With the introduction of the new Canada Food guide, it is important to keep this in mind when sending food to school for everyone. Often, we have parents who drop off special treats for birthday days, please be mindful to limit the sugar/salt/fat content of whatever goodies you might think of!!
Canada’s New Food Guide Is Here. Everything You Need To Know
A registered dietitian breaks down why and how the guidelines will be updated, and what this means for your family.
Eat Well. Live Well. With those bold words emblazoned across the top, the new Canada’s Food Guide is now a reality. After months of speculation about this important government document, Canada’s Minister of Health Ginette Petitpas Taylor just unveiled the new guide at a press conference in Montreal.
The new food guide is much wider in scope than the old, single-page rainbow food guide. It also offers an online suite of resources including actionable advice, videos and even recipes at www.Canada.ca/FoodGuide/.
In the Food Guide Snapshot – a high-level overview of not just what Canadians eat, but how they should eat – the old rainbow has been replaced with modern photography of real food. The two-page document starts with a simple picture of a plate, with the following advice:
Canada’s new food guide’s recommendations on healthy eating:
- • Have plenty of vegetables and fruits (visually: half your plate)
- • Eat protein foods (visually: a quarter of your plate)
- • Choose whole-grain foods (visually: a quarter of your plate)
- • Make water your drink of choice
The back of the document focuses on how we make food choices. It reminds Canadians to cook more often, eat meals with others, be mindful of their eating habits, and enjoy food. It also advises us to use food labels, be aware of food marketing, and limit foods high in sodium, sugars or saturated fat.