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The MyPlate Team welcomes you to Week 2 of our 5-week New Year’s Challenge! Last week we focused on the Dairy Food Group and physical activity. This week we’re adding another food group to the mix… fruit!

So, what foods are in the Fruit Group? This food group includes all fruits and 100% fruit juices. Focus on whole fruits—fresh, canned, frozen, or dried—more often for added dietary fiber. In addition to fiber, fruits contain many essential nutrients that are typically under consumed, including potassium, vitamin C, and folate (folic acid). Healthy ways to add fruit to your day:

Do your New Year’s resolutions include a healthier eating style and more physical activity? Whether you find inspiration from a personal challenge, or by competing with others in a group, we have the tools to keep you motivated and help you reach your goals with updated features in SuperTracker, the food and physical tracking tool from the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP).

The MyPlate Team welcomes you to join us for a fun and competitive way to start the New Year—join our MyPlate New Year’s Challenge! The MyPlate Team is hosting a 5-week challenge, featuring a new food group each week along with physical activity. Join our New Year’s Challenge now by visiting our MyPlate New Year's Challenge page or by searching for “MYPLATE” on SuperTracker’s Join Group page. It’s never too late to join, so make sure to share this opportunity with your friends, family, and coworkers!

The first food group featured in the Challenge is the Dairy Food Group. Dairy foods include all fluid milk products as well as foods made from milk that retain their calcium content, like cheese and yogurt. Calcium-fortified soymilk (soy beverage) is also part of the Dairy Group. Calcium is a mineral that helps us to build bones and teeth, and maintain bone mass. Choosing low-fat or fat-free dairy options helps lower your intake of saturated fat. 

Every January, Americans are bombarded with information about New Year’s resolutions. While many of us set our hopes high on January 1^st, our commitment to our lofty resolutions tends to dwindle over time.  In fact, by June, less than half of us are still committed to accomplishing our New Year’s resolutions! One reason for this waning interest is that our resolutions often are unrealistic, incorporating extreme goals and expecting immediate perfection. We sabotage ourselves with these strategies. Instead, starting with small steps and celebrating milestones along the way are shown to be more helpful strategies in keeping resolutions. As you begin thinking about your resolutions for 2017, I encourage you to start with MyPlate, MyWins.

Let MyPlate, My Wins be a resource to help you turn your resolutions into real solutions for a healthy new year.

Real solutions are small, practical changes that add up to a healthier lifestyle over time. Real solutions do not have an end date; they are changes that can be incorporated into Americans’ lifestyles to help maintain a healthy eating style long term. USDA’s MyPlate, MyWins meets Americans where they are and helps to build healthier eating habits from there, rather than setting unrealistic goals at the start. MyPlate, My Wins allows Americans to personalize their goals and eating habits to fit their needs.

The holiday season is a wonderful, exciting, and incredibly busy time.  Between the celebrations, family gatherings, and the food (so much food!), healthy eating isn’t likely the first thing on your mind. And that’s OK.

In a few short weeks, many of us will be turning our attention to the new year. What will 2017 bring? What are our personal goals for the year?  Every January there is an overload of information about New Year’s resolutions, and many people will set goals that focus on health, fitness, and nutrition.  But while we often set high hopes on January 1, less than half are still committed to accomplishing our resolutions months later.

In March, we kicked off our MyPlate, MyWins video series and introduced you to six American families, each from different backgrounds with their own unique approach to healthy eating. From Shelley, a single mom to Carol and Brad, a farm family with four children – we hope you enjoyed hearing their stories and discovered healthy eating solutions that could help you in your own lives.

This week, many Americans will gather together with friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving. When the fun is done, you may be left with more turkey than you anticipated. MyPlate is here to help with these unique ways to use up those leftovers!

Making healthy meal choices for your family, especially when you’re on the go like Rocio and her military family, can be rewarding and fun if you have the right tools.  The MyPlate, MyWins video: Meet Rocio features a real-life military family sharing their tips for success. Rocio shows how she and her husband teach their four boys the value of nutrition by preparing meals that feed their sons’ minds and bodies.

Rocio plans ahead and gets the kids involved in the dinner process.  Not only do they enjoy being involved in the meal preparation, but it helps them to know what they are eating, and teaches them the value of nutrition and eating together.

This year, our MyPlate, MyWins video series has introduced you to families sharing their solutions for incorporating healthy eating into their unique lifestyles. In the final family video, Carol and Brad share how they plan meals around foods they either produce themselves in their family garden or are on sale at the grocery store. For them, making sure their four children eat right and take care of their bodies is essential!

Pumpkins aren’t just for Halloween! These versatile vegetables are an excellent source of vitamin A and dietary fiber. To demonstrate different ways you can incorporate this seasonal superstar, MyPlate is showcasing five easy recipes with pumpkin as the main ingredient.

MyPlate encourages you to make half your plate fruits and vegetables. People who eat more vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Fruits and vegetables provide nutrients vital for the health and maintenance of your body. Pumpkins are full of color and are a great way to eat your veggies!