An overview of the Exchange Lists for Meal Planning system.

1. Exchange Lists for Meal
Planning
Presented by Peter Mihelakis R.D.

2. A Very Easy Way to
Plan Meals & Track
What You Eat

3. Foods Split into 6
Groups
Each group
contains foods
with similar
nutrients and
calories

4. Group 1: Milk
Group 2: Non-Starchy Vegetables
Group 3: Fruits
Group 4: Starch
Group 5: Meats & Substitutes
Group 6: Fats

5. Measuring & Weighing
Foods is Very Important

7. Group 1:Dairy Group
1 Choice contains:
12 grams Carbohydrate
8 grams Protein
Fat varies from whole to skim milk products

8. Includes...
1 Cup of Milk (8 oz.) or
180 grams Yogurt (6 oz.)

9. Excludes...
• While it's true
that cheese is a
dairy product, we
do not include it
into this group
due to its high fat
content

10. Group 2: Vegetables
Includes all non-
starchy vegetables
1 Cup Raw or
1/2 Cup Cooked
is 1 Choice

12. Group 3: Fruit
Contain 15 grams
of Carbohydrate
per choice
Serving size
varies by choice

13. 13.5 oz. Watermelon
1 Banana (4 oz.)
1 Small Apple (4 oz.)

14. 1/2 Cup of Juice is also
considered 1 Fruit
Choice but it is
recommended that you
eat real fruit as opposed
to juice because you
will be missing out on
the fiber!

15. Group 4: Starch Group

16. 15 grams of
Carbohydrate
For All Choices
1/2 Cup of Cereal
1/3 Cup of Pasta or Rice
30 grams of Bread
90 grams potato (not fried or mashed)

17. And 1/2 Cup of all
beans,peas & lentils
Because these
legumes have such
a high protein
content, we also
count them as a
choice from the
Meat group as well!

18. Group 5: Meats &
Substitutes
Contain 7 grams
of Protein per
choice
Fat grams vary
by choice

19. 1 Choice =
-30 grams (1 oz.) of beef, pork,
poultry and fish.
-1 Egg
-1 oz. of Cheese
-1/2 Cup of Legumes (which
is also 1 Starch Choice)

20. Group 6: Fats
5 grams of Fat
per Choice
Includes oils,
nuts, & butter

21. 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Butter
6 Almonds

22. Now let's try it out!!!

23. 1200 Calorie Meal Plan
Milk 2 Choices
Vegetables 2 Choices
Fruit 2 Choices
Starch 6 Choices
Meat 4 Choices
Fat 2 Choices

24. Suppose I Wake Up in The
Morning and I Want To Have
Corn Flakes With Milk
I look at my Exchange Lists and see that 1
Choice of Corn Flakes are 1/2 Cup. This means
that 1/2 Cup contains 15 grams of
Carbohydrate.
My allowance for the day is 6 Choices for the
Starch Group

25. I Start with 1/2 Cup but I
see that the portion is too
small so I add another 1/2
Cup giving me a total of 1
Cup. So how many Choices
do I have here?

26. That's right! 2 Choices!
How many do I have left for the rest. Of my
day?
4 Choices!
What about my Milk?
I add 1 Milk Choice (8 oz.) and subtract it from
my Choices. We are allowed 2 per day for the
Milk Group, therefore I have 1 Choice left. I
may have another cup of milk or 180 grams of
yogurt at some point during my day!

27. A few hours later I get hungry and want a
snack.
I grab a banana! It's very large and I weigh it.
It's 8 oz. I look at the Exchange Lists and see
that 1 Choice of banana is 4 oz. If I'm really
hungry I can eat the whole banana and count
it as 2 Fruit Choices and I will have exhausted
my allowance for Fruit for the day! I can also
eat half now and half later!

28. What does our Meal Plan
look like after breakfast
and snack?

30. The important thing
about this system is to
keep track of what you are
eating!

31. Don't be discouraged by
the size of 1 Choice
from any group!!!!
What do I mean?

32. Look at 1 Choice of
Pasta!

33. It seems small by itself but we
have 6 for our day! Here's
what 3 Choices look like...
It's a
decent
portion for
a meal.

34. Alternatively, here is a 1Choice
of Ground Beef (1 oz.)
Small by itself
but remember
that each meal
has more than
1 Choice!

35. Here are some easy ways to estimate
portions when you can't weigh them
such as when dining out.

36. GOOD LUCK!
YOU CAN DO IT!