Try the Diabetes Plate Method First, grab a nine-inch plate. You want to fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables, one quarter of the plate of protein foods, and the last quarter of the plate with carbohydrate foods.

Launched in 2011, MyPlate's symbol is a simple visual reminder to choose a variety of foods throughout the day and throughout the week. It represents what and how much to eat from each of the food groups over the course of the day, whether you eat on a plate, from a bowl, or another way.

The plate method emphasizes nonstarchy vegetables, which do not have many carbohydrates and do not have a large effect on your blood sugar. The plate method uses a 9-inch plate and limits carbohydrates to a small section of the plate, which can help you control your calorie and carbohydrate intake.

For the record, we do not have a new food pyramid. Many people don't realize the food pyramid was actually retired more than a decade ago, when the Obama administration updated federal nutrition messaging to a plate visualization, AKA MyPlate. (Most people have also never heard of MyPlate, as I noted recently.)