This brings up two questions.  Why deep fry all these foods?  I rarely eat fried food and can’t imagine frying my dessert.

The second question is Who eats these items?  From the looks of it — a lot of people.

I think it’s the idea of eating something that’s not available the rest of the year.  It makes it an special event.

I like fair food- but it’s the grilled corn on the cob, giant cinnamon rolls and funnel cakes.  I’ll leave the deep fried treats for the rest of you.

Photo: Some rights reserved by Steve Snodgrass

I’m not surprised to hear it’s better than others I’ve tried (Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, etc.) But it’s nice to know it is considered a better choice for weight loss than the Mediterranean or DASH diets.

The descriptions of the various plans are thorough and include tabs for recipes, nutrition, reviews and helpful tips.

How does your food plan rank?

Photo: Some rights reserved by maistora

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveiled a replacement for the food pyramid this past week.  This new symbol is a plate.

It better represents visually the recommended healthy diet for Americans.  Most obvious is the fact that half the plate is filled with vegetables and fruits.  Other recommendations include:

• Half the grains eaten should be whole grains
• Switch to fat free or low fat dairy products.
• Avoid oversized portions.
• Compare sodium levels in food to reduce sodium intake.
• Replace sugary drinks with water.

All seem like pretty good advice and are fully supported in the Weight Watchers program.

What do you think about the new food plate?