The Canada Food Guide, which was updated in early 2019, has easy-to-understand nutrition information. It's a helpful start for Canadians who are trying to eat healthier meals.
You probably noticed that serving and portion sizes were ditched in the new Food Guide, which is great! It offers more flexibility and an opportunity for you to practice mindfulness by tuning into your body’s internal hunger and fullness cues. To learn more about that, you can see the blog I've written about five healthy eating strategies based on Canada's Food Guide here.
But if you're looking for more guidance or a more detailed meal plan, it can be tricky to know where to start. Below is a sample day of my personal food intake. You’ll see that it doesn’t necessarily match the Food Guide perfectly – and that’s okay! The guide is meant to be just that – a guide, as opposed to a set of strict food rules.
You may have also noticed that milk and soy beverages aren’t shown on Canada’s Food Guide. The intent is not to suggest these foods aren’t acceptable. These foods fit into the “proteins” category along with meat, yogurt, cheese, eggs and plant protein sources, all of which I include in my personal meal plan.
Breakfast
- Whole grain waffle (grain)
- Pears sliced on top (fruit/veg)
- Vanilla yogurt (protein)
- Pumpkin seeds (protein)
- RECIPE: For a smoothie that covers multiple food groups, give this Almond and Berry Smoothie a try.
Lunch
- Apple slices (fruit/veg)
- Natural peanut butter to dip my apple (protein)
- Raw veggies – peppers, carrots and cucumbers (fruit/veg)
- Chickpea hummus to dip my veggies (protein)
- Wholegrain Triscuit crackers (grain)
- Homemade cookie (There’s no category for cookies, but dessert is a fun food that is a normal and healthy part of mindful eating)
- RECIPE: Try Chef Dale MacKay's hummus recipe and make your own delicious veggie dip.
Supper
- Baked halibut filet with lemon and dill (protein)
- Roasted sweet potato (fruit/veg)
- Steamed broccoli (fruit/veg) plus cheese sauce (protein)
- Salad (fruit/veg)
- RECIPE: Fish is a great protein, and it's best from the West! Try Saskatchewan Walleye with Citrus and Capers.
Evening Snack
- Bowl of Life cereal (grain)
- Soy milk (protein)
While Canada’s Food Guide portrays nutrition science in a straightforward way, it’s certainly not relatable in every situation. Healthy eating and wellness are complicated by many factors, such as food access, economic stability, mental health and access to health care, to name a few.
And while the Food Guide presents lots of options, it’s still normal and acceptable to take pleasure in food with lower nutritional value from time to time - even ones that aren't in a food group. It’s also normal to eat meals that aren’t perfectly balanced.
There’s no single, correct way to eat to achieve health. So let the guide be just that – a guide!
Brooke Bulloch is a Registered Dietitian and CEO of Food to Fit Nutrition Inc. She has worked with Huffington Post, Best Health magazine, Canadian Living, Chatelaine, The Globe and Mail and continues as a regular guest on Saskatoon’s Global News Morning.