Food pyramid outlines healthy eating for all

My thanks to Carol Johnson, chair of the healthy eating and nutrition subcommittee for giving me the info for this week's blog:

Staying healthy includes a balanced diet and getting plenty of exercise.
Practicing good nutrition and exercising regularly develops patterns that will keep you healthy throughout your lifetime.

Three basic rules for a healthy diet include:

* Variety
* Balance
* Moderation

An easy way to monitor these qualities is to follow the food pyramid.

The food pyramid provides variety in colors and textures of daily meals, and therefore, a variety in the range of nutrients you will receive.

Balance is simply eating the right amount of food from each level of the pyramid every day.

Moderation assures that you do not eat too much of any one type of food.

The five levels of the pyramid are:

1. Grains: bread, cereal, rice, pasta
2. Fruits
3. Vegetables
4. Milk, yogurt, cheese
5. Meats, fish

Sample meals and portions according to age and size are all available on line at www.mypyramid.gov.

Remember, the Wilton Farmer's Market opens tomorrow at 2 pm in the Library parking lot - lots of good, healthy spring produce!