How Do Your Eating Habits Compare?

Canada's Food Guide recommends eating a balanced diet that includes a variety of foods from each of the four food groups. However, everyone is different, which means that everyone has different requirements. Knowing what your body needs to function properly can help you make healthy food choices every day.

The Four Food Groups

Grain Products	Choose whole-grain and enriched products more often. Examples of Grain Products: Whole-grain breads, pasta, rice, couscous and hot or cold cereals.
Milk and Alternatives	Choose lower-fat milk products more often. Examples of Milk Products: Skim or 1% milk, low-fat yogurt and low-fat cheeses.
Vegetables and Fruits	Choose dark green and orange vegetables and orange fruit more often. Examples of Vegetables and Fruits: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, peppers, zucchinis, apples, oranges, melons, mangos and grapes.
Meat and Alternatives	Choose leaner meats, poultry and fish, as well alternatives such as eggs, dried peas, beans and lentils more often. Examples of Meat and Alternatives: Chicken (without skin), lean beef, fish, eggs, nuts and beans.

Food plays many roles, and is especially important for nutritional well-being, growth and development. Protein, carbohydrate and fat are the major nutrients found in food. These are called macronutrients and they are responsible for providing the energy (or calories) that your body needs to function properly and stay active. The amount of nutrients your body requires from any of these sources mainly depends on your age, gender and activity level.

Check out www.EATracker.ca to track your daily food and activity choices. EATracker provides you with personalized feedback, based on your age and gender, on how well your nutrient intakes, food choices and activity levels meet national guidelines. You can even track your progress over time to see how well you are doing.

Egg-cellent Fact

Packed with protein. Did you know that a serving of 2 large eggs contains 12 grams of protein?

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