Eat Real Food

refrigerator view of various watermelon meals/foods

A simple approach to healthy eating starts with real, whole, nutrient-dense foods.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 encourage Americans to Eat Real Food by choosing whole, nutrient-dense foods and reducing highly processed foods. The new Real Food pyramid highlights three key areas:

Protein, dairy and healthy fats
Vegetables and fruits
Whole grains

For fruits and vegetables, the guidance encourages a wide variety of whole, colorful, nutrient-dense choices in their original form, prioritizing freshness and minimal processing.

Watermelon + Real Food

Watermelon fits naturally into a real-food approach to eating. As a whole fruit, watermelon delivers nutrition and hydration in a naturally sweet, refreshing package.

The Dietary Guidelines recommend 2 servings of fruit each day as part of a healthy eating pattern. Choosing a variety of colorful fruits helps provide the nutrients our bodies need.

Watermelon is nutrient-dense, providing beneficial nutrients with relatively few calories. A 2-cup serving of watermelon provides 80 calories and is an excellent source of vitamin C. Watermelon is also 92% water, making it a delicious way to help support hydration.

Fresh-cut, sliced, cubed, blended or incorporated into meals and snacks, watermelon is a simple way to put real food on the table.

2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide nutrition guidance to help Americans meet nutrient needs, promote health and prevent disease. Updated every five years by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, the 2025–2030 edition centers on a simple message: Eat Real Food.

The Guidelines encourage Americans to build eating patterns around whole, nutrient-dense foods, including vegetables and fruits, while reducing highly processed foods containing refined carbohydrates, added sugars, excess sodium and other ingredients that can displace more nutrient-dense choices.

The Real Food pyramid provides a visual framework for putting these recommendations into practice and making real, whole foods the foundation of everyday meals and snacks.