Canada's Food Guide

My friend sent me the new-and-improved Canada Food Guide (CFG). I enjoyed looking over the suggested daily servings for each food groups; while smirking because I realized that I am not an avid CFG follower. What really shocked me was what was writing in the purple box titled “Eat Well”. For those who know me, know that I have a mean sweet tooth. I cannot go one day without something sweet. Below is the part that made my mouth drop:

Another important step towards better health and a healthy body weight is to follow Canada’s Food Guide by:

Limiting foods and beverages high in calories, fat, sugar or salt (sodium) such as cakes and pastries, chocolate and candies, cookies and granola bars, doughnuts and muffins, ice cream and frozen desserts, French fries, potato chips, nachos and other salty snacks, alcohol, fruit flavoured drinks, soft drinks, sports and energy drinks, and sweetened hot or cold drinks.

What do they mean by “limiting”! They might-as-well have just told us to “avoid” these foods; unless we want to be overweight. I’m sorry but I could not even think of avoiding, let alone limit myself to these intoxicating and satisfying foods. They are a required element of our daily lives. Without them, we would have a boring buffet of foods. If this was true, our appetite would be non-existing. Wait! That’s what they want; they don’t want us to eat so that we can look like that stereotypical emaciated, drama queen model, which is so fragile you are scared to breathe on her. I cannot even fathom how someone can with-hold themselves of these items as they diet. This would drive me to insanity.

If I was trying to watch my weight, some of those items would stay in my diet, and not as a limiting item, but ones I would consume regularly. Come on, cookies, granola bars, muffins, and fruit drinks are foods that I digest without thinking that their fat content will be deposited in my tissues.

It’s funny, as we speak, I am eating a muffin. Well, at least it’s a low fat blueberry bran muffin. And you know what, later on I’m going to have a granola bar (maybe two if I am really hungry).

This box is inadequate, for it is saying that we should live off of fresh fruits and vegetables. Okay, so it’s not actually saying that, but that’s how I interpreted it. I emailed my friend that sent me the CFG to voice my opinion on this “purple box” suggestion, stating that I cannot live off of fruits and veggies and lead a happy, fulfilled life (I didn’t say exactly that, but you get my drift). She replied back suggesting that I eat chocolate covered fruits and veggies! This is her compromise; however she must not have seen that chocolate was one of the listed items. Therefore, I couldn’t indulge myself in her creation; though I am thankful that I don’t have to, because I don’t think chocolate covered vegetables would be that appetizing!

So the point of this rampage is not to lead an unfulfilling life of fruit and vegetable diets, but to indulge in some foods that you crave and drool over (mine would be chocolate chip cookies)!