Plate Rule

The Plate Below is the USDA’s revision of the old food pyramid.  It illustrates the need for more fruits and vegetables. Half of your plate should be filled with them.  But if you want more specifics and which fruits and vegetables: Green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, broccoli, asparagus) are best and Berries (raspberries, blackberries, blue berries and strawberries) are the healthiest fruits.

Grains are not entirely necessary, but if you are going to eat them, it should be WHOLE GRAINS, like quinoa, legumes, and oats.

As far as proteins go, you should LIMIT red meat to once a week (or eliminate it entirely) and any animal meat you eat should be grass-fed, hormone free, organic (unless you like cancer).  Healthier sources of proteins include: eggs, nuts, beans, dairy (if from hormone-free, grass fed animals), fish (wild, not farm raised).

Dairy is not entirely necessary either, though we’ve been trained to think so, perhaps because we as mammals nurse initially? Millions of people around the world do not drink milk and lead perfectly healthy lives.  Many think the glass of milk should be replaced with a glass of water and more emphasis should be placed on what NOT to eat, like sugar, potatoes, red meat (which is directly linked to colon cancer)

There is also no mention of healthy oils, like omega threes, olive oil, fish oil, etc which are essential (in small amounts) in our diet.

So while the image below is a great starting point, the above specifics are crucial for truly healthy eating.