This has been the year of the carnivore for me. The more I have read, the more the research seems to support that eating a diet of primarily healthy meats and lots and lots of veggies, with healthy fats, some fruit and limited grains is health promoting. Because of this, I've eaten more meat this first quarter than likely in the previous year.
These types of dietary patterns are sometimes referred to as paleo diets or low carb. It's a really large adaptation for someone who at several points was vegetarian or mostly vegetarian.
A really nice meal now is a mega salad (yum, with homemade dressing - I forgot how good homemade mayonnaise is!) and some fresh roast chicken, and another serving of vegetables -- in this meal's case, organic green beans. There is something very comforting about having a whole roast chicken in the over after an afternoon of yard work.
If you look at the US Department of Agriculture food pyramid, they talk about increasing fruits and veg. They talk about replacing refined grains with whole grains, but in no way do they talk about increasing grains. As well, the old pyramid with grains on the bottom as the "base" for the American diet is no longer. Now there are vertical stripes. Interesting, n'est-ce pas? Because of the relationship between carbohydrate consumption and patterns of insulin response, being conscientious about carbs seems to be a good thing.
http://www.mypyramid.gov/guidelines/ExecSumm.pdf
Even in Health Canada's Food Guide, more portions of fruit and veg are to be consumed than grains (and a serving of grains is smaller than you think!)
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/basics-base/quantit-eng.php
