I wish all of you a happy and healthy 2023! I wanted to see what last year’s top New Year’s resolutions were, so I Googled, and many responses came up. The top four resolutions, according to Country Living, are to lose weight, eat healthier or change diet, get fitter and do more exercise and spend more time with family and friends. Oddly enough, these are my top four every year, and they seem to work for about six weeks. But seriously, these are all great goals.

Since Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative is all about food, I want to give you information on USDA’s MyPlate, myplate.gov. It is updated with tons of information and ways to help you lose weight and eat healthier. There is even an app. If you do not have a computer, you can go to your local library.

On the home page, you will see a section about learning how to eat healthy with MyPlate. You will see a plate with the five major food groups - fruits, vegetables, grain, protein and dairy.

Choose the orange box titled Explore MyPlate. Scroll down, and each section will give you more information on how much to eat and what the benefits are. While you are still on the Explore MyPlate page, scroll down to Make Every Bite Count. This is a great section where you can get a personalized MyPlate plan that’s right for you, based on your age, sex, height, weight and physical activity level.

Click on the food group buttons to learn more and get started. I clicked on the download link, and it provided me with a beautiful, colored two-page document that said Start Simple with MyPlate Plan.

“It’s important to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods and dairy or fortified soy alternatives. When deciding what to eat or drink, choose options that are full of nutrients. Make every bite count,” the website states.

Then it gave the food groups and how much to eat for a 1,600-calorie-a-day diet.

• Fruits: 1.5 cups. Focus on whole fruits that are fresh, frozen, canned or dried.

• Vegetables: 2 cups. Choose a variety of colorful fresh, frozen and canned vegetables. Make sure to include dark green, red and orange choices.

• Grains: 5 ounces. Make half your grains whole grains. Find whole-grain foods by reading the nutrition facts label and ingredient list.

• Protein: 5 ounces. Vary your protein routine. Mix up your protein foods to include seafood; beans, peas and lentils; unsalted nuts and seeds; soy products; eggs; and lean meats and poultry.

• Dairy: 3 cups. Move to low-fat or fat-free dairy milk or yogurt (or lactose-free dairy or fortified soy version). Look for ways to include dairy or fortified soy alternatives at meals and snacks throughout the day.

Choose foods and beverages with less added sugars, saturated fat and sodium (salt). Limit added sugars to less than 40 grams a day; saturated fat to less than 18 grams a day; and sodium to less than 2,300 milligrams a day. Be active your way. Children 6-17 years old should move 60 minutes every day. Adults should be physically active at least 2.5 hours per week.

Page two of the MyPlate Plan was a daily record of what you did - first column: five food groups listed; second column: write down the food choices made for each food group; third column: document if you reached your targets; and fourth column: include if you limited sugars, fat and sodium and if you were active for the time frame given.

This week, I am going to try this MyPlate plan. I hope I make it past six weeks!