New nutrition guide: a plate of food

The old pyramid is gone

David Crossley, Jun 17, 11.

Virtually overnight, we’re going from a complex, often confusing pyramid to a simple dinner plate to help us see and understand how to eat healthier, according to a story in the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

The old food pyramid is now history.

The US Department of Agriculture, after input from many sources, including First Lady [Michelle] Obama, finally settled on the concept of a simple dinner plate, officially named “My Plate,” divided into four sections. Half of the plate is devoted to fruits and vegetables, approximately a quarter each, and the other half to protein and grains, also a quarter each.

From the pictures I saw, the vegetables “quarter” appeared a bit larger than the fruit “quarter,” but as I’ve not yet seen an actual plate I can measure, they may be equal. To the side of the plate is a circle, representing dairy products.

The idea behind the plate is simple; it’s an image everyone can relate to and, when you sit down to the dinner table, your plate should be half fruit and/or vegetables, and the other half should contain some protein, whether it’s meat, fish, cheese, eggs, soy product or whatever protein replacement product you use if you’re vegan/vegetarian.
USDA ChooseMyPlate.gov

Finally, the remaining “quarter” of your plate should contain grains of some sort, rice (preferably brown) or quinoa, or a slice of whole grain bread, perhaps.