Healthy eating is about enjoying foods from a variety of food groups. Try to base your eating pattern on the following healthy eating guidelines:
Choose healthier fats
- Use margarine spreads instead of butter or dairy blends.
- Use a variety of oils for cooking - some suitable choices include canola, sunflower, soybean, olive and peanut oils.
- Use salad dressings and mayonnaise made from oils such as canola, sunflower, soybean and olive oils.
- Choose low or reduced fat milk and yoghurt or 'added calcium' soy beverages. Try to limit cheese and ice cream to twice a week.
- Have fish (any type of fresh or canned) at least twice a week.
- Select lean meat (meat trimmed of fat and chicken without skin). Try to limit fatty meats including sausages and delicatessen meats such as salami.
- Try to limit take-away foods to once a week. Take-away foods include pastries, pies, pizza, hamburgers and creamy pasta dishes.
- Try to limit snack foods such as potato crisps and corn crisps to once a week.
- Try to limit cakes, pastries and chocolate or creamy biscuits to once a week.
Keep to a healthy weight. If you need to manage your weight:
- keep physically active;
- balance the amount of food you eat with the amount of activity you do;
- enjoy a variety of foods, particularly vegetables, legumes, fruit, breads and cereals;
- keep to two drinks or less of alcohol a day;
- avoid 'fad' or 'crash' diets.
Eat more plant based foods
- Snack on plain, unsalted nuts and fresh fruit.
- Incorporate dried peas (e.g. split peas), dried beans (e.g. haricot beans, kidney beans), canned beans (e.g. baked beans, three bean mix) or lentils into two meals a week.
- Make vegetables, and grain based foods such as breakfast cereals, bread, pasta, noodles and rice the major part of each meal.
Go easy on high salt foods
Most of us use much more salt than we need. Eating less salt may help us have healthier blood pressure.
- Go easy on high salt food such as cured, canned or corned luncheon meats, salamis, sausages, meat pastes, smoked fish, cheese, vegetable extracts, commercial sauces, takeaway and snack foods.
- Choose brands with labels that show "no added salt (or sodium)" or "low salt" or "reduced salt".
- Avoid adding salt in cooking or at the table.
Go easy on alcohol
Alcoholic drinks provide extra calories, but no important nutrients. One or two drinks a day may do you no harm, but excessive drinking increases your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, as well as many other problems.
- Keep your alcoholic drinks small and fill up the glass with water, soda, ice, or diet mixers.
- Keep a jug of water at the table when dining in or out.
The important Tick
The Tick Program is the Heart Foundation’s guide to help you make healthier food choices quickly and easily. Foods with the Tick are healthier choices among foods of their type.
Tick foods are lower in fat, saturated fat and sodium (salt). Many are also higher in fibre and calcium, and have less sugar. All foods are independently tested and assessed against strict nutritional guidelines before getting the Tick of approval. Choose foods with the Tick for a taste of healthier eating.
