Is Your Diet Balanced?
Eating a balanced diet that includes a variety of different foods from all of the food groups is important in ensuring you are getting a wide array of nutrients and to help prevent diet-related illnesses. The term ‘food variety’ means eating various foods within and across each of the five food groups.
How can I include variety in my diet?
Ensuring you are consuming a balanced diet is simple—just choose foods from all of the different food groups! The five food groups include:
- Fruits
- Vegetables and legumes
- Grains, cereals, bread, rice, pasta, noodles
- Lean meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes and meat alternatives
- Milk, yoghurt, cheese and dairy alternatives
Curves Nutrition Program meals and recipes encourage a balanced diet by incorporating different types of foods and ingredients from the above five food groups.
Here are some tips to help ensure your diet has variety!
Make your plate colourful by choosing different types of fruits and vegetables to ensure you are getting all of the nutrients that each has to offer
Vary your protein sources by including lean red meats, poultry, fish and vegetarian sources such as beans and legumes, tofu, eggs, etc.
Choose different wholegrains throughout the week such as bread, wraps, brown rice, pasta, couscous, quinoa, etc.
Don’t forget dairy foods – dairy foods are an excellent source of calcium and the best sources are low fat/skim milk, yoghurt and low fat cheese
Include healthy fats from different oils, avocado, nuts, seeds and nut pastes
