Let's face it; government is full of a bunch of killjoys.  Anything remotely enjoyable becomes a target of the nanny-staters who go ballistic if they see a smile on anyone's face.

And nowhere in government is this truer than in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Eating is truly a universal pleasure.  We eat for sustenance, sure.  But if that was the only reason to eat, we'd take a bunch of pills rather than savoring a good steak or fish filet. 

Apaprently, our gastronomic overlords in the Agricutlure Department don't see it that way. 

Washington Examiner:

Anyone headed toward the final round of their Memorial Day cookout still has a chance to eat a healthy dessert, by making USDA-recommended strawberry s'mores.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's "MyPlate" service handed out that advice on Sunday, and said strawberry s'mores are a treat that "kids will love."

But expectations for the kids might need to be set in advance, since these s'mores don't have any chocolate or marshmallows in them.

Instead, USDA encourages people to plop some low-fat vanilla yogurt on a graham cracker, and then top the yogurt with strawberries. Top it off with another graham cracker, and you have a s'more that looks a lot like a regular s'more, except when you bite into it, you won't get any ooey-gooey chocolate all over your fingers.

"Kids will love that they can make it themselves, and parents will love that it's an inexpensive and healthy treat!" USDA said on its recipe page.

Hold the phone.  It's apparent that the author of this idea doesn't do any grocery shopping.  "Inexpensive" is a relative term.  Hasn't he seen the price per pound of strawberries lately?

The absence of marshmallows is something of a twist for USDA, since just last August, USDA celebrated National Roasted Marshmallow Day by publishing a lengthy essay on exactly how to roast your marshmallows.

But even then, USDA recommended a healthier kind of snack and suggested moving "away from s'mores."

Half the fun of making s'mores is roasting the marshmallow.  There's nothing quite like the taste of a gooey marshmallow with just a hint of woodchips from the branch used to roast it.  Making s'mores is a family/community activity – unless you're substituting icky yogurt for delicious marshmallows.  Then, like most ideas percolating in the minds of the food nannies, what was fun and tasty becomes dreary and bland. 

Maybe they can issue guidelines on roasting strawberries.