The New Food Pyramid

I know everyone's probably already seen the new food pyramid. Or should I say the new food plate. I'm actually really happy about it. I have already decided that I want to do my best to educate my kids about the food they eat as well as nutrition and exercise in general.

Last year we took Ethan to go pick apples and I plan to do so again this year (with Molly too!). I also want to go berry picking next year as well with both kids. And Joseph and I are already planning on building a raised bed for a vegetable garden. I think that getting my kids involved in the preparation of the food we eat might help them not only understand where food comes from but also get interested in eating the right kinds of food.

You don't know how excited I get when I put a chicken nugget, bowl of fruit and a french fry in front of Ethan for dinner and he goes for the fruit first (C'mon! No judging. We went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner the other night). Or when I ask him what he wants for dinner and he says broccoli. Yes, some nights he asks for fruit roll ups or ice cream for dinner but for the most part he is really good about eating a well balanced diet. And I'm happy to say that he's also started eating more than just hot dogs and bacon for protein.

And I believe that starting young will really help us in the future. If you've always had access to fruits and vegetables wouldn't you be more inclined to choose them when planning out your meals at a restaurant or when you want to make a meal for dinner.

Now I'm not knocking sweets or fast food (obviously since I just admitted to serving Chick-Fil-A nuggets and fries to Ethan) but I really think that we need to start working on moderation and variation. I'm on Weight Watchers. My goal every day is to eat at LEAST 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day. That means my breakfasts, snacks, lunches and dinners all contain at least one serving of fruit or veggies. And I've been really working on including a variety of vegetables to our every day routine. Not just salad or broccoli.

So when I see the new food plate I get excited. I hope that when my kids take a nutrition class or learn about healthy eating in school (do they still do that?) that they will just hear what they already see at home. And if you have any ideas or suggestions on how to continue down this path I'm all ears!