Build a Healthy Plate, Your Own Way

Build a Healthy Plate, Your Own Way infographic: Build-a-Plate teaching kit with colorful food models on a MyPlate teaching plate

Stop Measuring. Start Building.

For years, food model lessons have centered on one idea: memorize what a serving looks like. A half cup of this, three ounces of that. It's a lot to remember, and most people don't eat that way at home.

The healthy plate makes it simpler. You fill the plate the way it shows: half fruits and vegetables, then grains and protein, with dairy on the side. No scales, no measuring cups. Just a plate that looks balanced.

That's the lesson Build-a-Plate is designed to teach.

Everyone Builds Their Own Plate

Every Build-a-Plate kit comes with 19 different foods and 34 pieces, so a whole group can build at once and no two plates look alike. Learners pick the foods they actually like and arrange them on the teaching plate. One person builds pasta, chicken, and a salad. Another builds rice, beans, and fruit. Both are right, because both plates are balanced.

That's the difference between teaching a rule and teaching a skill. When people build a plate with their own favorite foods, they leave with a meal they can copy at home that night.

Tested with High School and College Learners

We tested Build-a-Plate with the high school and college students who work with us in the studio, along with recent graduates. They loved it. They built plates, compared choices, and used the free Build-a-Plate app to score their creations.

Then something even better happened. One of them started cooking healthy plate meals for her grandmother. Others are now cooking balanced meals for their families. That's the lesson sticking, and that's what hands-on learning is for.

Colorful on Purpose

We design, 3D print, and hand finish every food model in our own studio in the USA. The pieces are bright and appealing on purpose. When the food looks good, people want to pick it up, build with it, and talk about it. A positive, interactive lesson is the one people remember.