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Food pyramid: Stick to it
Promised Land Bread
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
TheReporter.Com
There's something, well, peculiar, about the food pyramid just released by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Never mind that it took four years and $2.4 million to change the 13-year-old
pyramid into the one you see today.
The new pyramid shows a stick figure racing up the steps. Sticks, as you
know, need lots of exercise, and the way
they get it is by racing up the steps
of a food pyramid. Shake a leg! Get the lead out! You go, girl (or guy)! There's
a triple cheeseburger, a double order of French fries and a super-sized
chocolate shake waiting for you at the top.
Sticks do not race up steps. They stand at the bottom and push the elevator
button.
Next to The Stick Person are six vertical, rainbow-colored bands stretching
from the top to the bottom, or apex to
the base. You can't possibly know they
represent the food groups unless you go to www.mypyramid.gov. The reason
they
call it "my pyramid" is because it's yours. You paid for it and you
can personalize it.
There are no icons or labels on the bands of colors, probably because the
USDA folks want you to get more exercise
by clicking on the individual colors.
Then you will learn that orange is for grains, green is for vegetables, red is
for fruit,
yellow is for oils, blue is for milk, and purple is for meat and
beans. Just think of the tri-tip on your plate as purple. Got
milk? Got blue? If
you can remember all that, then you pass with flying colors.
Do not confuse the colors with homeland security advisory system of terrorist
alerts. You know, green is low, blue is
guarded, yellow is elevated, orange is
high, and red is severe. We are in a yellow alert now, and that means oils in
the
food pyramid. If we go up a color to orange, we're on high alert for grains.
And red? Severe terrorist attack and fruits.
That's something to shake a stick
at.
If you're really confused, just think of "red and blue" as
representing the states that went Republican or Democrat in the
last
presidential election. Blue? That would be Democrats. Land of milk. Forget the
honey. Red? In the grand pyramid
scheme of things, that would represent
Republicans and fruits.
We can all be thankful that the USDA didn't name the colors after the Crayola
crayons. Mango tango for orange.
Mountain meadow for green. Cranberry for red.
Banana mania for yellow. Denim for blue. And purple mountain's
majesty for
purple.
What USDA is trying to tell us is this: Eat your fruits and vegetables. Eat
whole grains. Eat calcium-rich foods. Get
more exercise. Do not cross over into
the Great Divide and eat junk food. Twinkies and Krispy Kremes are not on
the
food pyramid. Neither are potato chips, cheese curls or candy bars. They will
make you round.
Food choices are indeed a major problem. Statistics show that 64 percent of
U.S. adults are overweight or obese.
The number of children and adolescents in
America who are overweight has tripled during the past three years.
High-fat,
high-sugar foods and lack of exercise are the culprits.
By placing the food guide pyramid on the Internet and letting folks
personalize it - isn't that what those teenage boys
with raging hormones are
doing on the public-access computers in the Solano County libraries? - the plan
is to
educate us about nutritional food choices, physical activity and healthy
lifestyles.
Trying to reach everyone via the Internet does have its drawbacks. Internet
use is growing rapidly, but not so much
among ethnic groups and low-income
households. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project,
May-June
2004 Tracking Survey, 63 percent of American adults go online. Among black
adults, Internet usage
stands at 43 percent; Hispanic adults, 59 percent. In
low-income households (less than $30,000 a year) only
44 percent of adults use
the Internet.
University of California Cooperative Extension nutritional experts are
working to spread the word to those who
may not otherwise hear it. And, one-size
does not fit all, they point out. "The new pyramid captures the important
dietary concepts of personalization, gradual improvement, physical activity,
need for variety, and moderation in
serving size," says U.C. Berkeley
nutrition education specialist Joanne Ikeda.
It's a promise they are keeping.
