I am not sure about you but I always had a problem understanding and explaining the Food Guide Pyramid. I was happy to see the steps included on the side to remind us to exercise but the reasoning for the wide to narrow banding from the bottom to the top of the pyramid was not easy to grasp.

The USDA has ditched the pyramid shape and developed a new plate design called MyPlate. The plate divides the daily composition of our meals into fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein with a small circle beside the plate to represent dairy. It is refreshing to see fruits and vegetables clearly and generously represented. I question the size of the protein portion because dairy and grains are also a source of protein. Hopefully the plate concept will reduce some of the confusion surrounding healthy food choices and enable us to picture portion control and balanced meals.

The website http://www.choosemyplate.gov offers lots of information to help you decide how to fill your plate with healthy food choices. 

To lighten the back to school load, parents can encourage their children to pack their own lunches. Younger kids can help in the lunch packing process while older children can assume most of the responsibility. The combined child parental involvement creates an opportunity to teach healthy food choices. The complete article can be viewed at the Baylor College of Medicine website.

The current issue of Time magazine has a very interesting article about how parents’ experience early in their lives might somehow alter the traits their offspring inherit. The article deals with a new science called epigenetics. Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene activity, brought about by environmental factors, which get passed down to the next generation. A great read for parents interested in how their diet, stress, and prenatal nutrition can make an imprint on their children’s genes.

The Slow Food organization was founded in 1989 to promote a renewed interest in the source of food, in the preparation of food, in the taste of food, and in the worldwide effect of our food choices. Visit the Slow Food website for information about upcoming events and the latest news about the organization.

New parents are usually given a goodie bag when they leave the hospital. The moms are encouraged to breastfeed but the bags contain numerous samples and coupons for formula. Now hospitals have a choice when giving out discharge bags thank to Cottonwood Kids, a promotional products company. The company has created the country’s first breastfeeding support promotional discharge bag. Called the “Healthy Baby Bounty Bag”, it contains product samples, coupons, and information that support and encourage breastfeeding. This month, about 200 hospitals are switching to the new bag.