Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has launched a YouTube cooking show designed to teach Americans how to prepare what he calls real food on a budget. The show, titled "The Real Food Show," is a production of the Department of Health and Human Services and is streaming now on YouTube.
The series is built around an updated set of Dietary Guidelines for Americans introduced in January 2026. Those guidelines replaced the previous food pyramid with what Kennedy calls an upside-down version. The new pyramid places protein, dairy, healthy fats, fruits, and vegetables at the wide end of an inverted triangle, with whole grains at the narrow end. According to Healthline, the guidelines recommend consuming protein at every meal, targeting 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight each day. They also recommend three servings of full-fat dairy daily for a person on a 2,000-calorie diet, along with three servings of vegetables and two of fruit.
Kennedy's first episode featured Chef Andrew Gruel, known from the Fox News program "Gutfeld!" The two prepared a dish described as crispy salmon cakes with apple, white bean, and greens salad. "Thanks to President Trump, we've flipped the food pyramid and put real food back where it belongs, at the center of the American plate," Kennedy said in the inaugural episode.
The guidelines encourage eating omega-3-rich foods such as seafood, nuts, and avocado, and cooking with fats like olive oil, butter, and beef tallow. Saturated fat is recommended to stay below 10% of daily calories. Whole grains are suggested at two to four daily servings. Highly processed foods, added sugars, refined carbohydrates, and alcohol are all discouraged.
Not all nutrition professionals are comfortable with the direction the show and guidelines are taking. Johannah Katz, a registered dietitian with Nourish, said the pyramid's emphasis on animal protein, full-fat dairy, and fats has drawn concern from experts. "A pyramid does not simply name healthy foods; its size and placement imply how prominently those foods should appear in" a person's diet, Katz noted, pointing to questions about how the visual structure of the pyramid may influence eating behavior.
Experts cited by Healthline said the guidelines themselves are generally sound, but there is uncertainty about whether Kennedy will add his own opinions to the show's nutrition advice as the series continues.
