Dish Diet™
serving size portion control plates
News Update
Replacement for Food Pyramid: a Plate
The USDA replaced the food pyramid with a plate icon. 
Although the plate tries to show you a ratio of the types of foods that you need for a balanced diet, it does not help you in any way with your portion size. The one-size-fit-all plate is helping make us all large-size-fit-all. Using the information of balanced meals with the right sized portion for you will help you get a healthy pathforward. The plate does not address sweets and oils and fats... The carb lovers in us still like the pyramid...
More info coming soon.......
The Old Food Pyramid?
The USDA Food Guide Pyramid
The old USDA food guide pyramid was around for many years. Most of us are familiar with using this food pyramid picture:
Using food pyramids makes it easier to remember the different food groups and how to eat a balanced diet.
The older food guide pyramid included the following categories:
- Fats, oils, and sweets
- Milk, Yogurt and Cheese
- Meat, Poultry, Eggs, Nuts, Fish and Dry Beans
- Vegetables
- Fruit
- Bread, Pasta, Rice and Cereal
This older version of the food pyramid became outdated due to a better understanding of what should be included in eating healthy diets, and the need to educate people about the importance of exercise and physical activity in maintaining or losing weight.
The New Food Pyramid
The new food pyramid takes into account the years of research and test results that have happened since the old pyramid first came out. The new food pyramid more accurately depicts what portions of food should be eaten in relationship to the other foods.
The new food pyramid includes:
- Grains
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Milk
- Meat and Beans
- Oils
- Physical Activity
My Food Pyramid
Everyone is different and has different needs. So how do you use "My Food Pyramid"?
Each section is a different size to show how much of that food group you should be eating compared to the other groups. You have to take into account your age, sex and physical activity level when planning your menu. Men usually have more muscle mass and burn calories differently than women do. Older adults may need fewer calories than younger ones. If you need to lose weight, then you need to adjust your portions accordingly. To lose weight, you have to burn up more calories than you eat each day. And you should eat healthy food choices to improve the nutritional value of your diet.
A Closer Look at The New Food Pyramid
Lets look closer at each of the new food pyramid groups.
Grains include bread, pasta, oats, crackers, and rice just to mention a few. It is recommended that you have a total of at least 3 ounces of grains per day. To really help you even more make sure that your bread, pasta, crackers, and even cereal have whole grains in them.
Vegetables include all the vegetables or the 100 percent vegetablejuices. You do have sub groups of vegetables, which are: dark green (like broccoli), orange (like carrots), dried peas and beans, starchy ones, and others. You need to eat more from the dark green and orange groups than the other groups.
The fruit category includes all fruits and the 100 percent pure fruit juices. Fruits are our main source of vitamin C so they are vital to our health.
Oils are just fats that are in liquid form when at the temperature of the room. This is like the certain oils we use in cooking. This is the narrowest strip on the food pyramid you need to watch how much oil you consume and try not to go over the daily-recommended level.
The milk group includes most dairy products except for cream, cream cheese, and butter. These three are excluded because they lose their calcium during processing. So choose from the diary sources inside this pyramid that retain their calcium value such as milk, yogurt, and other types of cheese. Also make sure they are the low fat or even fat free choices.
Meat and beans include any of the meats and protein rich beans. Of course with the meat it should be lean meat. Dried beans, fish, eggs, and nuts are part of this group too. To cook the meat or fish you need to grill it, bake it, or even broil it for the low fat way to prepare it.
Physical activity is recommended on a daily basis of at least 30 minutes a day. This should be done at a moderate pace if you are not used to activity otherwise you can get more vigorous with it. It can be anywhere from walking to running to gardening.
If you pay attention and follow the recommendations of the new food pyramid, you may live a longer, healthier life.
Portion Plates & Bowls
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