New federal food guide: Can you understand it?

(CBS) Gone today are the days of food pyramids.

First lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled the federal government's new food icon, MyPlate, on Thursday.

Pictures: A timeline of food guidelines

But can you understand it? A major critique of the former food guides - and especially the pyramids - was that they were too complex for Americans to interpret.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has even conceded the need for the new guide, saying, "My Pyramid was simply too complex."

He said he is confident the new guide will be effective as a "simple visual research based icon about proportion sizes and what should be on the American plate."

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the icon is "to serve as a reminder to help consumers make healthier food choices."

The new tool emphasizes the importance of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy in you and your family's diet.

The icon overhaul emphasizes balancing calories by eating less food and avoiding oversized portions. The symbol also stresses what foods to add more of to your diet, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and reducing others, such as sodium and sugary drinks.

So what do you think about the new food icon? How does it compare to the food pyramids of the past and other food guides? (Check out food guides of the past here.) Does the new food pyramid arm you to feed your family well? Let us know what you think in the comments below.