Printable - Color and Sorting Food Groups - Free Printable

Let’s go row by row and figure out which foods belong in each group — and which ones don’t.

We’re using the “My Plate” food groups: Milk, Fruit, Vegetable, Grains, and Meat & Beans.

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Row 1: Milk Food Group

Foods that belong here are dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt.

- Bread → ✘ Not milk (it’s grain)
- Cereal box → ✘ Not milk (usually grain, unless it’s with milk — but the box itself isn’t milk)
- Cheese wedge → ✔ Yes! Dairy
- Ice cream → ✔ Yes! Made from milk
- Milk carton → ✔ Yes! Obviously milk
- Rocket popsicle → ✘ Not milk (it’s a frozen treat, not dairy)

So circle: cheese, ice cream, milk
Cross out: bread, cereal, rocket

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Row 2: Fruit Food Group

Fruits are sweet, grow on plants, have seeds.

- Orange juice box → ✘ It’s juice, not whole fruit (and sometimes has added sugar — not counted as fruit in My Plate)
- Butter sticks → ✘ Fat, not fruit
- Oranges → ✔ Yes! Whole fruit
- Pear → ✔ Yes! Whole fruit
- Grapes → ✔ Yes! Whole fruit
- Cherries → ✔ Yes! Whole fruit

So circle: orange, pear, grapes, cherries
Cross out: juice box, butter

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Row 3: Vegetable Food Group

Vegetables are savory plant parts — roots, leaves, stems, etc.

- Corn on cob → ✔ Yes! Vegetable (even though it’s starchy, it counts)
- Broccoli → ✔ Yes! Vegetable
- Cookie → ✘ Sweet treat, not veggie
- Potato character → ✔ Yes! Potato is a vegetable
- Apple → ✘ Wait — apple is FRUIT, not vegetable!
- Pumpkin can → ✔ Yes! Pumpkin is a vegetable (even canned)

So circle: corn, broccoli, potato, pumpkin
Cross out: cookie, apple

*(Note: Apple is tricky — many kids think it’s a veggie because it’s healthy, but botanically and nutritionally, it’s a fruit.)*

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Row 4: Grains Food Group

Grains come from wheat, rice, oats, barley — things like bread, pasta, cereal.

- Yogurt cup → ✘ Dairy, not grain
- Pretzels → ✔ Yes! Made from flour (grain)
- Donuts → ✔ Yes! Made from flour (even if sweet, still grain-based)
- Soda can → ✘ Drink, not grain
- Rice bags → ✔ Yes! Rice is a grain

So circle: pretzels, donuts, rice
Cross out: yogurt, soda

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Row 5: Meat & Beans Food Group

This includes meat, fish, eggs, beans, nuts — protein sources.

- Hot dog → ✔ Yes! Meat
- Strawberry → ✘ Fruit, not protein
- Egg → ✔ Yes! Protein source
- Cupcake → ✘ Sweet treat, not protein
- Bag of chips → ✘ Snack, usually grain or fat, not protein
- Fish → ✔ Yes! Seafood = protein

So circle: hot dog, egg, fish
Cross out: strawberry, cupcake, chips

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Now let’s double-check each row to make sure we didn’t miss anything or misclassify.

✔ Row 1: Cheese, ice cream, milk → correct
✘ Crossed out: bread, cereal, rocket → correct

✔ Row 2: Orange, pear, grapes, cherries → correct
✘ Crossed out: juice, butter → correct

✔ Row 3: Corn, broccoli, potato, pumpkin → correct
✘ Crossed out: cookie, apple → correct (apple is fruit!)

✔ Row 4: Pretzels, donuts, rice → correct
✘ Crossed out: yogurt, soda → correct

✔ Row 5: Hot dog, egg, fish → correct
✘ Crossed out: strawberry, cupcake, chips → correct

All done!

Final Answer:

Milk Group: Circle — cheese, ice cream, milk | Cross out — bread, cereal, rocket
Fruit Group: Circle — orange, pear, grapes, cherries | Cross out — juice box, butter
Vegetable Group: Circle — corn, broccoli, potato, pumpkin | Cross out — cookie, apple
Grains Group: Circle — pretzels, donuts, rice | Cross out — yogurt, soda
Meat & Beans Group: Circle — hot dog, egg, fish | Cross out — strawberry, cupcake, chips