Putting The New Food Pyramid To Work

Putting The New Food Pyramid To Work

From Business Week...excerpt :

" You don't have to become a vegetarian to incorporate healthy foods into your diet. Nutritionists favor such tricks as adding fruit to whole grain breakfast cereals, topping pizza with vegetables, or adding fruits and vegetables to standard recipes. Serve a vegetable as the first course of the evening meal -- you'll eat more of it because you're hungry. For fussy children who don't like veggies floating in their pasta sauces or soups, puree the ingredients in the blender first.

The food pyramid recommends switching at least half your grains to whole grains. Dr. Walter C. Willett of Harvard School of Public Health complains that this advice falls short -- all grains should be whole, since white flour and other processed grains can contribute to heart disease. As a start, always look for the word "whole" on bread and cereal labels. If the main ingredient on a multigrain bread is enriched wheat flour, for example, it does not contain whole grain. Mix brown rice and whole wheat pasta with their refined counterparts to get used to the taste. And add sweeteners to a healthy cereal at the table rather than buying presweetened brands; you'll consume a lot less sugar.