Goodbye Pyramid - Hello Plate!

So this is the USDA's latest re-created food guide. Gone is the beloved pyramid of my youth. In addition to the divided plate, they have a slogan for each food category.

Grains - Make at least half your grains whole
Fruit - Focus on Fruit
Vegetables - Vary your veggies
Dairy - Get your calcium-rich foods
Protein - Go lean with protein

There is also a website, Choose My Plate, that offers free tools for weight management, including diet and exercise. There are tips for eating out, for pregnancy diet, vegetarian diet, etc.

I think the new website is nice. I like that the new plate method breaks down each meal and offers a more solid visual model than the pyramid. Of course, it has weaknesses, the main one for me being that I don't eat like this, and most of America probably doesn't either. Most ethnic foods like tacos, lasagna, pizza, pasta... heck, even a casserole, combine several elements in various combinations. The new website has a chart for "mixed dishes", but only includes about 2 dozen examples.

What do you think of the new plate method?

How You Vote Every Week and May Not Realize It

At the end of the film “Food, Inc.”, we are reminded that every time we as consumers buy food at the grocery store, we are essentially voting with our wallet and choosing the way we want the food industry in our county to go. A perfect example of this reality happened to me this past weekend when I went to wholesale store Costco. I was drawn there by the allure of more affordable new tires for my car. While they worked their magic, I had some time on my hands and wandered around the store.

The last time I shopped at Costco was probably in the 90's with my mom, stocking up on Bagel Bites and Chicken Taquitos . Let me tell you, a lot has changed since those days, and I believe that it has everything to do with customer demand.

Every aisle held surprises as I noticed a startling amount of healthy foods: bags of frozen fish fillets, huge jars of almond butter for $5, bags of steel-cut oats, and organic chicken and beef. The samples we tried (always the best part of a Costco trip) included free-range chicken meatballs, fruit smoothies made in a Vitamix blender, and Organic Tuscan Italian dressing (made with sea salt) on vegetables.

This was a far cry from the Whitecastle frozen mini hamburgers I remember being offered on childhood visits to Costco. While the store may still stock the freezers with Bagel Bites, they are also adding a lot of health-conscious selections. At least where this business is concerned, the voice of the people is being heard and catered to. So never underestimate the power of your vote for organic/local produce and free-range/grass-fed/sustainable meats!

And in case you’re wondering if the Costco hot dogs taste better now than in the past, the answer is sadly: not really. But I had to check just in case, because hey, $1.50 with drink included is hard to turn down. I never learn.

The Fattiest Foods in the States

What are the Fattiest Foods in America today? I read a fascinating article on health.com which outlined a particularly unhealthy regional specialty from each of the United States.

My home state of California, known for its love of sustainable and healthy cuisine, met its match at the popular In'N'Out Burger.
Sure, the chain may be famous for the freshness of its ingredients and the cleanliness of its facilities. But the Double Double burger turns out to have twice the fat (40 grams) as a McDonalds Double Cheeseburger. Better stick with a single next time we're in the mood for a burger.

In reading the rest of the article, I was in awe of the diverse and surprising concoctions that some states call comfort food. There's Indiana, where a fried-brain sandwich may be on the menu; or North Carolina, where locals go hog-wild for livermush, "a dish with at least 30% pig liver and a mixture of pig head parts and cornmeal".

As far as senseless indulgence goes, my vote lies with Georgia. Only the South could produce the Luther Burger:
That's a "ground-beef patty, topped with cheese and bacon between two donuts instead of a bun". Paula Deen kicked it up a notch by adding a fried egg. Was this really necessary, Paula?

Check out the link to see where your state's weak spot lies!

How China Changed My Diet

Rambutan- spiky on the outside, smooth and slick on the inside

Mangosteen - Very tart, sort insides, eggplant colored on the outside


Dragonfruit - Sweet, cooling flesh with creamy texture.
Love the contrasting colors of red against black-speckled white!

The biggest dietary change I ever experienced was moving from Provo, Utah where I attended college, to Hong Kong, China where I volunteered with my church. The food in Utah was heavy, relying mostly on processed foods and dairy. Nearly everything I ate, both socially and when I cooked at home, contained cheese, milk, and probably Campbell’s soup in some form. Yogurt, quesadillas, ice cream, casseroles, cheap Italian food - these were my staples. I was uncomfortable much of the time and would later learn that I had developed lactose intolerance and mild IBS. But that’s another story.

Flash forward to Hong Kong. Rather than doing my shopping at a huge Smith’s supermarket, I ventured to the market when I needed food. The Chinese are obsessive about eating everything fresh, to the point that there are live chickens, fish, and sea creatures displayed proudly in the stalls. These unfortunate creatures will be slaughtered in front of potential buyers. It took me a long time to get over my shock at the visible organs of an open-splayed fish, still jiggling around after being hacked in half. Once the fish stops moving, it’s no longer considered "fresh".

It took me a long time to learn to eat fresh, partly because I had trouble recognizing what I saw as food! Apples and oranges were a distant memory; I discovered the sweet nuances of dragonfruit, dragoneyes, rambutans, lychees, mangosteens, and mini bananas so sweet they were like eating candy for breakfast. The soups that were urged upon us by kind Chinese friends were promised to make our skin beautiful, no matter what ingredients they contained.

