Healthy Food

The best diet has to follow some guidelines

1. Eat a variety of different food.
Include a variety of different foods to get the vitamins, minerals, fibre, protein and energy you need for good health. Choose lots of food rich in starch. For example breads, cereals, potatoes, rice and pasta. Eat less fat, especially fruit and vegetables, milk, cheese and yogurt, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, peas, beans and nuts.

2. Eat more food rich in starch, bread, cereals, potatoes, rice and pasta.
Starchy foods are low in fat. Provide many essential vitamins, minerals and are for filling. These foods should make up the main part of any healthy eating plan, so put lots of these in your shopping trolley. In order to have different choices buy different varieties of breads like sliced pans, crusty baguettes, rolls etc. Try scones, muffins and fruit brack as tasty treats for children at the end of a meal. These are usually lower in fat than croissants, pastries, buns and cakes. Don't forget rice. Try wholegrain rice or mix a handful of rice and of course potatoes. Our traditional favourite are an important item in all shopping trolleys, buy more potatoes particularly for boiling or baking. choose a variety of low sugar breakfast cereals. Pasta is a handy convenience food, quick to prepare and filling. Choose a variety of shapes and colours.

3. Eat four or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
Fruit and Vegetables are high in fibre and packed with vitamins and minerals. They contains especially A, B, C, and E vitamins. They are also low in calories and virtually fat free. When making your shopping list, add up your fruit and vegetable choices and make sure that you have included at least four servings each day for all of your family. If not, add some more. You will only need to do this a few times, as you will soon have a good idea of how much you need each week. Put plenty of the following into your shopping trolley. Fruit juices all types - especially orange and grapefruit. Buy fruit all kinds - fresh, frozen and tinned (especially in own juice). Try vegetables of different kinds - fresh, frozen and tinned. Dried fruit, use to sweeten desserts. For handy, convenient meals, check out prepared fruit and vegetables. If there more expensive, there is no wastage. Try the following: cartons of salad selections, bags of chopped vegetables, cartons of fresh fruit and fruit salad, bags of frozen vegetables or fruit, bags of salad leaves. In order to save money, buy fruit and vegetables in season. Buy in bulk and look out for special offers. Choose plenty of variety.

4. Eat more food rich in fibre (bread and cereals especially wholegrain), potatoes, fruit and vegetables.
It is necessary to get enough fibre in the food you eat. There are two main types of fibre. Wheat fibre has a laxative effect and soluble fibre, such as oat fibre, these may help reduce cholesterol levels and protect against heart disease. It is best to eat a variety of fibre-rich foods from bread, cereals (especially wholegrain), potatoes, fruit and vegetables. During your shopping choose: Plenty of wholemeal breads and wholegrain breakfast cereals for added fibre, instead of sugar or honey coated cereals. Eat different kind of fruits and vegetables. Fruit and vegetables provide fibre as well as vitamins and minerals. Put these on top of your shopping list. Buy plenty of potatoes, especially fresh potatoes when available, and eat them in their skins, this is good for added fibre. Don´t forget to buy dried fruits for added fibre, for example apricots, raisins, sultanas and currant.

5. Eat less fat especially saturated fats. Make lower fat choices whenever possible.
When you are shopping, keep a close eye on the amount and type of fat there is in the foods you buy. Reading food labels will help. The following tips may also help. Buy more low fat dairy produce such as low fat milks, cheeses, yogurts. These taste good and be easily substituted in cooking. Choose low fat alternatives and substitute more nourishing foods such as fruit or low fat yogurt. Try frozen yogurts as a treat or topping on fruit. These are lower in fat than ice cream or cream. Regularly buy a spread or margarine made from pure vegetable oil such as sunflower or olive oil, this means you will eat less saturated fat. If you are using more than two pats or two teaspoons of margarine or butter each day, try a low fat variety, it has less fat so you can use a bit more. All types of oils are a very concentrated source of fat. Choose a pure vegetable oil such as sunflower, corn, rape seed or olive oil and use it sparingly in cooking. Get into the habit of measuring oil in tablespoons rather than pouring straight from the bottle. Buy the leanest cuts of meat that you can and trim off all visible fat before cooking. Choose lower fat mince, lean beef burgers and low fat sausages and grill them. Chicken and turkey are low fat choices as long as the skin is not a deep-fat fried. If prepared sauces (for example tinned or in jars), look at the label and choose those lowest in fat. Try making your own, that way you can reduce the fat content even more. Always put fish on your weekly shopping list. Try to have fish at least twice a week. Oily fish has added health benefits. If you sometimes use breaded fish for convenience, oven-bake instead of deep-fat frying. When you buy dressing for dessert of salad once in a while. Buy low fat alternatives for cream, mayonnaise and low fat dressings and use in very small amounts.

6. Use a variety of seasoning, try not to rely on salt to flavour foods.
Use black pepper more often as an alternative flavouring to salt. Buy garlic, ginger and onion to add flavour to cooked dishes. Use spices more often to reduce the amount of salt you add to cooked dishes such as casseroles and curries. Look out for herbs, fresh and dried, add to salads and cooked meals. Potted herb plants, e.g basil, cost only a little more than ready-cut packets and last longer. Experiment with new flavourings. Read recipes in magazines and recipe books for different ideas.

7. If you drink or eat snacks containing sugar, limit the number of times you take them throughout the day.
Sugar, sugary foods and drinks are an energy source providing calories for energy but often few other nutrients. Keeping an eye on the amount of sugary snacks eaten between meals is particularly important for good dental health, healthy skin and healthy body. Sugary snacks and drinks taken frequently throughout the day are a major contributing factor to tooth decay, dissorder of the skin and increases the body weight. Buy lots of fruit and have it regularly as treats between meals. Choose other healthy snack foods for you such as yogurt, breakfast cereals (which are not coated in sugar or honey) and peanuts. Choose sugar free drinks instead of sugary drinks. Avoid snacks like chocolates, biscuits and cakes.

8. If you drink alcohol, drink sensibly and preferably with meals.
Alcohol is included in the healthy eating guidelines, because alcohol contains energy (calories). Frequent consumption of alcoholic drinks may lead to weight gain. Also if alcohol is taken instead of meals, this may lead to nutritional deficiencies. When shopping: try alcohol free wine and low alcohol beers. choose wine or beer in preference to spirits (they have a lower alcohol content). Use mineral water to dilute wine. When preparing cocktail, dilute drinks well with sugar free mixers.