If you know how to spot healthy recipes, balance your diet and keep portion control in check, you’re giving yourself and your family a really great start.
If you know how to spot healthy recipes, balance your diet and keep portion control in check, you’re giving yourself and your family a really great start on the path to good health.
There are 5 food groups that make up a balanced diet: fruit & veg; starchy carbs; protein; dairy, and healthy fats. You don’t have to include all of the food groups in every meal – just try to get your balance right across the day or week.
Recipe tips
Includes at least 1 portion of fruit or veg
Includes at least 2 portions of either starchy carbs, protein or dairy
Check the nutrition, and go for meals that contain no more than 30% of your reference intake for saturated fat, sugar and salt per portion
Don’t super-size – make sure you’re eating the right portion size
MORE: WHAT IS A PORTION?
Key to a balanced diet:
Eat the rainbow. Aim for at least 5 portions of different fruit and veg every day
Use starchy carbs as the base for your meals – potatoes, bread, rice, pasta – choosing wholegrain versions whenever possible, and keeping an eye on portion size
Include beans, pulses, fish, eggs and some meat, as these are a good source of protein
Include dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soy drinks) in your diet, choosing lower-fat and lower-sugar options.
Choose healthy, unsaturated fats (such as olive or rapeseed oil), and keep them to a minimum
Drink up! Aim for 6 to 8 glasses a day. As well as water, this can include unsweetened tea, coffee and lower-fat milk
If you eat meat and fish, as a general guide, aim to eat at least 2 portions of fish a week, one of which should be oily (such as salmon, trout or mackerel). Split the rest of the week’s main meals between brilliant meat-free plant-based meals, poultry, and a little red meat. An all-vegetarian diet can be perfectly healthy, too.
3 BALANCED, HEALTHY RECIPES
As well as this delicious dish giving us 3 of our 5-a-day, salmon is high in vitamin D, which our bodies need for absorbing calcium, helping to keep our bones and teeth healthy.
Super protein-packed black beans are a great base to this veggie version of the classic Brazilian dish and, thanks to all the veg, we get four of your 5-a-day and loads of fibre, too! Fibre helps us keep our digestive system happy and stay regular.
Vibrant homemade pasta that's super-fun to make and packed with nutritious spinach. Spinach is high in folic acid, which we need to produce red blood cells and maintain a strong immune system.
For more healthy ideas, check out our collection ofbalanced breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes here.