Some things I never adapted to - the fatty, cartilege-ridden cuts of meat that the Chinese find superior to our leaner, meat-only versions. Or eating hot foods even in the summer instead of cool, crisp salads (older Chinese people didn't believe raw vegetables to be edible). But my health improved in my time there as I learned the benefits of a diet that is low in dairy and sweets, as well as the importance of keeping it fresh! Now I visit the Chinese markets, hoping I'll strike gold and find some of the fruits or foods I grew to love.

The KFC Monstrosity and Cavemen

What. The. Heck. Is. This.

KFC has announced that their new Double Down sandwich which debuted in April, will remain around as long as the demand for it is strong. Originally only intended as a 6-week promotion, this stunning invention features 2 pieces of fried chicken, processed ham and processed cheese. No bun. Just meat. The advertisements market the Double Down as a very "manly" thing to eat.

The sandwich contains 32 grams of saturated fat and KFC has sold 10 million already. This feels to me like a major loss in the battle against obesity in America. Furthermore, I can’t help but wonder why the idea of masculinity has to be equated with foolish dietary choices, particularly menu items that are heavy on meat and fat and light on anything nourishing. Carls Jr. generally has the corner on this market, with their ads encouraging a mentality of "I’m a manly man who hangs out with my cool guy buddies and together we stuff our arteries with the biggest, fattiest burgers in town".

I hope the future holds a different kind of advertising industry. I want to see masculine men making healthy dietary choices, taking responsibility for their bodies and health. Spokesman Jared of Subway fame comes closest to this ideal at this time, although he’s not exactly a sex symbol.

The reality of our diet comes down to this fact: a body that is healthy and fit is sexy. A diet of junk food should stop being attractive around the time of high school graduation, like many other stupid choices made by the young. Let's hope that we can evolve beyond the "carnivorous cave man" mentality by making smarter dietary choices so we can curb the tide of diet-related disease and deaths that plagues our country today.

How to Stay Thin Forever

It’s January, the month in which thousands of Americans resolve to improve their health, be it through increased exercise, better diet, or both. Today, a co-worker of mine related how she is attempting to lower her high blood pressure (which has been up for over a year now) naturally, but didn’t know where to start. I typed up a few ideas that I’ve picked up through nutrition classes and reading health magazines over the past few years since college, and gave it to her. I wanted to post it on my blog as well.

Whether you’re looking to lower your blood pressure, lose a few pounds, or have more energy, I hope you find one or two new ideas that will help you to achieve your objectives for 2010. A few are geared specifically towards a salt-restricted diet, but most are general guidelines for a healthy eating. I’m a big believer in balance. I have never gone on a "diet" because I believe that they are only temporary solutions when a balanced, healthy lifestyle is the true solution. Through small, smart decisions, I believe that anyone can enjoy health and thrive.

Healthy Start

Always start with a whole grain breakfast (like cereal with low-fat milk, oatmeal, or whole wheat toast). Also great: fruit ( I like frozen berries in my cereal) and lean protein (like eggs cooked in olive oil or turkey bacon).

Healthy Snacks (Eat One Every 3-4 hours)

Fruit, especially apples, oranges, cut up melon, berries, bananas

My Formula for Healthy Lunch/Dinners

1) Start with a whole grain like:
Whole Wheat pasta
Whole Wheat bread
Brown Rice
Whole Wheat tortillas

2) Add a lean meat or legume like:
Chicken
Fish
Lean beef
Turkey
Pinto/black/kidney/garbanzo beans
Lentils
*Avoid processed meats like hot dogs, bacon, sausage, lunchmeat, ham - they have too much salt*

3) Always include at least one vegetable (fresh or frozen are best) and, if possible, a salad with a low-fat dressing (best kind: vinaigrette).

Tips

- Remember: the more colorful the fruit/vegetable, the more nutritious it is. (Bright orange and dark green are especially good for vegetables, like carrots, sweet potatoes, and spinach or kale.)

- When you buy canned foods, always buy "low-sodium" ones.

- Use herbs to add flavor instead of fat or salt. Mrs. Dash contains a blend of herbs and spices and no salt. Try growing fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, basil, and parsley.

- Whenever possible, cook foods in regular olive oil (which contains healthy fats).

- Replace butter or margarine with heart-healthy Smart Balance or Promise and full-fat mayonnaise with low-fat, canola-based mayonnaise.

- My favorite way to get 2 servings of fruit quick is a smoothie. The easiest way to make it:

Buy bananas, cut them into chunks and freeze them. Later, combine a few banana chunks with frozen fruit like berries, peaches, etc., add juice or soy/rice/almond milk, and blend in the blender until smooth.

Low-fat yogurt (like Yoplait or Dannon)
Kashi bars or Fiber One bars
Natural oven roasted almonds, cinnamon brown sugar flavor
Whole grain crackers (like Triscuits) with thin slices of cheddar cheese (not processed American cheese)
Celery with natural peanut butter
Hummus with carrot sticks
Carrot sticks with light Ranch dressing
Dried fruit