Whew!  

I, for one, feel so much better now that the old food pyramid has been buried and a new American food plate has been instituted. 

The food pyramid was SO-O-O confusing showing blocks stacked on top of the other designating amounts of protein, grains, fruits and veggies that constitute a healthy diet. 

Now we can look at "My Plate" which is divided into color-coded quarters that show how much space protein, grains, fruits and veggies should be on our dinner plates. 

Then, off of the plate and in the right-hand corner, is a circle for "dairy."

So, everybody run to your kitchen, grab a plate and let's do dinner. 

This is going to be so much easier.

Ready? 

Since half the plate is supposed to be filled with "fruits" and "veggies," we'll begin there.

Put some broccoli and spinach in the "veggies" section and peach slices and grapes in the designated "fruit" quarter. 

Now take a tomato and--uh oh.

Does that go in the "fruit" section or the "veggie" area?

Never mind.  Just throw it on top. 

Now let's move on to the "grains."

It's recommended that half your grains be WHOLE grains.

Does a Parker House roll made with wheat flour instead of white flour count?

Should raisin bread be on the "fruit" side of the plate or the "grain" side? 

And...what about unbleached flour ?

Okay--we have a little problem here as well.

But, not to worry, we'll move on to "proteins" as soon as we can find out what foods have protein.

Gee, maybe that quarter of the plates should include a list for anyone who didn't have a home economics class in school.

Well, never mind.

We can handle the "dairy" circle with the greatest of ease.  Just fill up a glass with fat-free or low-fat milk and we¹ll be good to go. 

Oh, wait a minute.

I wanted to have some yogurt with my meal.

Can I still have a glass of milk, too?

And what if I brown bag a meal to work or school?  Do I have to bring a plate along to be sure I hit my mealtime quota? 

Gee, this was supposed to make eating healthier and less confusing. 

But, it seems like the same old problem as the food pyramid, which it was supposed to fix.

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