Choose MyPlate – Where’s the Food?: TidBit of the Day
By now, most of you know about the HUGE news, the unveiling of the new Food “Pyramid.” No longer is it a confusing triangle, but a happy circle that looks like a dinner plate. Reminds me of a pizza. Or a pie. A pizza pie.
Oh wait, no, no, the point is NOT to eat a whole pizza or a pie. Or a pizza pie.
Dairy gets its own little circle.
$2 million dollars spent on research to tell us this ground-breaking news:
- Love food, but don’t overeat
- Eat your veggies and fruits
- Drink water, not sugar
WebMD has a printout to help clarify the plate (WebMD, why is saturated fats a corn dog? I guess this is really only the U.S. dietary guidelines because I’m not sure folks around the world would recognize a corn dog. Note: I did).
As I’ve said before, we should have just listened to our grandmothers (or pay them $2 million). Then again, if this will help clarify the confusing triangle, the more awareness the better. Many of us are visual creatures, so as Dr. David Kessler, former FDA commissioner said, if this plate helps folks eat more fruits & veggies, that’s good. Marion Nestle also noted that it is so simple that even children can understand it (unlike that pyramid). While I jest at the simplicity of the message, if the USDA is willing to dedicate funds to nutrition education, then perhaps this will trend towards promoting farmer’s markets, organic foods, and small farms.
Now the question is how to get these foods ONTO this plate – and to make them affordable and accessible.
Category: Health & Nutrition, Newsbits, TidBit of the Day
I do think it’s groundbreaking in a way. What should be common sense gets lost in fad diets’ labeling whole food groups as bad. It’s easy to forget that a few people are making a lot of money out of those ridiculous notions. And a new diet with a sexy name is often a lot more fun than the tried and true.
I guess it would requires more than just $2 million dollars to answer the how-question….
I agree, for children this is so much less complicated than the pyramid,
sweetlife
Sometimes the most ground-breaking concepts come in the simplest of forms. I definitely love the new circle!
Hi Belinda! Oh… I didn’t know about this. It’s interesting. I grew up in more healthy conscious country (I think?) and most people are pretty well educated about nutrition even when they are young. If $2 million dollars will change the way we think here, it’ll be nice…But it will take a long time for people to execute what they “know”…
good points and wow 2 million eek
isn’t it crazy how many times we can be told the same thing yet be “confused”?!
I like the new version but 2 million? I wonder who has that money now. And is those who got it are buying organic or following the new guidelines.
Great article Belinda.
Have a great fun weekend!
Hugs,
Mely
Saw this on the news last night, more fruits and veggies, I think we have known this, but maybe the new design will help us picture it. Two million dollars is pretty steep price tag though!
~Brenda
So it would be me that said this, but what about dessert? Guess I am going to have to hop over to WebMD and check out the details.
There still way too much emphasis on grains. The wide availability of grains is a relatively recent product of technology. Before humans invented agriculture, there just wasn’t piles of it available. The human race was born from and adapted to what can be foraged and hunted.
Love the circle instead of that intimidating and confusing pyramid
Short and sweet. Like the Dairy circle in the side. Lovely article.
yes, i think this is relatively more helpful, but i was kind of left wondering how MUCH of each item I should eat? Ideally (maybe this is me), the .gov would create a ‘plate’ with that showed a larger percentage dedicated to fruits/veggies and relatively more grains than protein….. hummmmm……especially if this is being targeted towards children…..
It’s nice that it was spent a lot to come with a plate like that. Maybe it’s simple than the pyramid, but it might give the wrong idea of having one big meal per day in that plate; or how to divide that plate into little plates during day? I’m just messing up a little bit here
Great post
, Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters
Whatever works I say. It’s important to feed your children right from the beginning so they get used to it. My kids eat a lot of fruits, veggies, and whole grains. They don’t even really like french fries.
Great post Belinda. I personally like the circle…it is more visually appealing since resemble a plate…maybe with this new design will be easier for kids (and adults)to follow. Have a wonderful week
I think issuing a “new” food guideline is always a good way to renew the conversation of diet. The food pyramid was just getting too old. Perhaps the next thing everyone will get excited about is actually making good nutrious food get on the plate easier.
I saw the unveiling of the plate, and I kind of giggled. There’ve been variations of this plate for years now from various nutrition organizations, so the fact that they spent 2 million for this???
And are the people who really need to eat better actually paying attention? I wonder…
The next step, as you say, is to get some food on that plate. I’m afraid that society is at such a state, and the food system in such a mess, that many are no longer able to identify a protein, or a vegetable.
Boy, what a cynic I’ve become! Theresa
Wow that IS ground breaking.
Amazing where our tax dollars go.
It sure would be nice if fruits and veggies more affordable than McDonalds
I’ve heard about this plate, but this is the first time I actually see it
. How much would it cost them now to explain what “protein” means 
i heard that the food pyramid was getting a makeover but didn’t see it till now. thanks for showing this plate.
it seems odd that so much money was spent to tell us what we already know…
Great article, Belinda; yes, serious price tag but if it helps people sit up and listen… they’ve raised awareness, at least.
Great post, Belinda!!!!Thank you for sharing this interesting article!
Over in the UK we switched from the pyramid to the plate a little while ago. I think it makes it easier to understand but if people can’t get the food they need for the ‘perfect plate’ then that’s where the money should be spent.