This Time I Mean It

Getting Past What Holds You Back with Baby Boomer Weight Loss Expert Scott 'Q' Marcus

  • Home
  • Change Habits
    • 21 Day Habit Change.com
  • Blog
    • Newspaper Column
    • Motivational Monday
  • Work With Scott
    • Meet Scott
    • Scott’s Powerful Fun Style
    • For Meeting Planners
    • Speaking Topics
    • What Conference Attendees Say
    • Book Scott to Speak
  • Shop
  • Meet Scott
  • Testimonials
  • Contact Us
    • Sign up for the FREE ezine
You are here: Home / Archives for department of agriculture usda

Potato Wars: How Long can Schools Serve the Lowly Spud?

October 20, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

Let us dispel the belief that we have a “do-nothing congress.”

Our Senate recently stood shoulder-to-shoulder in solidarity with the lowly white spud, rebuffing an effort by anti-potato Obama to limit its consumption by schoolchildren. Before you get the inaccurate image of the president and his cabinet slapping french fries from the hands of kindergarteners, you need to know some details.

The administration had proposed limiting the amount of potatoes and other starchy vegetables that can be served in school lunches to one cup per student per week. Beyond that, they wanted to ban them from school breakfasts entirely.

Imagining the horror of a world where breakfasts are without the crunchy, fatty texture of hash browns; and quicker than a fast food chain can deep fry a basket of sliced spuds, the Senate blocked the proposal by adopting an amendment to the 2012 spending bill for the Agriculture Department. The amendment, approved by unanimous consent I might add, prohibited the USDA from establishing “any maximum limits on the serving of vegetables in school meal programs.” Paraphrasing the quotation usually attributed to Voltaire, “I disagree with your choice of Russets but I shall defend to the death your right to eat them.”

In this age of hyper-partisan non-stop bickering and political tantrum throwing, it’s comforting to know that members of our legislature could reach across the aisle for the common good. (It would be nice if it benefited our economy but one must take the victories he gets. Sigh…) Senators Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, and Mark Udall, Democrat of Colorado, set aside partisan differences and defended the starchy spud — coincidentally grown in great quantities in their states — saying that the proposal had no basis in nutrition science. (Not that that has always made a difference in how laws have been crafted previously.)

Said Ms. Collins, “The proposed rule would prevent schools from serving an ear of fresh corn one day and a baked potato another day of the same week, an utterly absurd result.”

Why was the potato singled out, you might ask?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Diet, Health, Newspaper Column, Weight Loss Tagged With: agriculture department, department of agriculture usda, french fries, hash browns, mark udall, nutrition science, russets, school lunches, schoolchildren, spuds, starchy vegetables, susan collins

How to Correctly Use the Food Pyramid’s Replacement When Stressed

June 7, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus

As you might know, Michelle Obama, greatly concerned with childhood obesity (and rightly so), has recently revised the food pyramid. Personally, I thought the original food pyramid was pretty easy to understand, but a few years ago, they decided to update it.

The older version looked like this:

I thought that made a lot of sense and was pretty simple to follow. However, I don’t make the rules, I just play with them. So, The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) changed the food pyramid in spring 2005 because they wanted to convey a better example of how to eat healthier. The “new and improved” (?) pyramid was based on the best available scientific facts concerning links between diet and good health and addressed flaws in the original food pyramid. The intent was laudable. The results? You decide:

In my humble opinion, it’s a mess. But, maybe that’s just me.

So fast forward to last week when Mrs. Obama decides to change it to make it easier for children (and those of us who are wrinkled children) to understand. The whole “pyramid” concept is dropped in favor of a plate, which makes sense.

Here’s the latest:

Actually, I think it’s simple and easy to understand. It also looks quite contemporary.

There’s just one problem.

It doesn’t address real life. I mean, after a stress-filled, running-all-over town kind of day, are you really going to come home to an exciting meal where the main components are Kale and Bulgar? I don’t think so.  So, with that in mind, I proudly announce the “choose my plate” model for stressful days. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Current Events, Diet, Exercise, humor, Weight Loss Tagged With: childhood obesity, department of agriculture, department of agriculture usda, diet, food pyramid, food standards, michelle obama, stress, stressful days

Search the Site

Search Products

Blog Categories

Recent Posts

  • Change your thinking, change your life.
  • Published!
  • Perfect Holiday Moments
  • End of the Rainbow
  • Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life

Book An Appointment With Scott

Get a free coaching call by following this link. No obligation.

Contact Us Today

Scott "Q" Marcus
707 834.4090
scottq@thistimeimeanit.com
======
Join Scott's mailing list at http://eepurl.com/LsSIX

Product Categories

  • Accessories
  • Books
  • Coaching Programs
  • DVDs and CDs
  • Instant Downloads
  • Kindle Books
  • Seminars
  • Shirts
  • Site Advertising
  • subscription
  • Uncategorized

Book An Appointment

Recent Posts

  • Change your thinking, change your life.
  • Published!
  • Perfect Holiday Moments
  • End of the Rainbow
  • Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life

This Time I Mean It Copyright © 2022 · All rights reserved · Log in