When did you last eat a vegetable or drink water? We know food is important for our bodies and minds – health inside and out. The question some of us might ask is how can we afford and access this wide range of foods if we don’t know how prepare and can’t afford it. We may not have the money or the time or even access to a kitchen. Perhaps we need to advocate for all three of those things plus better representation of this guide in any meal programs we use, including for seniors and youth.

Challenge: In an op-ed for Maclean’s, Nick Saul writes that while we have an evidence-based food guide that tells us what we should be putting on our plates, we need to make sure everyone can put those plates on the table.

We must find a way to channel the noise and interest generated by the arrival of the new food guide into a re-energized conversation about how to ensure that every Canadian has enough money in their pockets to make the food choices that are best for their health and the health of their families. — Nick Saul, President and CEO, Community Food Centres Canada

Read more on Maclean’s website.

Recent Big changes include:

Eat a variety of healthy foods each day

• Have plenty of vegetables and fruits
  Choose whole grain foods
  Eat protein foods
  Make water your drink of choice
• Image shows a glass of water and a plate with food. Half of the plate has vegetables and fruits (broccoli, carrots, blueberries, strawberries, green and yellow bell peppers, apples, red cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, and green peas); one quarter of the plate has protein foods (lean meat, chicken, variety of nuts and seeds, lentils, eggs, tofu, yogourt, fish, beans), and one quarter of the plate has whole grain foods (whole-grain bread, whole-grain pasta, wild rice, red quinoa, brown rice).

Healthy eating is more than the food you eat.

Be mindful of your eating habits

• Image shows two adults eating breakfast together

Cook more often

• Image shows an adult and child cooking together

Enjoy your food

• Image shows a plate of stir-fry

Eat meals with others

• Image shows a group of people sharing a meal

Use food labels

• Image shows the hands of a person holding two cans of food. The nutrition facts tables on the cans are shown.

Limit foods high in sodium, sugars or saturated fat

• Image shows highly processed foods such as baked goods, pizza, a soft drink, chocolate and a hot dog

Be aware of food marketing

• Image shows a person looking at a food advertisement on a cellphone and computer screen

Eat well. Live well.

==>More about food and mental health in the Food Bulletin issue.