A while back, the USDA released its newest version of the food pyramid—except it wasn't a pyramid at all. The new "MyPlate" icon demonstrated what the USDA considers the appropriate balance of fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains, and proteins for your diet, in a handy plate-shaped icon. Recently, another version of the plate emerged. The Harvard School of Public Health just released its Healthy Eating Plate, which they say "offers more specific and accurate recommendations...than MyPlate." More

As a promoter of all things peanut, I am constantly frustrated by people who think they can't possibly be good for you. Many assume that other nuts, especially almonds, are "better for you," which just isn't true. Find out how they compare in fat and protein. You might be surprised. More

My wife and I have spent the last 24 hours preparing for the effects of Hurricane Earl on the little former sheep farmhouse on Martha's Vineyard that we've been coming to together ever since we met more than 32 years ago. We are fully PB&J equipped for Hurricane Earl, but given my predilection for inhaling entire jars of peanut butter with a spoon, I am worried about the effects of Hurricane Earl on my serious diet. More

The massive egg recall—the largest one in U.S. history—has been tough and confusing for egg fans. Is that carton in your fridge full of risky ones? Should you avoid over-easy and poached preparations? (Salmonella enteritidis can be killed by heating the egg throughout to 160°F.) Are you changing your egg-eating habits? Are you eating fewer eggs? » More

Recently, one of the leading debates in food policy pertains to the impact that food advertising has on young children. A recent study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University demonstrated that children are more likely to desire foods that are advertised with familiar cartoon characters—but these foods are often less healthy than alternatives. McDonald's has come under fire for using similar advertising techniques in their Happy Meals, which experts say are often far too caloric and fattening for small children. So how can change be implemented? More

Yesterday we rented a car (like most Manhattanites, we don't own one) and drove from New York City to Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on our way to Martha's Vineyard. Usually this trek takes five or six hours, about half of which I devote to eating. What kind of eating, you might ask. The self-destructive, mindless kind, I'm sorry to say. The kind that forces me to offer up the following rhetorical question: Do car calories count? More

Ah, middle school dates. Walking around the mall, chaste hand-holding, sharing one straw for a supersize cup of cola. Somehow, sharing one drinking straw was what made it extra romantic. As the years have gone by, a habit of sharing straws—and the possibly germy consequences—might have stuck. Or maybe you've wisely chosen to avoid a side of mono with your milkshake. When you're out with your friends, do you adhere to a one-drinking-straw-per-drinker rule, or do you throw germ caution to the wind and share? Take the poll! » More

What do you crave when you're sick? For me, it's a blast from my childhood in the form of a bowl of Cream of Wheat. I knew I was really sick because no other food sounded good. More

This week I've finally gotten back to doing what works for me: portion control, portion control, and portion control, along with a side order of Ed Levine-approved exercise (biking, swimming, squashing). Yup, I'm back to Julia Child mode, eating everything in moderation. A few fried clams, oysters, and scallops; two small, small pieces of pie; even half a snack-size McFlurry with Reese's mix-ins. The key words here are few, small, and half. I genuinely believe that the weight control answer for me lies in those three words. More

It turns out that my serious "diet" is actually an amalgam of all four definitions of "diet" on merriam-webster.com. "Diet" does relate to the food I regularly consume, to the kind of habitual nourishment I receive from, to the kind and amount of food I've prescribed myself to try to bring my weight under control. But it's in the derivation of the word, which dates back to the thirteenth century, that I found the true meaning of my serious diet. More