Meal Plan – USDA Processes Food Meal Plan

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To test if ultra-processed foods can be used to build a healthy diet, ARS scientists and collaborators created a menu with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks using MyPyramid as a guide for a seven-day, 2,000-calorie food pattern The menu consisted of foods categorized as ultra-processed by at least two NOVA graders. The foods included in the menu also aligned with 2020 DGA recommendations for servings of groups and subgroups of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy. Scientists selected food products that have lower levels of saturated fats and added sugars while still containing enough micronutrients and macronutrients. Some of the ultra-processed foods used in this menu included canned beans, instant oatmeal, ultra-filtered milk, whole wheat bread, and dried fruit.

“We used the Healthy Eating Index to assess the quality of the diet as it aligns with key DGA recommendations. The menu we developed scored 86 of 100 points on the Healthy Eating Index-2015, meeting most of the thresholds, except for sodium content [exceeded recommendations] and whole grains [below recommendations].”

ARS Research Nutritionist Julie Hess 

Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) appropriate for those populations for whom the DGA considers 2000 kcal appropriate, namely, females 19 to 30 years and males 51 years and older, to the nutrients provided by the ultra-processed DGA menu.

Macro- and micronutrient content of the sample menu, as well as energy density.