You might have seen the food pyramid on the wall at your doctor’s surgery or you might remember studying it at school or seeing it in your child’s homework. You might not have seen the new food pyramid yet however.

On the older version of the food pyramid, there are several main food groups, stacked on top of each other. The biggest food group, which is on the bottom layer, is rice, bread, cereal, and pasta. This is what you need to eat the most of. Next up are vegetables and fruit. On top of that are dairy, meat, fish, eggs, nuts, and beans and right at the top is fats, which you should eat the least of.

The new food pyramid has vertical rainbow colored stripes to show the different food groups. It also tells you how many ounces or cups of each food group you should consume each day, rather than how many servings. A lot of people are unclear how big a “serving” should be.

Is it Important to Follow the Food Pyramid?

The new food pyramid encourages a balanced diet, which is something that all healthcare professionals agree upon. Your body needs a combination of grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat or poultry to function properly. It is possible to eat healthily on a vegetarian diet or vegan diet but you will need to make substitutions, such as eating beans or tofu instead of meat or poultry.

All Foods are Allowed

There are no banned foods on the food pyramid but you should eat more grains than fruit and more dairy products than oils and butter. If you are a lover of fried chicken recipes, you can make them but not every single day. Chicken is lean and healthy and oils are essential to the body.

You might want to make your favorite fried chicken batter recipe and serve the fried chicken with vegetables or a green salad to make it more balanced. Alternatively, you can eat grains, fruit, vegetables, and dairy for lunch and enjoy fried chicken for dinner. You can be healthy and enjoy the tastiest foods at the same time.

Banning all fried food or all sugary food only makes you miserable. Eating it in moderation is an enjoyable and perfectly healthy compromise unless your doctor has put you on a strict diet for medical reasons.

Eating a balanced diet does not mean a deep fried chicken in one hand and a huge plate of French fries in the other but it does mean eating some of every food and making sure you eat foods from each food group to nourish your body properly.

So, if you were unsure about what the new food pyramid means, you can rest assured that your favorite foods are definitely still on the menu!

Tags: chicken recipes, cooking, diet, eating, family, food, food and drink, fried chicken, gardening, health, home, home-and-garden, lifestyles, recipe, recipes

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