Healthy eating

Not everyone is going to give up meat but we can all have our protein in moderation. Certainly no one can go plant based overnight.

We can all vary our diet and move towards 5 a day of fruits and vegetables and incorporate the colours of the rainbow in our food combinations.

Here are some key principles of healthy eating.

What you can do

Principles of healthy eating

Eat a diverse diet, and vary what you eat, when you can, from day to day and season to season.
Be courageous! Try things you have never eaten.
Buy something different when you go shopping that is inexpensive and in season.
Swap food with a friend. Eat food that is abundant in flavour.
Aim to eat with others as often as you can. In addition to the health functions, the social, personal and sensory benefits of sharing a meal are not to be underestimated.
Be a role model for your children, your family and friends.
Food (in addition to other modifiable and non-modifiable factors) has an important role to play in prevention and treatment of some diseases.

Maintain a healthy weight

Balance a healthy weight by:

Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from these five groups every day:

Plenty of vegetables, including different types and colours, and legumes/beans
Fruit
Grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or high cereal fibre varieties, such as breads, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles, polenta, couscous, oats, quinoa and barley
Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds, and legumes/beans
Milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or their alternatives, mostly reduced fat (reduced fat milks are not suitable for children under the age of 2 years)

And drink plenty of water.

Replace high fat foods which contain predominantly saturated fats such as butter, cream, cooking margarine, coconut and palm oil with foods which contain predominantly polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats such as oils, spreads, nut butters/pastes and avocado.
Read labels to choose lower sodium options among similar foods.
Limit intake of foods and drinks containing added sugars such as confectionary, sugar-sweetened soft drinks and cordials, fruit drinks, vitamin waters, energy and
sports drinks.