Exchange lists¶
The menu is built in portions , not grams. A portion is a fixed quantity of macronutrient; the foods listed under it are interchangeable because they deliver that same quantity.
This is what makes the framework work. When the client swaps grilled chicken for lentils, the arithmetic behind their menu does not move.
The six groups¶
Every food the menu uses belongs to exactly one group. The per-portion values below are the ones step 5 divides by, and they are rounded — real foods vary, and the rounding is deliberate so the client is counting spoons, not decimals.
| Group | Carb (g) | Protein (g) | Fat (g) | kcal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starch | 15 | 3 | 1 | 80 |
| Protein | 0 | 7 | 1 | 35 |
| Fat | 0 | 0 | 5 | 45 |
| Vegetable | 5 | 2 | 0 | 25 |
| Fruit | 15 | 0 | 0 | 60 |
| Dairy | 12 | 8 | 3 | 100 |
Two things about this table
The protein portion is lean. 0–1 g of fat: fish, chicken breast, tofu, white cheese. Fattier proteins are counted as protein plus fat — an egg is 1 protein + 1 fat, 30 g of hard cheese is 1 protein + 1 fat. This keeps the fat budget visible and spendable on olive oil and tahini rather than hidden inside the protein.
The kcal column is the conventional rounded figure, not the exact 4/4/9 arithmetic of the macro columns — it reads about 3% low across a full day's portions. That is expected and harmless, because step 5 reconciles portion counts against macro grams, never against the kcal column.
7 g is small on purpose
7 g of protein is one egg, not one chicken breast. It is the smallest unit that composes cleanly across meat, dairy and legumes, which means a meal target of 30–40 g of protein lands on a whole number of portions — 4 to 6 — rather than on a fraction.
The client never sees the number 7. They see. The portion is the agent's accounting unit; food is the client's.
Legumes count twice¶
Cooked legumes are the one food that appears in two groups, because half a cup delivers both a starch portion and a protein portion. Count both. This is not a bonus — it is why works as a main course and why step 5's arithmetic does not break when a vegetarian pattern pushes protein onto plants.
Starch — 1 portion¶
| Food | Portion | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wholemeal bread | 1 slice, 30 g | |
| Pita, wholemeal | ½ small | |
| Cooked brown rice | ½ cup, 90 g | |
| Cooked wholemeal pasta | ½ cup, 80 g | |
| Cooked quinoa | ½ cup | Also ½ protein portion |
| Cooked buckwheat | ½ cup | Also ½ protein portion |
| Rolled oats | 3 tbsp dry, 30 g | |
| Sweet potato | 100 g, one small | |
| Potato | 100 g, one small | |
| Cooked legumes | ½ cup | Also 1 protein portion |
| Brown rice cakes | 2 | |
| Corn | ½ cup kernels | |
| Wholemeal couscous | ½ cup cooked |
Refined versions of these — white bread, white rice, instant noodles — are not listed and are not used. See Food quality.
Protein — 1 portion¶
| Food | Portion | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fish | 30 g cooked | |
| Chicken or turkey | 30 g cooked | |
| Lean beef | 30 g cooked | Limit — see Food quality |
| Egg | 1 whole | Carries ~5 g fat — count 1 protein + 1 fat |
| Cottage cheese 5% | 50 g | |
| White cheese ≤5% | 50 g | |
| Tofu | 60 g | Phytoestrogen source — see Menopause |
| Edamame | ½ cup shelled | Phytoestrogen source |
| Cooked legumes | ½ cup | Also 1 starch portion |
| Hard cheese ≤9% | 30 g | Carries fat — count 1 protein + 1 fat |
| Greek yoghurt 3% | 100 g | |
| Sardines, tinned | 30 g | Calcium source — see Supplements |
| Protein powder | ⅓ scoop | Only if already used — see Supplements |
Fat — 1 portion¶
| Food | Portion |
|---|---|
| Olive oil | 1 tsp |
| Avocado oil | |
| 1 tsp | |
| Avocado | 30 g, about ⅙ of a large one |
| Raw tahini paste | |
| 2 tsp | |
| Prepared tahini | 1 tbsp |
| Almonds | |
| 6 | |
| Walnuts | 3 halves |
| Pumpkin seeds | |
| 1 tbsp | |
| Ground flaxseed | 1 tbsp |
| Peanut or almond butter | |
| 2 tsp | |
| Hummus | 2 tbsp |
| Olives | |
| 8 | |
| Pesto | 2 tsp |
Only fats from the approved list appear here. Canola, sunflower, corn and soybean oils and margarine are not portions of anything — they are not used.
Vegetable — 1 portion¶
100 g raw, or ½ cup cooked. Practically: a fist of salad, half a cucumber, a medium tomato, a cup of leaves, half a cup of cooked broccoli.
Vegetables are the one group the client is told they may exceed. The count in the menu is a minimum, not a budget, and the menu says so. Starchy vegetables — potato, sweet potato, corn, peas — are not in this group; they are starch.
Cruciferous vegetables are called out separately in Menopause and should appear in at least one option per day where that protocol applies.
Fruit — 1 portion¶
| Food | Portion |
|---|---|
| Apple, pear | 1 medium |
| Berries | 1 cup |
| Orange, clementines | 1 large or 2 small |
| Banana | ½ medium |
| Grapefruit | ½ |
| Kiwi | 2 |
| Melon, watermelon | 1 cup diced |
| Grapes | 12 |
Two fruit portions a day, tart fruits preferred — apple, berries, citrus, kiwi, grapefruit over banana, grapes and melon. Dried fruit is not a fruit portion in this system; it sits with added sugars.
Dairy — 1 portion¶
| Food | Portion |
|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup, 200 ml |
| Yoghurt, plain | 1 cup, 200 g |
| Kefir | 1 cup |
| Labneh | 100 g |
| Unsweetened soy milk | 1 cup — phytoestrogen source |
Sweetened yoghurts and dairy desserts are not dairy portions. Unsweetened almond, oat and rice milks are close to macronutrient-free and are not counted at all — they are treated as a drink, though oat milk carries enough starch that a cup or more should be counted as ½ a starch portion.
Foods with no portion¶
Some things the client eats are not in the system, and the menu should say so rather than leave the client guessing.
- Free: water, herbal tea, green tea, black coffee, lemon, vinegar, herbs and spices, garlic, raw leafy greens beyond the vegetable count.
- Counted as its parts: any composed dish. Shakshuka is 2 protein (eggs) + 2 vegetable + 1–2 fat. Break it down; do not estimate it whole.
- Not in this system at all: alcohol, sweetened drinks, confectionery, fried food, processed meat. These have no portion because the menu does not allocate any. Where a client's intake shows them, that is handled in step 8, not by inventing an exchange.