Just three food groups are enough to plan a meal

Zoe "So when planning a vegetarian meal with these three groups — grains, protein·lipid, and vegetables·fruits — if I include one from each, I'll get balanced nutrition?"

Dr. Lee "Exactly. To understand why, it helps to know that each of the three food groups contains different main nutrients. First, let's look at grains. The representative grains are rice and wheat. Other grains include Job's tears, millet, barley, sorghum, and buckwheat. The main nutrient in these grains is carbohydrates. Looking at Table 2-2, rice is 78% carbohydrate. Protein is about 7 to 11%. Lipid, on the other hand, is only 1 to 2% — very low. The rest is water. So you can simply think of grains as 'lumps of carbohydrate.'"

Susan "Then what foods are in the protein·lipid group?"

Dr. Lee "The protein·lipid group includes foods rich in both protein and lipid — three subgroups: beans, nuts, and seeds. Common beans we eat daily include soybeans (used to make doenjang) and seoritae black soybeans. Nuts include walnuts, pecans, cashews, almonds, macadamia, Brazil nuts, and others. Seeds include pine nuts, perilla seeds, sesame seeds, and black sesame seeds. Nutritionally, these are about 30% protein and 40% lipid. Since beef — known as a high-protein food — is only about 20% protein, plant-based protein·lipid foods can actually be considered better in terms of protein content. They're also rich in insoluble fiber, which increases stool volume, healthily stimulates the intestinal wall, promotes intestinal motility — speeding up the passage of stool — and supports beneficial gut bacteria. Fiber is the food of beneficial gut microbes."

Table 2-2. Major nutrient ratios in the Three-in-One food groups.