TempoLife › Features › Ingredient pairing and balanced plate finder

Recipe finder

Pick one or two ingredients and this page works out what goes with them — from 86 staple foods with real USDA nutrition rows — to land a plate inside five macro bands. It is a pairing helper, not a recipe database.

86staple foods

5 macro targetsbands

100 g of each foodplate

USDA-family indexdata

This is a nutrition pairing helper built on real macro rows — it suggests what goes with your ingredient, with the numbers. It is not a recipe database and does not pretend to be one.

Pairing explorer

Pick two foods and see whether the combined plate lands inside the five bands.

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Meat and poultry

Per 100 g, USDA-family index.
Food	Kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Chicken breast	165 kcal	31.0 g	0.0 g	3.6 g
Turkey breast	135 kcal	29.5 g	0.0 g	1.5 g
Ground beef	240 kcal	25.1 g	0.6 g	14.5 g

Eggs

Per 100 g, USDA-family index.
Food	Kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat	Fibre
Egg (hard-boiled)	155 kcal	12.6 g	1.1 g	10.6 g	0.0 g

Fish and seafood

Per 100 g, USDA-family index.
Food	Kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Salmon	182 kcal	25.4 g	0.0 g	8.1 g
Tuna	184 kcal	29.9 g	0.0 g	6.3 g
Canned tuna	86 kcal	19.4 g	0.0 g	1.0 g
Sardines	208 kcal	24.6 g	0.0 g	11.5 g
Shrimp	99 kcal	24.0 g	0.2 g	0.3 g
Cod	105 kcal	22.8 g	0.0 g	0.9 g
Trout	168 kcal	23.8 g	0.0 g	7.4 g

Legumes and soy

Per 100 g, USDA-family index.
Food	Kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat	Fibre
Tofu	76 kcal	8.1 g	1.9 g	4.8 g	0.3 g
Tempeh	192 kcal	20.3 g	7.6 g	10.8 g	0.0 g
Hummus	237 kcal	7.8 g	15.0 g	17.8 g	5.5 g
Chickpeas	164 kcal	8.9 g	27.4 g	2.6 g	7.6 g
Lentils	114 kcal	9.0 g	19.5 g	0.4 g	7.9 g
Black beans	132 kcal	8.9 g	23.7 g	0.5 g	8.7 g
Peanut butter	598 kcal	22.2 g	22.3 g	51.4 g	5.0 g
Peanuts	567 kcal	25.8 g	16.1 g	49.2 g	8.5 g

Vegetables

Per 100 g, USDA-family index.
Food	Kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat	Fibre
Edamame	141 kcal	12.4 g	11.1 g	6.4 g	4.2 g
Corn	96 kcal	3.4 g	21.0 g	1.5 g	2.4 g
Peas	84 kcal	5.4 g	15.6 g	0.2 g	5.5 g
Broccoli	34 kcal	2.8 g	6.6 g	0.4 g	2.6 g
Spinach	23 kcal	2.9 g	3.6 g	0.4 g	2.2 g
Carrot	41 kcal	0.9 g	9.6 g	0.2 g	2.8 g
Tomato	18 kcal	0.9 g	3.9 g	0.2 g	1.2 g
Cucumber	15 kcal	0.7 g	3.6 g	0.1 g	0.5 g
Onion	40 kcal	1.1 g	9.3 g	0.1 g	1.7 g
Bell pepper	26 kcal	1.0 g	6.0 g	0.3 g	2.1 g
Zucchini	17 kcal	1.2 g	3.1 g	0.3 g	1.0 g
Mushrooms	22 kcal	3.1 g	3.3 g	0.3 g	1.0 g
Pumpkin	20 kcal	0.7 g	4.9 g	0.1 g	1.1 g
Cabbage	25 kcal	1.3 g	5.8 g	0.1 g	2.5 g
Beet	43 kcal	1.6 g	9.6 g	0.2 g	2.8 g
Asparagus	22 kcal	2.4 g	4.1 g	0.2 g	2.0 g
Eggplant	25 kcal	1.0 g	5.9 g	0.2 g	3.0 g

Dairy

Per 100 g, USDA-family index.
Food	Kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Greek yogurt	59 kcal	10.2 g	3.6 g	0.4 g
Cottage cheese	81 kcal	10.5 g	4.8 g	2.3 g
Kefir	52 kcal	3.5 g	4.5 g	2.0 g
Ricotta	174 kcal	11.0 g	3.0 g	13.0 g
Mozzarella	299 kcal	22.2 g	2.4 g	22.1 g
Parmesan	420 kcal	28.4 g	13.9 g	27.8 g
Feta	265 kcal	14.2 g	3.9 g	21.5 g
Swiss cheese	393 kcal	27.0 g	1.4 g	31.0 g
Whole milk	61 kcal	3.2 g	4.8 g	3.3 g
Yogurt	61 kcal	3.5 g	4.7 g	3.3 g
Sour cream	198 kcal	2.4 g	4.6 g	19.4 g
Butter	717 kcal	0.9 g	0.1 g	81.1 g

