A Plate Icon to Replace the Food Pyramid

ChooseMyPlate.gov
The Official website for the new plate icon, MyPlate.

In April 2005, the USDA released the new, revised MyPyramid food guidance system. It was designed and promoted to help Americans make healthy food choices and to be more active every day.

This was the pyramid included in the textbook and the pyramid taught to students and educators for the past 6 years. This was the pyramid that I have been teaching to my college students and students in my daughters classrooms.

MyPyramid.gov website has provided all of the latest news, information and resources for the USDA food guidance system (the pyramid). They have also provided a variety of free resources available for educating students, patients and clients about eating healthier.

The White House's child obesity task force called for a food icon to help consumers make healthy food choices.  As a result of this report, the USDA will be revealing the new food icon (a plate) replacing MyPyramid.gov as the government's main food group symbol.

With the pyramid being phased out, it is unclear what will happen to the website, resources or if they will be able to salvage 

MyPyramid.gov Website
The official website for the USDA's MyPyramid.gov (it is likely to be changing to something else soon).

Healthy Eating Pyramid
The Healthy Eating Pyramid, built by the faculty in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, is an alternative the the USDA's pyramid. It is is a simple, trustworthy guide to choosing a healthy diet.

MyPlate - The New Food Pyramid
In June 2011 the Department of Agriculture introduced the new food icon, MyPlate.gov as a new food guide.

MyPlate Posters, Stickers and More
MyPlate materials, posters, pins, stickers, magnets and bookmarks that can be used when teaching nutrition.

MyPlate Coloring Pages
Find links to free, downloadable and printable MyPlate coloring pages.

Goodbye Food Pyramid, Hello Dinner Plate
The Obama administration is about to ditch the food pyramid, that symbol of healthy eating for the last two decades. In its place officials are dishing up a simple, plate-shaped symbol, sliced into wedges for the basic food groups and half-filled with fruits and vegetables.

Food Pyramid Gives Way To Food Plate, USA
For the last two decades the federal government has used the Food Pyramid as the basis for good nutritional advice, which never told people how much of which types of foods they should eat. The food pyramid is giving way to a simple, plate-shaped icon, which is sliced into portions for basic food groups - fruits and vegetables take up half the space.

Pyramid versus Plate: What Should the USDA's Food Chart Look Like?
Nutritionist Marion Nestle explains why the new dietary model should help Americans understand how to eat better--and how it could be better.

U.S. Government To Replace Food Pyramid With A New Food Icon
The federal government is scrapping the nearly 20-year-old food pyramid and replacing it with a new icon designed to more easily depict a healthy diet.

Farewell, Food Pyramid; Meet Your New $2 Million Replacement, a Plate
As of this coming Thursday, the food pyramid -- that symbol of healthy eating -- is going to go the way of the real pyramids and becoming a thing of the past. This week, the Obama administration will be unveiling a new graphic to tell American consumers what quantities of grains, fruits and vegetables, protein and dairy they should eat to maintain a healthy diet.

Food pyramid replacement coming June 2
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says the replacement for the Food Pyramid will be announced on June 2 - and that the new icon heralds a "monumental effort" to improve America's health.

USDA to replace food pyramid with plate icon, source says
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is planning to swap in a plate icon for the food pyramid this week, an individual familiar with the new guidelines told CNN Saturday.

Forget the Food Pyramid -- a New Symbol Is Set to Take Its Place
The nearly 20-year-old representation of a healthy diet is about to give way to a new symbol: on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture unveils its replacement for the food pyramid.

The Plate Method was originally developed to teach diabetic patients how much they should be eating from different food categories. It has become a succcessful way of teaching other people, even children about eating foods in different categories.

The Plate Method is the one that I have used for the past 5 years when teaching children in my daughters classrooms. I've taught children ranging from 1st through 5th grade about using the plate method when thinking about eating.

Even though the Nutrition textbook for the college course in nutrition teaches the food pyramid, for the last few years I've also used the Plate Method as a quick way to teach college students an easy way to understand how much to eat.

I've included an example of the handout that I use and a copy of the handout as a PDF file for those interested in downloading to use in classroom settings.