Monday, May 15, 2006

the food pyramid??

Have you ever seen this? I recently saw this chart being used on a Japanese food show. Apparently, it has been around in Japan for awhile.

This is a re-vamped version of America's food pyramid. The Japanese version has been flipped upside down to resemble a spinning top.

At the top, there is a man running symbolizing exercise. The core of the top symbolizes water and tea.

The yellow section and the largest represents grains--rice, bread, noodles and pasta. You should get between 5 to 7 servings a day. Your total serving size in a day should equal to about 4 medium servings of rice.

The green section represents vegetables--types of potato, mushrooms and seaweeds. You should get 5 to 6 servings a day.

The brown section represents meat, fish, eggs and soy-bean dishes. You should get about 3 to 5 servings a day.

The last section is broken into two. On the left represents dairy products which you should get about 2 servings per day (although I've seen advertisements for 3 servings per day, so I'm not too sure which is correct). And on the right is fruits. You should also get about 2 servings per day.

And the little string like thing to the left of the top represents sweets, beverages such as alchohol, coffee...which we should all be having in moderation...

I thought it was kind of interesting to see how they broke down their food groups and serving sizes. The portions are smaller than what we are used to in America. The chart is kind of helpful because it tells you what your serving size would be if you ate a certain item. For example in the meat area, a serving of fried chicken (toriniku karaage) would already equal to 3 servings. Whereas, a serving of cold tofu (hiyayako), would equal to only 1 serving.

Changing the subject though, I wanted to share with you another of my favorite snacks from Hawaii. It is a party mix type snack made by Big Island Delights. This is the original version. They also have a furikake version which is a party mix covered with furikake (dry seasonings like seaweed, sesame seeds and a shoyu taste). I like the original version because it has corn chips, cheese puffs, cereal, and pretzels, plus a garlic-y, sweet and salty taste to it. Unfortunately, the contents of this bag that I got were really stale. I've written them to let them know, but I'm sure that I'll be back to buy more the next time I'm home.

Only a couple more hours until the delivery of our new shelves, I can't wait!! :)

Hope you have a great week.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Kat,

We have a similar idea here in Canada with the Canada Food Guide. It's interesting that you mention that portions are smaller in Japan. I find the same thing in Italy. While dinners are often very long with many many courses, the portions are far smaller. Here in North America I think there is a tendency to overeat.

Well that's my two cents ... have a great week!

bourgogne said...

i grew up eating japanese food and portions sort of followed your pyramid. it was fine for me then but now i can't eat as much rice. when we go out for sushi i end up leaving balls of rice after having eaten the tops :)

on the other hand, i can eat those HUGE ramen bowls. no prob!

the snax look gooooood.

Anonymous said...

I like this chart! Had never seen this version before.

Anonymous said...

That food chart looks WAY better (and cuter) then its american counterpart. The japanese are on to something there...I mean, at hula lessons, this really sweet 90-yr. old japanese lady told me that the japanese diet is the best diet, that's why she's still up and around!

K and S said...

Wow! so many good responses! Thanks for stopping by everyone.

Kat

Anonymous said...

Hi Kat - I've never seen this chart properly before but does that mean Japanese eats lots of rice and noodles? :) I love the running man also...

I'm sure it's hot in Osaka already - living in the UK, I miss summer in Japan but I hated it when I was there. It was so hot and humid that impossible to sleep properly!

K and S said...

Hi Keiko,

I forgot to acknowledge where I got the photo from, www.mhlw.go.jp, the Ministry of Health in Japan. Actually I think more and more people are eating breads than rice and noodles, here.

We've just gone into the rainy season and it is actually a bit on the chilly side. I am NOT looking forward to the humidity and heat of Japan's summers.

Take care.

Kat