How many ounces? No one ever seems to have that information. If 1 serving equals, says, 1 or 2 oz., then that's pretty do-able.

Although there are some exceptions, the vast majority of the issue really isn't carbs, but convenience foods.

People eat thoughtlessly and hastily, which leads to poor nutrition and obesity. Convenience foods have a profile that's basically catered to those two bad habits.

Convenience foods tend to have lots of saturated fat and salt because they're appealing, and they increase shelf-life. Similarly, convenience foods tend to have little in the way of vitamins since vitamins typically have short shelf lives.

Because people percieve quantity as value, convenience foods are sold in ever-larger packages for competitive advantage which combines with the tendency of hasty eaters to over-eat to lead to obesity issues.

Meanwhile, to conserve costs and control the process, foods are typically created using highly processed ingredients that contain less of many important nutrients.

Indeed, I went sort of off my own topic into carbs.
I wish I'd stayed within the realm of the notion of "silverware food".
I like all your points.

if food is your hobby, if you like to cook, if you prepare food for more than one person routinely, if you have the space / facilities, etc.

Yes, what you eat and how you prepare food is a lifestyle you choose. When I open my fridge and see the riot of colours of the multitude of fresh and local vegetables, I get an adrenaline rush. Cooking for me is relaxing and fun. It wasn't always like that. A serious drug reaction to a pill I took for severe migraine headaches was the turning point. I started researching food. I became intrigued by Ayurveda. I studied Ayurvedic nutrition for 4 years. I took an online course as well as private lessons from an Ayurvedic nutritionist. When I'm at home, I follow Ayurveda. When I'm out with family and friends, I'll eat the western way (I left fanatacism behind a long time ago). I no longer suffer from migraine headaches and my weight is normal. If you think Ayurveda is some kind of esoteric philosophy, just know this: the principles of Ayurvedic nutrition have been around for 5000 years and never change. Western nutrition is changing as we speak.

Ayurvedic Cooking for Westerners offers familiar Western foods lovingly prepared with Ayurvedic principles. Learn how to cook fresh, easy to make recipes for healthy folks, as well as those with illnesses, including allergies and candida. Written by Amadea Morningstar, co-author of the best-selling The Ayurvedic Cookbook, this book is certain to open wide the door to this ancient East Indian, yet universal system of healing and nourishment, with more than 230 new and delicious Ayurvedic recipes.

are the recipes primarily vegetarian? My grand daughter is PKU and I'm always looking for something tasty to make for her.

I would have to know the degree of her enzyme deficiency and the types of food she is currently allowed to eat. I'll send my email in a private message.

The battle for ayurveda: India is racing to record the details of its traditional medicine

The Independent, By Andrew Buncombe, November 23

They range from the everyday to the decidedly obscure, from items with a specific, specialised use to those with a host of applications. Their common heritage is one of the world's oldest cultures, and their details are being gathered together to guard against theft by the West.

For several years the Indian authorities have been collating information about hundreds of thousands of plants, cures, foods and even yoga poses to create a vast digital database of traditional knowledge dating back to up to 5,000 years ago, available in five international languages. Now, the first part of that database – relating to ayurveda or traditional Indian medicine – has been completed and it is set to launch the fight back against what some have termed "bio-colonialism".

"The ayurveda part has been completed," said Dr Vinod Gupta, the chairman of India's National Institute for Science Communication and Information Resources (Niscair), which is overseeing the project. "Now we are negotiating an agreement with international patent offices [for access to this database]."

The database, totaling more than 30 million pages and known as the Traditional Knowledge Data Library [Wikipedia entry], has come about for one very simple reason: to prevent Western pharmaceutical giants and others using this traditional Indian information to create a product for which they then obtain a patent.

Triphala. If there is only one herb to take, this is the one. Triphala basically looks after bowel hygiene. Since most diseases emanate from the bowel, it is important to maintain bowel health.

