1A.

According to the MyPlate intake and recommendation printout, overall, my averages

were high in three groups, which were 88%, 92% and 104% of the recommended amount for
vegetable, fruit and protein consumption respectively. However, my averages were low in two
groups, which were 34% and 53% of the recommended amount for dairy and grain intake
respectively.
1B.
FOOD

Grain

Vegetable

Fruit

Dairy

Unsweetened
Almond Milk

low-fat
chocolate milk

Grilled chicken
breast

Meat/Alt Fat/Sweet
{Protein}

Tuna salad

Caesar grilled
chicken salad

Beef sausage

Tuna in water

Creamy peanut
butter

Nuts
(Almond/peanut/
walnut)

Fried egg

Orange juice

Banana

Kiwi

Pineapple

Strawberries

Grilled Potato

Avocado

Carrot

Lettuce

Cucumber

Grilled Red bell

pepper

Green bell
pepper

Spinach

Onion

Baby kale

Tomatos

Chickpeas

Black beans

Quinoa

Plain french
baguette

Frosted Flakes
Cereal

White rice

Chocolate
Cookies

Potato Chips

Brownie

1C.
Grain: Did you make half your grains whole grains?

By viewing my table, it shows most of my grains were not whole grains. Therefore, I didnt meet
the recommendations for making half my grains whole grains. The only whole grain I ate was quinoa.
Other grains included plain french baguette, cereal and white rice, which is not whole grains.
Vegetables: Did you vary your vegetables; did you eat dark green, dark orange; did you eat beans and
peas?
I ate a variety of vegetables, which were tomatoes, an avocado, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, a
green/red bell pepper and kale. An avocado, lettuce, cucumbers, a green/red bell pepper and kale were
included in dark green. Carrot is a type of dark orange. I also consumed chickpeas and black beans.
Overall, I met the recommendation because I ate a variety of vegetables, beans and peas.
Fruit: Did you eat a variety of fruits?
I consumed a variety of fruits, including orange juice, banana, kiwi and strawberries. These fruits
represented diversity colors, yellow, green and red. Therefore, I did meet the recommendation.
Dairy: Did you choose low fat or fat-free?
There are only two types of milk I consumed by viewing the table. One of the type milk is low-fat
chocolate milk.
Did you look for other calcium sources if lactose intolerant?
I dont have lactose intolerant, but I still need to increase calcium sources from another dairy
products based on the MyPlate recommendations.
Meat/Alt {Protein}: Did you choose low fat/lean?
I prefer to eat low-fat meat, so I consumed plain chicken breast and tuna. Every time I ordered
salads at a dining hall, I would choose plain chicken breast salad and tuna salad. Another meet I consumed
is beef sausage, the label didnt say its low fat or not.
Did you bake, broil, grill?
I ate plain chicken breast, and I guessed the staff broiled the chicken breast in the dining hall. The
tuna was cooked without baking, broiling and grilling. I guessed the beef sausage was smoked.
Did you vary your choices with more fish, beans, nuts, seeds?
Compare to consume meat, I consumed more alternative meat, including tuna, black beans,
almonds, peanuts, walnuts, black seeds, peanut butter and olive oil. Overall, I should get more protein from
meat, such as beef, pork and lamb. I can buy these kinds of meats in a grocery store and grill it with
sunflower oil.
1D.
I ate fats and sweets every day, including chocolate cookies, potato chips and sometimes
I ate brownies. I think it is relatively reasonable compared to other high portion of vegetables,
fruits, grains and meat. However, I ate cookies every day while recording for food dairy project.
Sometimes I am not hungry, but I just have the feeling to eat junk food, such as cookies. The
way can adjust my behavior is to drink water every time I want to eat high fat and sweet food.
The second way is that I can bake homemade cookies or baked potatoes without butter or other
high-fat products or a large amount of sugar, so that I can control the amount of sugar and other
fat materials. The last way is to put a bag of nuts or fruits in my backpack. I just need to remind
myself these three methods every time, and I believe my diet will have less fat and added sugar.

