Understanding the Plate Method of Eating

The Plate Method is a way of teaching people what foods they need to eat at each meal. It is one of many food representation guides. 

Several countries like the U.K., Germany, Mexico and Sweden have been using a plate as a teaching method for encouraging healthy eating and portion control. For 20 years the United States has been using a pyramid.

The Plate Method was originally developed as a way of teaching people with diabetes about portion control and what to eat at each meal.

The Plate Method of eating has gone on to become an easy way to teach adults and children about how to eat the right amount of foods from different food groups.

In addition the Plate Method is likely to gain in popularity and use with the announcement that the food pyramid, which has been used for 20 years to teach people about healthy eating, will be replaced with a new plate icon.

Paper Plates available on Amazon.

Images: Plate from Ratnesh, Orange from Mradrck, Water glass from Matchstick and Utensils from Microsoft clipart.

The Plate Method is a way to visually control your diet. According to the American Diabetes Association the breakdown of food on your plate should include:

•  1/2 of the plate should be filled with non-starchy vegetables.
• 1/4 of the plate should be filled with carbohydrates - bread or cereal
• 1/4 of the plate should be filled with lean protein, including other protein sources like tofu, beans and nuts.
• 1 serving of Milk, yoghurt or calcium
• 1 serving of fruit

The plate used for adults should be a 9 inch plate. Using larger plates will increase the portion sizes. Using smaller plates will decrease portion sizes, which could be very helpful for those trying to lose weight or using the method with children.

With such a simple way of showing how to eat, people can quickly and easily get the concept and start implementing the Plate Method on the same day they learned it.

One of the greatest benefit to filling half of the plate with vegetables and including a serving of fruit is that by doing this at every meal, you will be sure to get your recommend amount of 5 - 9 servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

Image of Handout © Kirsti A. Dyer

Eat right with the plate method
An easy way to make sure you’re eating the right amount of food is to use the “plate method.” Look at your plate.

The Plate Method Education Materials
Link to the PDF File from the Nutrition and Diet Files Internal Medicine Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine

Create Your Plate
Create Your Plate is a fast and easy way to choose and eat the foods you want. First focus on your portion sizes. Then make healthier food choices.

Manage Your Diabetes with the "Plate Method"
A way to improve your health and trim your waistline for better diabetes management is to change the proportions of food on your plate.

The Plate Method - dLife
This is one of the most basic methods to begin with when attempting to eat healthfully with diabetes from Lara Rondinelli RD.

The Idaho Plate Metho
The Idaho Plate Method is used for diabetes meal planning. It also works well for weight loss, teaching good nutrition, and in improving blood glucose and lipids.

For the past 5 years I've gone into both of my daughters classrooms to teach them about the basics of nutrition and healthy eating.

I discovered that the plate method, not the pyramid was the easiest way to explain healthy eating to children ranging from 1st through 5th grades. I've also taught the technique to Brownies (Girl Scouts) and 4-H groups.

Teaching the plate method to grade school was easy, interactive, fast and fun.

1. Each child got their own paper plate and a crayon or marking pen.
2. Divided the plate in half and mark the large section for veggies.
3. Divide the lower half into quarters and mark one section for meats, nuts & beans and the other section with cereals & grains.
4. Flip the plate over and have them draw two circles on the back. 
5. Mark one circle with milk (or calcium) and the other with fruit.

I end up giving each of the children a handout with the full table setting, so they can see how to set their plates at every meal.

It is a very fun and interactive teaching technique that quickly gets the point across to children. I've heard reports from the parents that their kids have come home to teach them how to set up their family meals.