Diet Balance Calculator:
Are you eating a balanced diet?
Complete the test below to find out.

Do you eat the right amount of foods from each of the five food groups in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating? Follow these simple instructions to find out:

Adapted from: Australian Guide to Healthy Eating

What you usually eat

Use the examples and sizes for 'one serving' in the quiz below to estimate how many serves of each you have eaten over the past 3 days. Although there will be variations from day to day, your usual or average intake is important.

Type in the number of serves you usually eat over 3 days for each food -- you can leave a box blank if you don't normally eat that food.

Not all the foods you eat may be listed. To include them, look for a rough match with a listed food and choose that one. Mixed foods and meals can also be included if you look for a match for the foods that went into them. For example, spaghetti bolognaise could count as one serve of pasta (spaghetti), plus one serve of meat (mince), plus one serve of vegetables (tomato and onion sauce).

The following test is suitable only for non-pregnant, non-breastfeeding adults and the results should be interpreted with caution.

Bread, cereals, rice, pasta and noodles:
This food group supplies carbohydrate, protein, fat, fibre, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, magnesium, zinc, folate and sodium.
During the past 3 days, which of the following bread, cereals, rice, pasta and noodles have you consumed, and how much?

	Did you eat any..	Serve Size	Serves in past 3 days
1	Bread, white or wholemeal?	1 slice (30 g) bread
2	Bread rolls?	1 medium bread roll
3	Cooked Rice, plain, white or brown?	1 cup (180g) cooked
4	Cooked pasta, plain, white or wholemeal?	1 cup (180g) cooked
5	Cooked Noodles, plain?	1 cup (180g) cooked
6	Porridge, cooked?	1 cup (230g) cooked porridge
7	Breakfast Cereal?	1 & 1/3 cups (40g) ready-to-eat cereal
8	Muesli?	1/2 cup untoasted muesli
9	Flour, white or wholemeal?	1/4 cup (40g) flour
10	Blank	Blank
11	Blank	Blank
12	Blank	Blank
13	Blank	Blank
14	Blank	Blank

Vegetables
This food group supplies carbohydrate, fibre, beta-carotene, vitamin C, folate, magnesium and iron. Legumes contain phytoestrogens. Some vegetables contain carotenoids.
During the past 3 days, which of the following vegetables have you eaten, and how much?

	Did you eat any..	Serve Size	Serves in past 3 days
15	Cooked vegetables (other than potato)?	1/2 cup (75g) cooked vegetables
16	Cooked/canned dried beans?	1/2 cup (80g) cooked dried beans, peas, lentils or canned beans
17	Salad vegetables?	1 cup of salad vegetables
18	Potato?	1 small potato
19	Blank	Blank
20	Blank	Blank
21	Blank	Blank
22	Blank	Blank
23	Blank	Blank

Fruit and fruit juice
This food group supplies carbohydrate, fibre, vitamins, especially vitamin C, and folate. Fruit also contains flavonoids.
During the past 3 days, which of the following fruit and fruit juice products have you consumed, and how much?

	Did you eat any..	Serve Size	Serves in past 3 days
24	Apples?	1 medium piece (150 g) of fruit
25	Bananas?	1 medium piece (150 g) of fruit
26	Oranges?	1 medium piece (150 g) of fruit
27	Pears?	1 medium piece (150 g) of fruit
28	Apricots?	2 small pieces (150 g) of fruit
29	Kiwi fruit?	2 small pieces (150 g) of fruit
30	Plums?	2 small pieces (150 g) of fruit
31	Canned fruit?	1 cup (150 g) diced pieces
32	Sultanas, raisins, etc?	1 & 1/2 tablespoons of sultanas, raisins
33	Dried Fruit?	4 dried apricot halves
34	Fruit Juice?	1 cup (250 ml) fruit juice
35	Blank	Blank
36	Blank	Blank
37	Blank	Blank
38	Blank	Blank

Dairy products (milk, yoghurt, cheese)
This food group supplies protein, carbohydrate, fat, cholesterol, calcium, magnesium, zinc, riboflavin, vitamin B₁₂, sodium and potassium
During the past 3 days, which of the following dairy products (milk, yoghurt, cheese) products have you eaten, and how much?

	Did you consume any..	Serve Size	Serves in past 3 days
39	Fresh Milk?	1 cup (250 ml) fresh, long life or reconstituted dried milk
40	Long Life Milk?	1 cup (250 ml)
41	Reconstituted Dried Milk (eg Sunshine)?	1 cup (250 ml)
42	Soy milk?	1 cup (250 ml) soy milk
43	Evaporated milk (eg Carnation)?	1/2 cup (125 ml) evaporated milk
44	Cheese, any variety?	2 slices (40 g) cheese
45	Yoghurt?	1 small carton (200 g) yoghurt
46	Custard?	1 cup (250 ml) custard
47	Blank	Blank
48	Blank	Blank

Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts
This food group supplies protein, fat, cholesterol, iron, zinc, niacin and B₁₂
During the past 3 days, which of the following meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts have you eaten, and how much?

	Did you eat any..	Serve Size	Serves in past 3 days
49	Red Meat, cooked?	65- 100 g cooked meat or chicken eg: half cup of lean mince
50	Chicken, cooked?	65- 100 g cooked meat or chicken eg: half cup of lean mince
51	Mince, cooked?	65- 100 g cooked meat or chicken eg: half cup of lean mince
52	Lamb Chops?	2 small chops
53	Roast Meat?	2 slices of roast meat
54	Fish (not takeaway)?	80- 100 g cooked fish fillet
55	Eggs?	2 small eggs
56	Nuts, nut pastes?	1/3 cup peanut, almonds, peanut paste
57	Seeds, seed pastes?	1/4 cup sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, Tahini
58	Blank	Blank
59	Blank	Blank
60	Blank	Blank
61	Blank	Blank

Extras
The guide allows for "extra foods" in moderation, recognising that these can add to the enjoyment of a healthy diet. "Extras" tend to be high in fat, sugar, alcohol and/or salt but relatively low in useful minerals and vitamins.
During the past 3 days, which of the following "extras" have you eaten, and how much?

	Did you eat any..	Serve Size	Serves in past 3 days
62	Doughnuts?	1 (40 g) doughnut
63	Sweet Biscuits?	4 (35 g) plain sweet biscuits
64	Cake?	1 slice (40 g) cake
65	Chocolate?	25 g chocolate (1/2 small bar)
66	Cream/Mayonnaise?	2 tablespoons (40 g) cream/mayonnaise
67	Soft Drink?	1 can (375 ml) soft drink
68	Potato Crisps?	1 small packet (30 g) potato crisps
69	Meat Pies/Pasty?	1 (210g) meat pie or pastie
70	Hot Chips?	12 (60 g) hot chips
71	Icecream?	2 scoops (65 g) ice cream
72	Alcoholic Drinks?	approximately 2 standard drinks
73	Butter/Margarine/Oil?	1 tablespoon (20g)
74	Blank	Blank

 

AVERAGE DAILY INTAKE (serves)

	Average serves per day	Percentage of diet	IDEAL	Functions of the  Food Groups
Bread, cereals, rice, pasta and noodles		%	40%	Energy Foods
Vegetables		%	40%	Protective Foods
Fruit and fruit juice
Dairy products (milk, yoghurt, cheese)		%	20%	Growth Foods
Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts
Extras		%	00%	Useless Foods

Did you find the test above useful?