1E.
Protein: I predict that my protein intake will be lowish because I had a very low dairy intake
at the lower end of recommended number of cups, which I consumed 34% of the recommended
dairy intake at 1.01 cups and I exceeded the recommended number of ounces of protein, which I
consumed 104% of the recommended protein (meat/alt) intake at 6.75 ounces, and My
prediction was incorrect because my protein intake was 154.46% of the DRI, which is included
in more than adequate. My top three sources for protein were chicken breast, tuna and caesar
grilled chicken salad. I expected the chicken breasts were a great source of protein. Nevertheless,
I didnt know tuna can provide a great amount of protein. Apparently, I have a very low intake of
dairy while highly consumption of meat/alt. Therefore, chicken breasts and tuna helped to make
up for the low serving of dairy group.
Fiber: I predict my fiber intake will be lowish because I low consumption of grain (53%)
intake and I had high consumption in fruits (92%), vegetables (88%) and meat/alt (104%) intake.
I consumed 1.83 cups out of recommended 2 cups of fruits, and 2.65 cups out of recommended 3
cups of vegetables, 6.75 ounces out of recommended 6.5 ounces of protein. However, I only
consumed 4.27 ounces of recommended 8 ounces in grain. My prediction was incorrect because
my calculated fiber intake was 86.4% of the DRI, which is included in adequate. My top three
sources for fiber were avocado, quinoa and banana. Avocado and banana were vegetables and
fruits respectively, which I consumed enough, helped made up for the low saving of grain group.
Interestingly, my meat/alt intake is 104% of the recommendation, but there is no meat/alt in my
top three sources. Thus, I guess I consumed a greater number of fruits and vegetables containing
fiber than those of meat/alt, such one cup quinoa and 4 bananas for five days.
Vitamin A: I predict my vitamin A intake will be lowish because I had low consumption
intake of dairy (34%) and I had high consumption intake of fruits (92%), vegetables (88%). I
consumed 1.83 cups out of recommended 2 cups of fruits and 2.65 cups out of recommended 3
cups of vegetables. However, I only consumed 1.01 cups out of recommended 3 cups of dairy.
My prediction was incorrect because my vitamin A intake was 136.70% of the DRI, which is
included in adequate. My top three sources for vitamin A were lettuce, baby kale and Frosted
Flakes cereal. I think these food groups are generally anticipated as vegetables have enough
vitamin A, so lettuce and baby kale have high perception of vitamin A. Compare to other food I
eat, Frosted Flakes cereal has higher vitamin A. However, Frosted Flakes cereal would not be
considered a good source of vitamin A. Since Frosted Flakes cereal is fortified food, so the
food factory will make up for the missing nutrients. Another reason Frosted Flakes cereal has
higher vitamin A on my top three sources is that I consumed 3 cups of it for five days, which the
amount number of it would be larger than those of other good resources for vitamin A, such as
milk, yogurt, mango.
Vitamin B-12: I predict my vitamin B-12 intake will be lowish because I had low
consumption intake of dairy (34%) and I had high consumption intake of the meat/alt group
(104%). I consumed 6.75 ounces out of recommended 6.5 ounces in protein while only
consuming 1.01 cups out of recommended 3 cups of dairy. My prediction was incorrect because
my vitamin B-12 intake was 118.38% of the DRI, which is included in adequate. My top three

sources of vitamin B-12 were Frosted Flake cereal, low-fat chocolate milk vit A & D and fried
eggs. Low fat chocolate milk vit A & D and fried eggs would be generally considered as good
sources of vitamin B-12. However, Frosted Flakes cereal would not be considered a good
source of vitamin B-12. Since Frosted Flakes cereal is fortified food, so the food industry will
make up for the missing nutrients. I guess Frosted Flakes cereal is in top three sources of vitamin
B-12 because I consumed a great number of it, 3 cups for five days. Therefore, it helped to make
up for the low serving of dairy group.
Vitamin C: I predict my vitamin C intake will be adequate because I had high consumption
intake of the fruits and vegetables at 92% and 88% of the recommendation respectively. My
prediction was incorrect because my vitamin C intake was 318.69% of the DRI, which is
included in more than adequate. My top three sources for vitamin C were strawberries, green
bell peppers and gold kiwi. My top three sources were all expected as a good source of vitamin
C, but I was surprised that strawberries have extremely higher perception of vitamin C, 268.13
mg, than others, and a number of strawberries I consumed is not the largest in fruits and
vegetable group. Therefore, it may affect the overall vitamin C intake because other fruits and
vegetables dont have this high value of vitamin C.
Folate: I predict my folate intake will be lowish because I had low consumption intake of the
grain intake at 53% while having high consumption intake of the fruits and vegetables at 92%
and 88% of the recommendation respectively. My prediction was incorrect because my folate
intake was 122.36% of the DRI, which is included in adequate. My top three sources for floate
were lettuce, Frosted Flakes cereal and quinoa. Since I have the relatively low intake of grains,
the majority of my folate consumption are from vegetables and fruits. Lettuce and quinoa are
considered as vegetables and grains respectively, and they are good resources for folate.
Nevertheless, Frosted Flakes cereal is in my top three sources because I may consume a lot of it
or the food factory made up the folate on purpose. Thus, this result doesnt mean Frosted Flakes
cereal is a good resource for folate. Since there are no fruits included in my top three sources, I
should consume more fruits, such as banana, strawberries and blueberries, etc.
Calcium: I predict my calcium intake will be marginal because I had low consumption intake
of dairy at 34%. I only consumed 1.01 cups out of recommended 3 cups. My prediction was
correct because my calcium intake was 49.78% of the DRI, which is included in marginal. My
top three sources of calcium were unsweetened almond milk, low-fat chocolate milk vit A & D
and baby kale. Its expected that milk will be a good source of calcium. However, it is surprising
that baby kale has really high calcium because I always think baby kale has really high vitamin
instead of high calcium, and I always think about calcium will contribute to most dairy food.
I didnt consume enough dairy group, thats why baby kale, including in vegetable group, is in
my top three sources of calcium. Therefore, I should consume more good source of dairy.
Iron: I predict my iron intake will be lowish because I had low consumption intake of the
grain intake at 53% while having high consumption intake of the meat/alt group (104%). My
prediction was incorrect because my iron intake was 102.75% of the DRI, which is included in
adequate. My top three sources of iron were Frosted Flakes cereal, baby kale and quinoa.
There is no meat/alt on my top three sources of iron, but my consumption of iron is really high.

