It has been a very long time since I last issued a blog posting, but I have been hard at work on a very exciting project which I hope to have news about in the upcoming weeks. In returning, I will be posting on a weekly basis, and will be alternating my favorite recipes and pieces on medical topics, which I hope will lend some balance to this endeavor.
To make a soft start, I’m including a picture of a correctly proportioned meal as this week’s blog post. You’ll note that in the picture below, the amount of vegetables and plant-sourced food outweighs the amount of meat by a pretty significant margin. Not only does this meet the suggestions put forward by the ‘MyPlate’ initiative, but it also meets the older criteria regarding per-day serving recommendations.
To review both briefly: The MyPlate initiative recommends a quarter of the plate be comprised of grains (in this case mashed potatoes and leeks substitutes), another quarter be protein (in this case, poached salmon), and half the plate be fruits and vegetables (in this case a mix of lettuces).
The older style ‘Food Pyramid’ recommends 6-11 servings of grains per day (we have 2 servings here), 3-5 servings of vegetables and 2-4 servings of fruit (we have 4 servings here), and 2-3 servings of meat or other protein (we have 1 serving here). This system has been largely discarded, because it’s very difficult to use – 1/2 a cup of cooked grain equals one serving, 1 cup of veggies/salad is one serving, and 3 ounces of meat qualifies as a serving (the size of a deck of cards).
As you might imagine, I prefer the ‘MyPlate’ approach. It’s simple and easy to follow, and unlike the food pyramid, it can be conveyed using enticing photos like the one below. Bon Appetit!