Triphala, formulated by Ayurvedic physicians thousands of years ago and used literally by billions of people since, is considered the most effective and safest laxative and colon tonic by most health care practitioners. Where other colon formulas are depleting, Triphala is mild, non-habit forming, and a rejuvenative.

The herbs:
Triphala ( trifala ) is so effective because its three herbs are potent healers
Amalaki, Emblica Officinalis, one of Ayurveda's greatest rejuvenators and a strong natural anti-oxidant, also helps to boost the immune system. Balances Pitta. (type B)
Haritaki, Terminalia Chebula, the Tibetan "king of medicine", a classic heart-brain-longevity tonic, is often depicted in the extended palm of the Buddha. Balances Vata. (type A)
Bibhitaki, Terminalia Belerica, a powerful rejuvenative that reduces liver and heart disease,also improves the voice, vision and promotes the growth of hair. Balances Kapha. (type C)

The Result:
Remove toxins, accumulations, gas and distention
Nourish your nervous system, blood and muscle
Increase digestion, assimilation and reduce fat
Detoxify every system in the body
Regulate and vitalize your metabolism

The Use:
Triphala is the one formula recommended for everybody.
Triphala is gentle for people of all ages, from children to seniors.
Triphala is balancing for people with all types of constitutions.

Take Triphala 750 mg twice a day or 500 mg three times a day. Be aware that in excess (four or more 500 mg tablets) this formula can cause loose stools for the A and B types.
Source: Ayurvedic Nutrition course manual

For an excellent introduction to Ayurveda, read: "Essential Ayurveda" by Shubhra Krishan. This book explains Ayurveda in an easy-to-read style, using realistic examples. A good introduction.

on your recomendation and have read about half of it.

I agree. This is a very good book on the subject.

I did inhale.

that somebody could have turned a book on food into a page turner. The story line is tried and true: the author takes on a journey to find something of great value. It is a kind of quest story line.

of cooked cereal per day... Just half a cup in the morning. Also MOST cereals you find have a ton of added sugar that would defeat the purpose... Bread too...

I agree with the sentiments here, but it looks like the nurtition pyramid above is a good piece of pro-nutrition propoganda. The pyramid from the USDA has ranges (ie--"6-11 servings grains"), so all are not expected to eat 11 pieces of toast. http://www.nalusda.gov/fnic/Fpyr/pyramid.gif

Then the USDA came out with a new, goofy looking pyramid. As a graphic, it sucks, but dietarily it seems a bit more reasonable, and there's plenty of info on their site: http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/index.html

Convenient that the USDA's nutrition information all ignores the economic and environmental issues--I second Omnivore's Dilemma!--but admittedly that can be a deep rabbit hole to go down (organic? local? fair trade? union? price? etc)

oatmeal in the morning, it took 1.5 or 2 cups just to fill me up for 3 hours. Then I realized how much sugar (and calories) that was and stopped. Same goes for cereal... probably close to 2 cups to get me through most of the morning--but I don't eat that anymore either.

But assuming I still did that, if I were to get 6 servings of grains per day then I'd probably have to eat pasta for lunch. But I'd have to eat a lot and wouldn't have room for the 4 apples/oranges/what-have-you I'd have to down along with it :). Then I'd need to eat 12-18 ounces of meat for dinner and 2 cups of non-leafy vegetables.

Yeah, that's a lot of food even for me. I've eaten that much in a day before, but those days are the rare exceptions and not the rule. Crazy.

A handful of rolled oats in a bowl, covered with water and zapped in the microwave for about a minute-forty-five makes perfectly good oatmeal with no added sugar or fat or preservatives.

Packaged "instant oatmeal" is outrageously expensive on a per-serving basis, no more convenient than plain rolled oats purchased in bulk and a lot less healthy for you.

A dollop of lowfat yogurt and some raisins or fresh fruit to garnish and you're set. Try it!

I'm not a huge oatmeal fan myself (once in a while is enough for me), but my family loves it. Dried or fresh fruit, nuts, raisins (or "craisins"), yogurt, all help to make it pretty tasty.