Meat and Potatoes, Man

What do you think about the new food pyramid? I think it's great. To tell you the truth, I never paid attention to the old (most recent) one, I thought it was ridiculous. There have been several, the latest one particularly detestable. Low fat ranch dressing at school, for example. At least, give us a choice. I have always prioritized protein and dairy products. And potatoes. Meat and potatoes, man. That's what I'm talking about. What we ate growing up, what I still eat. I just noticed how many times the food pyramid has changed. You can look it up. I guess it all started in 1992 with grains at the bottom, fats at the top. It never made any sense to me. All the servings of fruits and vegetables you were supposed to eat, how much of this and how much of that. I don't remember any of it. I never paid any attention to it, and the one JFK, Jr. has designed looks much more like what I have been doing all my life. Why? Because it makes sense. The new pyramid is upside down, too. I love it. I eat a lot of deli chicken. I eat potatoes and butter. I eat beef and bean burritos every day for lunch. I eat eggs and English muffins, and cheese omelets on Saturday. I use olive oil for cooking and in salads. But I probably don't eat enough salad, and I probably don't eat enough vegetables, in fact I know I don't eat enough vegetables and salad. But I'm healthy and I'm not on any medication. I suspect that will be the testimony of more people once this new food pyramid catches on. I really believe that. I also like sweets too much, I'm aware of that also. My mother always used to tell me her dad, who was slim and trim and a hard worker, who did carpentry and painted and wall-papered for a living, said people should "Eat to live, not live to eat." My mom was also slim and trim and said the same thing. My favorite foods growing up were her chili, her spaghetti and her macaroni and cheese, and these things are my favorites, still. I don't get tired of eating a beef and bean burrito with a slice of pepper jack cheese every day for lunch, sometimes with salsa, sometimes with (low fat) ranch dressing (I learned that from the kids; they like it on their pizza). It is not boring, it is simple. People laugh at me for doing that, but that's okay. I love boiled new potatoes with butter and salt and pepper, and baked potatoes with butter and salt and pepper. I'm glad the new food pyramid doesn't shame me for eating butter. I haven't looked to see if there is a limit to how much you should eat. I wouldn't follow it if it did. I just eat what I like to eat. I think a lot of the problem with earlier food pyramids is that they told people not to eat the food they like. For example, low fat everything. Well, then, why is obesity such a problem now? I don't want to eat low fat anything. I do drink 2% milk, but I may go to whole milk, I don't know. I'm pretty used to 2%, and, actually 1% for lunch. Anyway, I am glad it's changed, but it won't affect me, other than to kind of validate for me what I've already been doing. That is nice, rather than feeling like I should change my diet all the time because it's not what the food pyramid is saying. It has been a source of stress for me to think I'll never eat enough servings of this or that. So, happy eating, everyone! I love the new food pyramid. They can take all the old ones and throw them in the dumpster. I think the guidelines are commonsense, and that is refreshing for me.