Monday Meanderings - Healthy Eating

The United States Department of Agriculture made a huge announcement last Thursday. The Food Pyramid that was revealed in 1992 has been replaced by the new My Plate.

As you can see on My Plate, half of the plate is filled with fruits and vegetables, grains and protiens fill the other half and then there is a seperate small plate to represent dairy. This is an easier picture for citizens to understand and comprehend as we go about our meal planning. In addition to the recommendations above the USDA also recommends that at least half of yoru daily grains be whole grains and that your dairy be fat-free or low fat (1%).

You can read the new dietary guidelines here. They have not updated all of the guidelines yet. I was hoping that they personalized recommendations for preschoolers would be completed for this article but as of yet they are still updating them.

Here are links to some great resources for keeping kids healthy.

First we have Kids Health which is dedicated to keeping kids safe and healthy. They have a variety of articles on the website from social-emotional to weight loss and healthy recipes. Here is a link to a quiz for kids entitled, What is the right size for me?

Next is Eating Well Magazine with a list of great recipes for kids and families. Personally, I am going to be trying out the spaghetti and meatballs very soon. It looks delicious and you get six servings and only use 8 ounces of meat! Economical, healthy and looks delicious.

Have you heard about Super Healthy Kids yet? If not, you should really drop everything and head on over to her website. She sells a plate that is perfect for kids to use for portion control and it fits the new dietary guidelines. She has been selling the plates for a few years now and has great testimonies from parents that have used the plates to change thier families eating habits. She also has some amazing recipes on her blog. I made her 100% fruit rolls and they were really delicious!