The food pyramid is a dietary guide issued by the United States Department of Agriculture. It is a nutritional guideline for Americans that consists of recommended daily intake of different foods for optimal health and has these foods split into groups. The original pyramid was issued in 1992 and is still found and used today, but in 2005 an update of the chart was released and contains the same basic components but with a different look. Displayed as a type of chart, the pyramid is a visual guide that is simple to read and can even be duplicated.
Step 1
Draw a triangle on a piece of paper or cardboard. Leave enough space on the bottom of the canvas for labeling of the sections. With a pencil and ruler, measure and draw the bottom line of the triangle. Measure and mark the exact middle point of the line. Measure a line of equal length as the line drawn from this middle point going upward and mark the end. There should be a horizontal line with a dot hovering above it. With a pencil and ruler, connect this dot with one end of the horizontal line. Repeat this with the opposite end of the line. The end result should be a perfect triangle.
Step 2
Draw a line from the top straight down to the bottom of the triangle. Draw another line straight down the left side of the triangle to make two more triangles, giving slightly more volume to the far left, which represents the grains section. The second triangle from the left represents vegetables. Divide the right side of the triangle into three sections by drawing three more lines. The first line should make a triangle that takes up one-fourth the room of the second half of the triangle. This represents fruit. The second line should make only a sliver next to the preceding triangle, which will represent fats and oils, the smallest section of the food pyramid. The third line should split the last section of the triangle's right side, giving about three-fourths the volume to the left. These last two sections represent dairy and meats. There should be six sections with differing proportions.
Step 3
Color the sections according to the food pyramid. The triangles from left to right should be colored orange, green, red, yellow, light blue and purple. These represent the grains, vegetables, fruit, fats and oils, dairy and meats.
Step 4
Label the sections directly below the sections of the pyramid with the serving size. Servings are 6 oz. for grains, 2.5 cups for vegetables, 2 cups for fruit, 3 cups for milk and 5.5 ounces for meats. Fats and oils should be used sparingly and do not have a serving size. Wording should be written in the color corresponding to the section or set in a color block identical to the colored sections
Things You'll Need
- Paper
- Colored crayons or felt pens
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