaves us with the last food group, dairy. If a food is made from cow milk or soy milk, it's in the dairy group. So this is where you find things like yogurt and all kinds of cheeses, as well as your usual glass of milk. And do you know what else fits in this group? Ice cream! But that reminds me! Sweet treats, like candy, don't fit into any of our groups. That's because they're made of mostly sugar, and don't have any of the things that our bodies need to stay healthy. So it's okay to enjoy these foods from time to time, but just not a lot of the time. Now, do you think you can put a food into the right group? Let's take a Tasty Food Quiz and see how well we know our food groups! We'll start with a slice of pineapple. What group do you think it goes in? Squeaks says the fruit group! Good job, Squeaks! Yes, pineapple belongs in the fruit group. What about this hard-boiled egg? What group do you think this fits into? That's right, the protein group! Eggs are a good source of protein. Here's one more! We'll end our game with a food that fits into two groups, macaroni and cheese. Let's look at each part separately. The cheese from the mac and cheese fits into the dairy group because it's made from milk. But what about the macaroni noodles? Well, we learned earlier that noodles are made of flour, from grain, so that means macaroni belongs to the grain group. That's right! Macaroni and cheese contains foods that are in the dairy group and the grain group. Phew! All this guessing has made me hungry! Hey Squeaks, let's make a snack! And remember, the next time you're hungry and head to the pantry or fridge, choose something healthy and see if you can guess what group your food fits into! Thanks for joining us on SciShow Kids! Is there something you'd like to learn more about? Get help from a grown-up and let us know in the comments below, or send us an email at kids@theSciShow.com. We'll see you next time!