The three groups of foods you eat from are often shown as a food pyramid:

• The bottom of the pyramid is the biggest part of the pyramid. It contains the foods you should eat lots of.
• The middle of the pyramid contains foods you should eat some, but not too much of.
• The top of the pyramid is the smallest part of the pyramid. It contains foods you can eat once in a while. 

Things to remember
Healthy foods contain things like vitamins, minerals and fibre.

• Not-so-healthy foods usually contain lots of fat, sugar and/or salt.
• Try to eat a wide variety of healthy foods.

You can eat lollies, cakes and chips, but only every now and then!

Three groups of food 
The foods you eat have been divided into three groups based on how healthy they are. You can use these groups to help you decide which foods to eat more of and which to eat less of.
Group 1: Eat lots of theseYou should eat lots of:

• Fruit and vegetables
• Breads
• Cereals such as rice and pasta
• Beans and lentils

These foods contain vitamins, minerals and fibre. Try to eat a wide variety of these healthy foods. Don't just pick one of these foods (such as fruit) to eat. You need to eat plenty of all of the foods from this group to stay healthy.
Plant foods contain thousands of healthy nutrients (small parts), which help to prevent serious diseases. This is why it is important to eat different types of plant foods. 

Group 2: Eat some but not too much of theseThese foods are also healthy and you should eat them in small to medium amounts:

• Dairy products such as milk, cheese and yoghurt
• Meat
• Chicken (without skin)
• Fish
• Nuts

These foods are a good source of protein and/or dairy, which your body needs to stay healthy.
Group 3: Eat these only once in a while
These foods contain lots of sugar or fat (or both) but little or no vitamins, minerals or fibre. If you are healthy, active and not overweight, you could possibly have a small amount of these 'extra foods' a day - as long as you've had your daily requirements of meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables and cereals. 
But remember, these foods offer very little health benefit and are really just 'extras'. An example of one serving of these foods include:

• Sweet biscuits (2 small)
• Chocolate coated bars (1 bar)
• Crisps (one small bag)
• Ice cream (2 scoops)
• Lollies/chocolate (one piece/one small bar)
• Cake/muffin (1 medium piece)

See http://www.fooddudes.ie/html/kids_healthy.html for more information

This information has been taken from the Food Dudes website.