not my plate

I applaud the USDA for finally doing away with the food pyramid, which were notoriously out-dated and allegedly changed due to the funding from various food lobby groups (cough cough DAIRY cough). And I think that the new My Plate guidelines are definitely a step in the right direction; meat or protein is a portion of a heathy meal, not the main focus of the plate. Greater emphasis is being placed on fruit and veggies, also on portion control.

But look at that photo up there. So sad. So puritan. Who could get excited about eating that?

I'm not even sure what that pinkish gelatinous brick of "protein" is, but I think it's charming that they allowed it to retain it's unadulterated can-shaped form. Clearly the fruit and veg came from a can. And I don't think they could have found a more processed looking piece of wheat bread if they tried, probably full of a long list of unpronounceable ingredients and sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.

And this was the plate displayed by the USDA at the UNVEILING of this new program. It's like wearing crocs and a sack on your wedding day. What an amazing opportunity to get people excited about the possibilities of delicious, unprocessed, home cooked food. And instead, they splort open three cans and a bread bag.

I want so desperately to tell anyone desiring to eat better and staring into the joyless abyss of that plate, that eating well doesn't have to look like that, and in fact, it doesn't look like that. Chemicals from those processed foods are not part of your well-balanced diet and they do not belong on your plate. Go to a farmers' market or your local natural foods store, EXPLORE, EXPERIMENT and have FUN with food. ENJOY!