RECORD: You will use the USDA interactive tool (suggested provided below) to log food/beverage intake for a three-day period. Make sure to include everything that is consumed. There is no judgment on your selections used in scoring, only your completion of the assignment. Save a copy of the USDA Super Tracker reports "Food Groups and Calories" and "Nutrients" and attach them (use 3 day period) for grading.
[Reports can be created and then exported as PDF, MS Excel, or MS Word file. File can be saved normally using "save as..." once exported. Option to export is on right side of window/screen.
As you record your intake, think about why you eat the foods you do on a regular basis. Consider the potential reasons below.
Flavor - Cost - Convenience - Nutrition and Health - Culture - Religion -Food industry/media - Peers - Environmental concerns
Analyze your nutritional intake, guided by the results from the Log your 3-Day Diary (from the USDA site)
WRITE-UP: Write a reflective paper of 2-3 pages of content based on your experience and results. Use the list of "food feeling" descriptive adjectives to describe how you felt after consuming the foods. If none of these adjectives adequately describes the feeling, then add your own.
If your experience resulted in any negative or uncertain feelings, explain a plan of action to change your habits to achieve better results. How did the reasons listed above influence your choice of food, and if those influences were negative, how will you go about making healthier choices in the future?
As an aspect of your analysis, describe your opinions about the nutritional analysis program you used and the level of accessibility and ease of use.
If you did not use the USDA SuperTracker, how does what you used compare to the USDA Supertracker? Is the tracker helpful? Could it be helpful to others? Do you think they were helpful?
Do you think they would be helpful to others? Will you sign up for any of the goal trackers or personal coaching available on the site? Why or why not?
Finally, determine if and how completing this assessment would aid in planning a menu.
Note that you should have four attachments: (2) two USDA reports, (1) 3-day food diary, and the (1) reflection paper.
Since this is a reflection piece that does not require research or sources beyond the interactive USDA reports, references and citations are not required, but please include a title page using APA format.