Thus, I guessed Frosted Flakes cereal helped made up the iron, but it would not be considered a
good source of iron. Eventually, I should consume more meat/alt and grains that contain a
great number of irons.
Magnesium: I predict my magnesium intake will be lowish because I had low consumption
intake of the grain intake at 53% and dairy at 34% while having high consumption intake of the
meat/alt group at 104%. My prediction was incorrect because my magnesium intake was 86.47%
of the DRI, which is included in adequate.My top three sources were quinoa, peanut butter and
grilled chicken breast. Apparently, peanut butter and grilled chicken breast are in meat/alt group
and are considered a good source of magnesium. Since I have really high consumption intake
of the meat/alt group, it helped make up the iron for the low serving of grain and dairy group.
Potassium: I predict my potassium intake will be lowish because I had high consumption
intake of the meat/alt group at 104%, the fruits and vegetables at 92% and 88% of the
recommendation respectively. However, I had low consumption intake of dairy at 34%. My
prediction was incorrect because my potassium intake was 53.89% of the DRI, which is included
in marginal. My top three sources of potassium were the banana, grilled chicken breast and
lettuce. All my top three sources are from fruit, vegetables, meat/alt groups, which I had high
consumption. However, my dairy intake is really low, so that I had the marginal intake of
potassium of the DRI. Therefore, I should consume more dairy products, such as yogurt, cheese
and milk.
Zinc: I predict my zinc intake will be lowish because I had low consumption intake of dairy at
34%, but I had high consumption intake of the meat/alt group at 104%, My prediction was
incorrect because my zinc intake was 58.25% of the DRI, which is included in marginal. My top
three sources of zinc were quinoa, grilled chicken breast and peanut butter. There are not the
dairy product on my three top sources. Quinoa, included in grain group, was unexpected on my
three top sources, but it made up zinc for the low serving of dairy group. Moreover, meat/alt
group made up zinc for the low serving of dairy group as well.
2A.
My top three sources of total fat were peanut butter (40.31 g in five tablespoons), fresh
Avocado (29.47 g in one Avocado), and chocolate chip cookies (20.00 g in five chocolate chip
cookies). My three sources of saturated fats were peanut butter (8.41 g in five tablespoons), fresh
Avocado (4.27 g in one Avocado), and chocolate chip cookies (5.00 g in five chocolate chip
cookies).
2B.
The DRI recommendations for percent of total calories from protein, carbohydrate and
total fat are 10%-35%, 45%-65%, and 20%-35% respectively. All my three macronutrients are
within the range of the DRI recommendations. My protein intake was 19.17% of my total
calories and my carbohydrate intake was 50.37% of my total calories. However, my fat intake
was 30.46% of my total calories, which is close to the upper end of the percentage of protein
recommendations. Therefore, it will be better to decrease my fat intake while increasing my
protein intake, which was close to the lower end of being in the middle of the recommendation,

