To Thine Own Self, Be Food

You all remember this pictorial, right? Courtesy of the USDA... Elliot, the six-year-old has been learning about this diagram in his health and PE class. This past Thursday we were talking about it, looking at it, labeling it, when I had a brainstorm. Suppose we, as a family, keep track of what we eat for the course of a day and track it on a blank copy of the current pyramid? Not altering too much what we eat or go terribly out of our way to fill the requirements, but just to see how we typically fare in getting our recommendations. Huh. Talk about eating like food matters. When you stop to think about everything you put in your mouth and where you will plot it on the pyramid...all of a sudden, the purchase of a small bag of pretzel M&Ms becomes super-important and thought-provoking. Because honestly, where would you put it? Does it really do anything for your body? These are the questions we are asking ourselves today as we attempt this "experiment". The ear

We here at the Nelson Ranch are conducting an food experiment today, which I will discuss in a later post. But for starters...here's something rather stunning... According to the new food pyramid, my children should consume 6 oz. of grains a day. Furthermore, one cup of Cheerios (any dry cereal, really) equals 1 oz. However, one cup of homemade granola (yours truly found a pretty phenomenal recipe last weekend) provides 2.5 oz. of grains. Thus, the kiddos get more bang for the buck from the homemade stuff. This isn't shocking news for those of you who do a lot of your own stuff...but it kind of was for me. And then there's Brent, the poor guy, who should consume 9 oz. of grains a day! Won't he rethink what he eats for breakfast now! Later...Lunchtime.... The kids finished up a bag of Totino's pizza rolls. I made a meat-cheese-and-veg wrap for Brent and I. Brent also consumed a serving of pizza rolls...even after he estimated the paltry numbers of veg/cheese