Food or drink

Tips for choosing healthy ingredients

Tortilla wrap

• Canada’s Food Guide recommends making half your grain produdcts whole grain. Look for “whole grain” as the first ingredient such as “whole grain whole wheat flour”.
• Choose grain products with 2 g or more of fibre per serving. For a high fibre choice, look for 4 g or more per serving.

Cheddar cheese

• Look for partly skim milk cheeses with 20% M.F or less.

Roasted turkey meat

• Make sandwiches with roasted turkey or chicken meat instead of deli meat. 

Baby spinach

• Canada’s Food Guide recommends you eat one dark green vegetable each day. Leafy greens like Romaine lettuce, spinach and arugula are all good choices.

Canned peach slices

• Choose canned fruit packed in juice or light syrup.
• Or look for fresh fruit in season. See this availability guide for seasonal Ontario vegetables and fruit.

Strawberry yogurt

• Look for lower fat yogurt.
• Or choose a low fat plain yogurt and add sliced fresh strawberries.

Water

• Drink water often. Add flavour with lemon or lime slices.

Food or drink

Tips for choosing healthy ingredients

Bean chili

• Navy beans, kidney beans, white beans or lentils are healthy meat alternatives.
• Choose canned tomatoes or sauce that are lower in sodium or have no added salt.

Cherry tomatoes with dip

• Choose low fat dip. Try tzatziki, hummus or salsa.
• Try other vegetables like sliced cucumber, bell pepper rings, baby carrots, sugar snap peas, green beans or celery sticks.

Oatmeal cereal bar

• Look for a lower fat, higher fibre variety with at least 2 g of fibre per serving.

Milk

• Choose white milk (2% MF or less), chocolate milk (1% MF) or fortified soy beverage (plain or flavoured).
• Try a lower fat yogurt drink.

Food or drink

Tips for choosing healthy ingredients

Whole wheat pasta

• Look for whole wheat or whole grain pasta.Cook it without adding salt. 
• Choose a sauce made with lower sodium canned tomatoes.
• Add fresh vegetables such as onions, mushrooms and peppers for flavour, fibre and nutrients

Side Caesar salad

• Canada’s Food Guide recommends you eat one dark green vegetable each day. Leafy greens like Romaine lettuce, spinach and arugula are all good choices.
• Look for a low fat salad dressing.
• Instead of bacon bits, add roasted chicken breast (this is a great use for leftovers) or chickpeas for protein.

Raisins

• Choose plain, dried fruit with no added sugar.

100% apple juice

• Choose 100% fruit, vegetable or juice blend.

Food or drink

Tips for choosing healthy ingredients

Steamed rice

• Choose brown rice instead of white rice. This is because brown rice is a whole grain. Canada’s Food Guide recommends making half your grains each day, whole grain.

Tofu

• Canada’s Food Guide recommends having meat alternatives like tofu more often. Other meat alternatives are beans, dried peas, lentils, eggs, nuts, nut butters and seeds.
• You can also make stir-fries with chicken, pork, beef, salmon, shrimp and scrambled egg.

Bok choy, snow peas

• Canada’s Food Guide recommends you eat one dark green vegetable each day such as bok choy or snow peas. 
• Other good choices are broccoli, leafy greens like spinach or kale and green beans.

Mango slices

• Canada’s Food Guide recommends eating an orange vegetable everyday to help you get enough vitamin A.
• Orange coloured fruit such as mangoes also have vitamin A. Other good choices are papaya, peaches, nectarines, cantaloupe and apricots (but not oranges).

Chocolate soy beverage

• Choose a plain, vanilla or chocolate soy beverage fortified with calcium and vitamin D.