and increasing carbohydrate intakes, which was toward to the lower end of the recommendation.
This way will help my protein, carbohydrate and fat of total calories in the middle of the DRI
recommendations.
2C:
The percent of my total calories coming from saturated fat was 6.21%. The percentage of
saturated fat, which is recommended by Daily Value, is 10%. Even though my percentage of
saturated fat intake was below this 10%, I should try to eat less peanut butter and chocolate chip
cookies, including high saturated fat. However, Avocado is from my three sources of saturated
fats. It has high potassium and contains natural fat. Therefore, I can just even out the amount of
Avocado consumption.
3A.
Compare to MyPlate, my food group overall serving numbers were toward to the
recommendation except two food groups were below the recommendations. The three
food groups that were close to the recommendations were 2.65 cups out of the 3 cups for
the vegetable group, 1.83 cups out of the 2 cups for fruit group and 6.75 ounces out of the
6.5 ounces for the meat/alt group. However, other two groups that were below the
recommendations were 4.27 ounces out of the 8 ounces for grain groups and 1.01 cups
out of the 3 cups for dairy group. Generally, this data showed that the level of my nutrient
intake, fruits, vegetables and meat/alt, were close to the recommendations, but I need to
increase my intake of grain and dairy since they are included in the marginal intake.
I have really high consumption in fruit, vegetables and meat/alt. The issues addressed in question 1
C are that I need to improve on my diet. First, I should increase my intake of whole grains, so I can
make half my grains whole grains. The reason to eat more whole grains is whole grains contain
fiber, vitamin E and magnesium. The intake of both of fiber and magnesium are is lowish
because the only whole grain I ate for five days is quinoa. Second, I should consume more dairy
since I only have really low consumption of the recommendation, 34%. I did choose the low-fat
versions of dairy, but I only chose two types of milk and one of them is low-fat. However, I should
increase a variety of dairy groups, such as yogurt and cheese. Third, I should increase a variety of
meat/alt group. The reason is that I consume more alternative meat, including tuna, black beans,
almonds, peanuts, walnuts, black seeds, peanut butter and olive oil instead of getting more protein
from meat, such as beef, pork and lamb.
My level of intake of fats and sweets are not high, but I ate chocolate cookies and potato
chips everyday. In order to consume fewer chocolate cookies and potato chips as snacks,
I should try to eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grain crackers as my snacks. Moreover, I
can try to eat a granola bar with oats or nuts instead of eating chocolate cookies with
added sugar. The other way is that I can make homemade cookies or snacks without
butter or cream. Indoor cycling class and exercise training helped me to eat more healthy
and drink at least 2 liter water every day.
Fortunately, a majority of my micronutrient intake I evaluated in this exercise were adequate
except vitamin C, calcium, potassium and zinc, which is more than adequate and marginal

respectively. Therefore, I should increase my intake of a variety of food groups within calcium,
potassium and zinc, so the consumption of these micronutrients can fall into adequate. One of the
most important is to increase dairy because it contains all micronutrients I had marginal intake,
calcium, potassium and zinc.Therefore, I should consume more milk, yogurt and cheese. Increased
meat/alt intake can also help to increase the intake of potassium and zinc, particularly legumes and
fish because I didnt consume enough in the meat/alt group. Moreover, fruit and vegetable group
contain potassium. Since both of my fruit and vegetable intakes are on the adequate level, I should
more focus on increasing dairy and meat/alt intake. I should not only work on my diet by increasing
dairy, but also take some calcium supplements because I dont like cheese and I cant consume a lot
of milk because of my stomach problems.
My fiber intake was considered adequate because I consumed 86.4% of the DRI. In
order to make the consumption of fiber closer to the upper of the recommendation, I
should eat more grain, particularly whole grain, such as whole wheat bread, oats, legumes
and nuts, etc, because I have relatively low consumption of grain, 53%.
My percent of calories from the macronutrients were all within the recommended range of the DRI.
The percentage of calories from protein and carbohydrate were 19.17% and 50.37 respectively.
However, my fat intake of total calories for fat was 30.46%, which toward the upper end of the
range. In order to balance the relationship among protein, carbohydrate and fat, I should try to
decrease my fat intake while increasing my protein intake.
My saturated fat intake as compared to the Daily Value recommendation was 6.21%, which is with
the range. This number is not high, but lower the saturated fat intake will be better for my health.
Therefore, I need to eat fewer fats and sweets, which include high calories dairies, such as butter,
cream cheese or a lot of oil.
3B. Overall, the final grade to the quality of my diet would be very good because I only need to
increase my consumption of grain and dairy groups, but it would not affect the intake of fat and sweets.
Moreover, all percent of my total calories for protein, carbohydrate and fat are all within the
recommendations. All my micronutrient intake were considered adequate of the DRI except calcium,
potassium and zinc, which were considered marginal of the DRI. Particularly, all these three
micronutrients contain dairy and they are marginal, I should mainly increase my dairy intake while
preferring to choose low fat food, such as low-fat milk and yogurt. I should also consume more grains,
especially whole grains, because the intake of the grain was only 53% of the recommendation, such as
whole wheat bread, oats, legumes and nuts, etc. By doing this food diary project, I learned how to analyze
the data and knew the level of my intake of the DRI. This project will also help me to change my eating
habit, which consumes more whole grains and dairy and continue consuming fruits, vegetables and meat/alt
groups.