Can we decouple the idea of "healthy" from calories? Calorie density doesn't make a meal unhealthy.
That's right.
> Can we decouple the idea of "healthy" from calories?
Not completely. While calories themselves don't make a food healthy or unhealthy, healthy foods definitely skew towards low caloric density, and unhealthy foods definitely skew towards high caloric density.
No causation, very strong correlation.
Can you list a five things that are calorie dense that are healthy, and five things that are not calorie dense that are unhealthy?
2. There are no unhealthy foods, only unhealthy diets. Even a bowl of ice cream isn't unhealthy if you're getting all your nutrients and not eating too many calories.
Also, the food pyramid (which, admittedly, is so incorrect that it should cause you to question any healthcare professional who quotes it) does include a small layer for fat, oil, sugar, and sweets, implying you can have them as an occasional treat but not all the time. No doctor is going to tell you to never eat at McDonalds, only to make it a rare treat.