Too much food in the pyramid...

  • I`ve been a vegetarian for over 10 years (I`m only 20 now)...but recently I realised that I have eaten very wrong most of my life. I always just cut meat out and never ate many substitutes or anything. Just a lot of junk. But recently I have become obsessed with trying to find proper nutition for me....anyway, my question is, according to the vegetarian food pyrimid, we are suppose to eat between 6-11 serving of whole grains a day. How? And isnt that quite fatening? (breads, pastas, and rice). I`ve been tracking what I normally eat, and I seem to only eat 5 at most. Am I missing something here?
  • Well, serving sizes are quite small, about an ounce/30g I think. So, 2 slices of the stone ground wheat bread I buy is actually more like 3 or 4 servings. Bagels are deceptively huge and many would also count as 3-4 servings rather than 2. Pita bread, 1/2 is a serving. 1/2 cup rice or pasta is a serving--have you ever measured out 1/2 cup of either? It's not much. Don't panic if you're still only getting 5 per day even when you carefully measure and add it up. If the rest of your diet is filled with fruits, veggies, legumes, and low fat dairy, you'll have a very healthy diet even if you don't quite fulfill "official" requirements.