BALANCED MENUS
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Over the past century, as our food environments have gotten less healthy, so have our diets.
We're overconsuming known disease-causing foods.
Americans are eating 50% more meat than the amount recommended in the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines.
We're underconsuming foods
vital to our health.
Only 1 in 10 Americans eat the minimally recommended amount of fruits and vegetables - leaving 97% of us fiber deficient.
Our diets are dangerously imbalanced.
Over 60% of the foods in the standard American diet are ultra-processed food-type products like chicken nuggets and frozen pizza.
Less healthy diets have led to less healthy families.
Poor nutrition is killing us.
Imbalanced diets are the leading cause of disease, disability, and premature death. Unhealthy dietary-patterns are responsible for 700,000 American deaths annually.
We're sicker than ever.
Over 117 million American adults live with one or more preventable, chronic illness(es) linked to imbalanced dietary patterns.
Our children are not immune.
The current generation of children has a predicted lifespan that is shorter than that of their parents as a result of imbalanced dietary patterns.
and it's because of our
Food Environments
Our food environments are the primary determiners of our food choices, which is why the foods that dominate our food environments also dominate our diets.
Even with the best of intentions,
and endless nutrition information at our fingertips, until our food environments support healthier eating, our families will continue to experience unnecessary food-system caused, diet-related diseases.
In the fight for healthier families,
balanced menus make a difference
- now more than ever.
Make a difference with Balanced
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Impact Calculator
Clearly, our food environments impact our health - but do we really know how much?
Select a food category below to learn more about the true impact menus and food environments have on our health.
Eggs
Processed Meats
Poultry
Ultraprocessed Products
Red Meat
Dairy
Beans
Greens
Whole
Grains
Fruit
Compared to eggs (per serving)
Tofu
+3 grams protein
Chickpeas
+12 grams fiber
Fiber
Sodium
Sat. Fat
Cholesterol
1 g
9.1 mg
1 g
0 mg
Protein
Sodium
Sat. Fat
Cholesterol
15 g
11 mg
.4 g
0 mg
Try these dishes instead:
Baking swaps:
Compared to Turkey Deli Meat (per serving)
Portobello
Mushrooms
750 fewer mg sodium
Tempeh
+7 grams protein
1.1 g
8 mg
.1 g
0 mg
Fiber
Sodium
Sat. Fat
Cholesterol
Protein
Sodium
Sat. Fat
Cholesterol
20 g
9 mg
2.5 g
0 mg
Try these dishes instead:
Compared to Chicken (per serving)
Lentils
+16 grams
fiber
Soy Protein
100 fewer mg
sodium
Protein
Sodium
Sat. Fat
Cholesterol
18 g
0 mg
0 g
0 mg
Protein
Sodium
Sat. Fat
Cholesterol
10 g
5 mg
.5 g
0 mg
Try these dishes instead:
Compared to Beef (per serving)
Black Beans
+8 grams
fiber
Walnuts
65 fewer mg
sodium
Protein
Sodium
Sat. Fat
Cholesterol
7 g
10 mg
0 g
0 mg
Protein
Sodium
Sat. Fat
Cholesterol
4 g
0 mg
1.5 g
0 mg
Try these dishes instead:
Compared to Dairy Milk (per serving)
Almond Milk
12 fewer mg
cholesterol
Oat Milk
+4 grams
fiber
Protein
Sodium
Sat. Fat
Cholesterol
1 g
150 mg
.2 g
0 mg
Protein
Sodium
Sat. Fat
Cholesterol
2.5 g
140 mg
1.2 g
0 mg
Try these dishes instead:
How-to
Compared to 3 oz Chicken Nuggets (per serving)
White
beans
+13 grams
fiber
Tofu
48 fewer mg
cholesterol
Protein
Sodium
Sat. Fat
Cholesterol
6 g
12 mg
.2 g
0 mg
Protein
Sodium
Sat. Fat
Cholesterol
10 g
9 mg
.9 g
0 mg
Try these dishes instead:
Ginger Glazed Tofu
Easy ways to eat more whole grains
Power your meals by adding more legumes
Creative ways to add more fruit to your meals
Strawberry Apricot Smoothie
Boost nutrients by adding greens
Make a Positive Impact Where You Live
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