Speaking of promises, you have to try Marjorie King's original recipe for
Promised Land Bread. Marjorie, a former
Fairfield resident, was known as
"The Herb Lady" at the now defunct Solano County Fair Gourmet Cooking
Festival
and the equally defunct Vacaville Onion Festival.
She now pushes mowers (she owns Reel Mowers Etc.) and healthy lifestyles in
Granada. Of her recipe, she says:
"The Promised Land refers to the biblical
'land of milk and honey.' This recipe is easy; the honey seems to encourage
the
yeast, and milk bread is said to keep longer than that made with water. It is my
favorite way to make bread.
"This light, rich dough is very versatile," she adds. "You can
use it for dinner rolls, sandwich rolls or breakfast treats,
such as cinnamon
rolls. It also makes a delightful doughnut."
Promised Land Bread
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 package or one tablespoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
6 cups sifted unbleached white flour (approximately)
Place butter, salt and honey in mixer bowl. Scald milk, add to bowl; allow to
cool. Soften yeast in warm water. When
milk mixture has cooled to lukewarm, add
yeast mixture. Add about two cups of flour, beat well, then gradually add
remaining flour to make a light, sticky dough. Turn dough into greased bowl,
cover and chill thoroughly, then form into
your favorite roll shape. Allow to
rise in a warm place until dough is doubled in bulk.
Bake at 400 degrees F until golden brown. Remove from oven, allow to cool for
a couple of minutes, then turn rolls
over to finish cooling upside down.
For shaped rolls: Try making small dough balls for plain rolls. Make large
balls for sandwiches. Top sandwich rolls
with poppy or sesame seeds, if desired.
For spiral rolls: Roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick, spread with butter,
butter and honey, butter and poppy seeds,
or butter, cinnamon and sugar, then
roll up into a log and slice.
For ring: Roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick, spread with chopped apples,
cinnamon, sugar, walnuts and butter.
Roll into log, place log on baking sheet,
turning it into a ring, then, using a sharp knife, slash across the ring in
several
places. When baked, glaze with powdered sugar dissolved in a little milk
and a few drops of vanilla extract.
For doughnuts: Roll to about 1/2 inch thickness, cut with doughnut cutter,
allow to rise, then deep fry. Roll in
confectioner's sugar, sugar and cinnamon,
or glaze or frost with your favorite thin chocolate frosting.
Recipe from: Marjorie King
If you want to ignore the USDA pyramid but keep the color, try this recipe
for lime bars from Alisa D. Bangerter's
cookbook, "Sweet Surprises for the
Holidays" (although you can make any day a holiday). It has added color -
green
food coloring.
Lime Bars Recipe
Bottom layer:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
Top layer:
2 eggs
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (approximately 1 large lime)
1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest (optional)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4-5 drops green food coloring
To make bottom layer: Mix together flour and powdered sugar. Cut in the
butter or margarine until crumbly and the
mixture clings together. Spread the
dough in an 8-by-8-inch pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until
lightly browned. While the crust is baking prepare the topping layer.
For the topping: In a mixing bowl, slightly beat the eggs. Add the lime
juice, zest, sugar, flour and food coloring.
Mix well and pour the mixture over
the hot baked crust. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 325 degrees. Remove from
the oven
and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool and cut into small squares.
Yield: 8 to 12 servings
Note: Recipe can be doubled and made in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
* * *
This recipe for a strawberry shake from the California Strawberry Commission
is great for after school, after work
or after any time.
After-School Strawberry Shake
1 pint basket strawberries, stemmed
2 medium bananas, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups ice cubes, divided
1/2 cup nonfat strawberry or plain yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
Place all ingredients except 1 1/2 cups of the ice cubes in blender; blend on
high speed until smooth, scraping down ingredients in blender occasionally. Add
remaining ice; continue to blend until smooth. Serve in tall glasses, dividing
equally. Serves 3.
More recipes from Kathy Keatley Garvey can be found at www.thereporter.com.
E-mail her at kathygarvey@mac.com. | 
