That’s because peanuts are unique in the way they combine the nutritional benefits of both nuts and legumes. In 2011, MyPlate replaced MyPyramid and represents the current USDA guidance. Before You Try the Healthy Eating Plate for Yourself, Review These Pros and Cons: Pro: A Much-Needed Update to the Traditional Food Pyramid MyPyramid graphics; Development of MyPyramid (Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior Supplement); Technical revisions to the Food Guide Pyramid Several countries use a food circle or the plate model, and the most popular one is used by the USDA. Visually is doesn't work because it implies a foundation of basic foods that is the base of the pyramid. MyPyramid was released in April 2005 and replaced the Food Guide Pyramid (1992). As today’s parents, we grew up seeing the colorful pyramid built with rows of blocks consisting of various widths demonstrating how much of each food group we should eat. While Harvard’s Healthy Eating Plate is definitely a step-up from the nutritional guidelines of the past, there is still some room for improvement. The newer versions have also started to include daily exercise at the base of the pyramid given the high importance of adding movement to a healthy lifestyle. The food pyramid The traditional food pyramid is a cornerstone of dietary recommendations. My Plate is divided into four colorful sections – red for fruits, green for vegetables, orange for grains, and purple for protein -- with a … It replaced the USDA's MyPyramid guide on June 2, 2011, ending 19 years of USDA food pyramid diagrams. After careful consideration, the USDA ditched the Food Pyramid and released a redesigned version called MyPlate in 2011. The idea behind the change to a new food pyramid is that a plate is where most of us eat our food (except for all that munching directly from the package in front of the TV).With the plate shape, it was thought, the public could better imagine relative portion size among the various food groups, than with a pyramid. MyPlate is the current nutrition guide published by the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, a food circle depicting a place setting with a plate and glass divided into five food groups. Source: Public Domain Origins of the Food Pyramid. MyPyramid. Origins of Food Pyramid. Although food guides have been around in the United States since the late 1800s, it wasn’t until the 1960s that the Food Pyramid as we know it really took shape. In June, 2011, the USDA switched from the food pyramid to a plate called “my plate” as the new icon of U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Recently, the Food & Drug Administration updated the content and look of the food pyramid for children, now known as My Pyramid. This modern version, in the shape of a plate, is meant to grab your attention and remind you to eat healthy, according to the USDA. MyPlate is displayed on food packaging and used in nutrition education in the United States. They shifted the use from a food pyramid to colorful plate model. The food pyramid categorizes food groups in degree of importance based on how much and what types of foods people should be eating.