Grains and pasta

Per 100 g, USDA-family index.
Food	Kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat	Fibre
White rice	130 kcal	2.7 g	28.2 g	0.3 g	0.4 g
Brown rice	123 kcal	2.7 g	25.6 g	1.0 g	1.6 g
Oats	389 kcal	16.9 g	66.3 g	6.9 g	10.6 g
Pasta	157 kcal	5.8 g	30.6 g	0.9 g	1.8 g
Whole-wheat pasta	149 kcal	6.0 g	30.1 g	1.7 g	3.9 g
Basmati rice	356 kcal	8.7 g	77.4 g	0.9 g	0.7 g
Quinoa	120 kcal	4.4 g	21.3 g	1.9 g	2.8 g
Buckwheat	92 kcal	3.4 g	19.9 g	0.6 g	2.7 g
Barley	123 kcal	2.3 g	28.2 g	0.4 g	3.8 g
Couscous	112 kcal	3.8 g	23.2 g	0.2 g	1.4 g
Bulgur	342 kcal	12.3 g	75.9 g	1.3 g	18.3 g

Bread

Per 100 g, USDA-family index.
Food	Kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat	Fibre
Rye bread	259 kcal	8.5 g	48.3 g	3.3 g	5.8 g
Crispbread	367 kcal	11.0 g	72.0 g	4.0 g	10.5 g

Potatoes and tubers

Per 100 g, USDA-family index.
Food	Kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat	Fibre
Potato (boiled)	87 kcal	1.9 g	20.1 g	0.1 g	1.8 g
Sweet potato	90 kcal	2.0 g	20.7 g	0.2 g	3.3 g

Fruit and berries

Per 100 g, USDA-family index.
Food	Kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat	Fibre
Banana	89 kcal	1.1 g	22.8 g	0.3 g	2.6 g
Apple	52 kcal	0.3 g	13.8 g	0.2 g	2.4 g
Strawberries	32 kcal	0.7 g	7.7 g	0.3 g	2.0 g
Blueberries	57 kcal	0.7 g	14.5 g	0.3 g	2.4 g
Orange	47 kcal	0.9 g	11.8 g	0.1 g	2.4 g
Kiwi	61 kcal	1.1 g	14.7 g	0.5 g	3.0 g
Raspberries	52 kcal	1.2 g	11.9 g	0.7 g	6.5 g
Grapes	69 kcal	0.7 g	18.1 g	0.2 g	0.9 g
Pear	57 kcal	0.4 g	15.2 g	0.1 g	3.1 g
Watermelon	30 kcal	0.6 g	7.6 g	0.2 g	0.4 g
Cranberry	46 kcal	0.5 g	12.0 g	0.1 g	3.6 g
Avocado	160 kcal	2.0 g	8.5 g	14.7 g	6.7 g

Nuts and seeds

Per 100 g, USDA-family index.
Food	Kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat	Fibre
Almonds	579 kcal	21.2 g	21.6 g	49.9 g	12.5 g
Walnuts	654 kcal	15.2 g	13.7 g	65.2 g	6.7 g
Pistachios	560 kcal	20.2 g	27.2 g	45.3 g	10.6 g
Cashews	553 kcal	18.2 g	30.2 g	43.9 g	3.3 g
Flaxseed	534 kcal	18.3 g	28.9 g	42.2 g	27.3 g
Chia seeds	486 kcal	16.5 g	42.1 g	30.7 g	34.4 g
Sunflower seeds	584 kcal	20.8 g	20.0 g	51.5 g	8.6 g
Pumpkin seeds	559 kcal	30.2 g	10.7 g	49.1 g	6.0 g

Fats and oils

Per 100 g, USDA-family index.
Food	Kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat	Fibre
Olive oil	884 kcal	0.0 g	0.0 g	100.0 g	0.0 g

Sweets and desserts

Per 100 g, USDA-family index.
Food	Kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat	Fibre
Dark chocolate	546 kcal	4.9 g	61.2 g	31.3 g	7.0 g
Honey	304 kcal	0.3 g	82.4 g	0.0 g	0.2 g

How the pairing works

Each food page lists its two best partners — the foods that bring the most bands of a 100 g + 100 g plate into range. The score is nothing more than the count of the five reference bands (calories, protein, carbs, fat, fibre) the pair lands inside. The page shows every verdict, so you can see exactly why a partner scores well.

Source: USDA FoodData Central (via the baked nutrition index) · checked 2026-09-03

Frequently asked questions

Is this a recipe site?

No — and it says so. There is no recipe corpus here. It is a pairing helper: real nutrition rows for staple foods, combined so you can see which second ingredient completes the plate. The cooking is still yours.

What does "balanced plate" mean here?

A plate of 100 g of each listed food — 200 g in total — that lands inside five reference bands: 250-550 kcal, 15-40 g protein, 20-55 g carbs, 3-20 g fat and 2-10 g fibre. The bands are stated openly because they are a reference, not a prescription.

Where do the numbers come from?

The baked USDA-family nutrition index that also powers the /calories section — the same rows, the same sources. No food here has invented macros.

Why are some pairings better than others?

Because the bands are ranges: a pair whose combined macros land inside more bands scores higher. Chicken breast and brown rice land in most; chicken breast and olive oil in fewer. The page shows the verdicts, not just the score.

Find the pair, track the plate

Once the pairing is decided, TempoLife turns the grams into a logged meal against your daily targets.

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