Healthy Eating Should Include A Wide Variety of Foods

Healthy eating means eating a wide variety of foods you enjoy, especially grains, vegetables and fruit. It also means choosing lower-fat foods more often and cutting down on the amount of fat you use to prepare foods. Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating has lots of tips and suggestions to help you make healthy eating a part of your everyday life.

Add less fat, and lots of flavor and eye appeal to the foods you eat. Here are a few suggestions:

Treat your taste buds, try Italian, Chinese, Middle Eastern or any of the other delicious ethnic food Canada has to offer.
Serve smaller portions. Offer seconds to those who want more.
Make soups or stews a day ahead and refrigerate. Skim off any fat that hardens on top.
Use only a little of high-fat salad ingredients such as: salad dressings, avocado, bacon bits, olives, high-fat cheeses, nuts and croutons.
Traditional dippers like potato chips and taco chips are high in fat. Try raw vegetables for a change, they're tasty and easy to prepare.
Instead of frying, try a lower-fat cooking method, such as broiling, baking or grilling. Basting with wine, lemon juice or broth will keep food moist and add flavor. Poaching and braising are also good cooking methods.
For a stir-fry, try steaming food in a little tomato juice, bouillon or chicken stock rather than using oil.
Serve vegetables plain or sprinkle them with chives or parsley or a little lemon juice.
Angel food cake contains only a trace of fat. Serve it with fresh fruit or a sauce made with plain yogurt and frozen berries.

What about adding some of your own ideas for healthy eating?

The choices are endless! Stay positive and remember:

Healthy eating and great taste go hand in hand.
There are no "good" or "bad" foods.
Everything tastes better when you enjoy it with family and friends.

* Adapted from "Tips for Low-Fat Cooking," Halton Regional Health Department, in The Healthy Weight Program, Nutrition Services, Halton Regional Health Department, 1994. [link]