Mexico's official food guide — the Plato del Bien Comer (often searched as plato del buen comer) — explained: the three food groups of NOM-043, SMAE portion equivalents, the Jarra del Buen Beber, and a free personalized calculator.
The Plato del Bien Comer is Mexico's official graphic of the food groups. Created by the Secretaría de Salud and set out in NOM-043-SSA2-2012, it sorts all foods into three groups and shows, at a glance, how to combine them at every meal for a balanced diet. It pairs with the Jarra del Buen Beber, which does the same for drinks. (It's often searched as "plato del buen comer," a common variant of the same name.)
The plate has three color-coded groups. Vegetables & Fruits (green) take up the largest share — they bring vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water with few calories; choose them seasonal and, ideally, raw or steamed.
Cereals (yellow) — tortilla, whole-grain bread, rice, oats, amaranth — are the day's energy and are best chosen whole-grain. Legumes & Animal-Origin Foods (red) — beans, lentils, egg, chicken, fish — combine to form good-quality protein. The classic Mexican pairing, corn with beans, is a perfect example of complete protein at low cost.
The point isn't to cut out groups but to balance them: every meal should include at least one food from each group, in the proportions the plate shows.
NOM-043 defines a correct diet by six traits. It is complete when it includes foods from all three groups at each meal, and balanced when nutrients are in the right proportions to each other.
It is safe (inocua) when it doesn't harm health — prepared hygienically and without excess — and sufficient when it covers each person's energy and nutrient needs. It is varied when it includes different foods from each group across meals, and adequate when it fits a person's age, sex, activity, culture, and resources.
The Plato del Bien Comer is the visual tool that turns these six traits into something practical: a plate built from the three groups, meal after meal.
Build every meal around the plate: fill most of it with vegetables and fruits, a portion with cereals — preferably whole-grain — and another with legumes or an animal-origin food. Always pair it with plain water, not sugary drinks.
Combine legumes with cereals (beans with tortilla, lentils with rice) for good-quality protein at lower cost. Go easy on salt, sugar, and fat, and check the NOM-051 warning seals on packaged products to spot the ones to avoid.
For a personalized guide, the free calculator on this page turns your age, sex, weight, height, and activity into daily targets per group using the Sistema Mexicano de Alimentos Equivalentes (SMAE).