Meat, Milk and the Etcetera

Four is an easy number to remember. And Four for Fitness has a lovely alliteration.

This from 1972 Betty Crocker New Boys and Girls Cookbook

1972 - four food groups - Betty Crocker New Boys and Girls Cookbook

Compare with the current Canada Food Guide.

Notice how the Milk and Meat categories of yesteryear are now covered by the Protein category (much to the consternation of the dairy industry). The illustration of the Protein category shows a number of plant and animal sources and all that diversity only occupies a quarter of the plate (shrunk from half in years past).

The seeds were there in the past

1972 - four food groups - Betty Crocker New Boys and Girls Cookbook - close up on protein

Interesting to note that “meats” are glossed as “including poultry, fish, eggs, dried beans or peas and peanut butter.”

The standard advice is not too much and the variety of sources is spelled out in fine detail (The World Wide Web welcomes resources with extensive lists — an affordance not available to earlier formulators of food guides).

You don’t need to eat large amounts of protein foods to meet your nutritional needs. Try to eat protein foods such as:

  • eggs
  • lean meats and poultry
    • lean cuts of beef, pork and wild game
    • turkey
    • chicken
  • nuts and seeds
    • peanuts
    • almonds
    • cashews
    • nut butters
    • sunflower seeds
  • fish and shellfish
    • trout
    • shrimp
    • salmon
    • scallops
    • sardines
    • mackerel
  • lower fat dairy products
    • milk
    • yogurt
    • lower sodium cheeses
  • beans, peas and lentils
    • brown, green or red or other lentils
    • peas such as chickpeas and split peas
    • dried beans such as black beans and kidney beans
  • fortified soy beverages, tofu, soybeans and other soy products

And there is plenty of guidance on preparation of the foods.

Canada Food Guide Visual - English

And so for day 2546
02.12.2013

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