12 Easy Food Guide Tips for Healthier Eating

05/21/2013

We all know that it’s tempting – and often too easy – to reach for foods that are high in fat, salt or sugar. Canada’s Food Guide provides practical tips about healthy eating for children, teens, adults and seniors from all cultural backgrounds.

Here are a dozen easy Food Guide tips to make your daily eating pattern healthier:

1. Vegetables and fruit are nature’s fast food… just wash and go
2. Pressed for time? Buy packages of pre-bagged vegetables such as baby carrots, leafy greens or green beans that can be quickly tossed in a salad, stir-fry or casserole.
3. Go natural: avoid adding butter and sauces to cooked vegetables. Use herbs, spices, flavoured vinegar or lemon juice instead of salt to enhance the taste. When you serve veggies raw, try a low-fat yogurt dip.
4. Grain products – especially whole grains – are low in fat and high in fibre. But check the ingredients: brown bread isn’t necessarily made with whole grain.
5. Whole grain isn’t just for bread. Try whole grain pasta or couscous, brown or wild rice, barley and quinoa.
6. Have whole wheat toast or bagels instead of croissants, doughnuts or pastries.
7. Make skim, 1% or 2% your milk choice and select cheeses and yogurt with lower fat content. Be sure to check the label – some low-fat yogurts are high in sugar.
8. If milk is not for you, drink soy beverage fortified with calcium and vitamin D.
9. Incorporate milk or fortified soy beverage when preparing scrambled eggs, hot cereal, quiches, casseroles and soups.
10. While meat provides protein and other important nutrients, you don’t need to eat a lot to meet nutrition needs. Select lean cuts, trim the fat and prepare meat in ways that require little or no added fat.
11. Try meat alternatives such as beans, lentils and tofu – they’re high in protein and fibre, and are low in fat.
12. Eat at least two Food Guide servings of fish each week. Choose fish such as char, herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines, and trout. (Health Canada provides advice for limiting exposure to mercury from certain types of fish. Refer to the Health Canada website for the latest information.)

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For more information visit Health Canada’s Food Guide website at www.health.gc.ca/foodguide