Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide - First Nations, Inuit and Métis

Table of Contents

• How to use Canada's Food Guide
• Recommended Number of Food Guide Servings per day
• What is one Food Guide Serving?
  • Vegetables and Fruit
  • Grain Products
  • Milk and Alternatives
  • Meat and Alternatives
• When cooking or adding fat to food
• Respect your body... Your choices matter
• People who do not eat or drink milk products
• Women of childbearing age
• Women and men over the age of 50

Eating Well Every Day

Canada's Food Guide describes healthy eating for Canadians two years of age or older. Choosing the amount and type of food recommended in Canada's Food Guide will help:

• children and teens grow and thrive
• meet your needs for vitamins, minerals and other nutrients
• lower your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer and osteoporosis (weak and brittle bones).

How to use Canada's Food Guide

The Food Guide shows how many servings to choose from each food group every day and how much food makes a serving.

1. Find your age and sex group in the chart below.
2. Follow down the column to the number of servings you need for each of the four food groups every day.
3. Look at the examples of the amount of food that counts as one serving. For instance, 125 mL (½ cup) of carrots is one serving in the Vegetables and Fruit food group.

	Recommended Number of Food Guide Servings per day
	Children	Children	Teens and Adults
	2-3 years old	4-13 years old	(Females)	(Males)
Vegetables and Fruit Fresh, frozen and canned	4	5-6	7-8	7-10
Grain Products	3	4-6	6-7	7-8
Milk and Alternatives	2	2-4	Teens 3-4 Adults (19-50 years) 2 Adults (51+years) 3	Teens 3-4 Adults (19-50 years) 2 Adults (51+years) 3
Meat and Alternatives	1	1-2	2	3

What is one Food Guide Serving?

Look at the examples below.

Vegetables and Fruit

Fresh, frozen and canned.

Dark green and orange vegetables
125 mL (½ cup)

Vegetables and Fruit

Fresh, frozen and canned.

Dark green and orange vegetables
125 mL (½ cup)

Other vegetables
125 mL (½ cup)

Leafy vegetables and wild plants
cooked 125 mL (½ cup)
raw 250 mL (1 cup)

Berries
125 mL (½ cup)

Fruit
1 fruit or 125 mL (½ cup)

100% Juice
125 mL (½ cup)

Eat at least one dark green and one orange vegetable each day. Choose vegetables and fruit prepared with little or no added fat, sugar or salt. Have vegetables and fruit more often than juice.

Grain Products

Bread
1 slice (35g)

Bannock
35g (2" x 2" x 1")

Cold Cereal
30g (see food package)

Hot Cereal
175 mL (3/4 cup)

Cooked Pasta
125 mL (½ cup)

Cooked Rice
White, brown, wild
125 mL (½ cup)

Make at least half of your grain products whole grain each day. Choose grain products that are lower in fat, sugar or salt.

Milk and Alternatives

Milk
Powdered milk, mixed
250 mL (1 cup)

Fortified soy beverage
250 mL (1 cup)

Canned milk
(evaporated)
125 mL (½ cup)

Yogurt
175 g (3/4 cup)

Cheese
50g (1 ½ oz.)

Drink 500 mL (2 cups) of skim, 1% or 2% milk each day. Select lower fat milk alternatives. Drink fortified soy beverages if you do not drink milk.

Meat and Alternatives

Traditional meats and wild game
75g cooked (2 ½ oz)/125mL (½ cup)

Fish and shellfish
75g cooked (2 ½ oz)/125 mL (½ cup)

Lean meat and poultry
75g cooked (2 ½ oz)/125mL (½ cup)

Eggs
2 eggs

Beans - cooked
175 mL (3/4 cup)

Peanut Butter
30 mL (2 Tbsp)

Have meat alternatives such as beans, lentils and tofu often. Eat at least two Food Guide Servings of fish each week.* Select lean meat and alternatives prepared with little or no added fat or salt.

* Health Canada provides advice for limiting exposure to mercury from certain types of fish. Refer to www.healthcanada.gc.ca for the latest information. Consult local, provincial or territorial governments for information about eating locally caught fish.