National Nutrition Week 2020

#1

MAKE EATING WHOLE FOODS A WAY OF LIFE

During regular daily life, it is often not easy for many individuals to find time to prepare healthy home-cooked meals. Spending more time at home during lockdown, offers the opportunity to prepare home cooked meals from whole foods.
A healthy eating plan with a variety of foods makes meals interesting and enjoyable.
Most of what is eaten should consist of a variety of whole, mostly unprocessed or minimally processed foods from plants, for instance vegetables, fruits, starchy foods and legumes as illustrated in the Food Guide. This indicates that nearly 80 per cent of what we eat should be a variety of unprocessed or minimally processed foods from these food groups.
Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit every day. The WHO recommends that you should eat more than five portions (400 grams) of vegetables and fruit combined per day. No single vegetable or fruit provides all the nutrients you need so eat a variety of types and colours of vegetables and fruits every day.

#2

CHOOSE HEALTHY OPTIONS WHEN SHOPPING/BUYING GROCERIES

Plan your menu: write out a basic meal plan for the week and the groceries you’ll need for it.
Canned foods can be a nutritious and convenient option when fresh foods aren't available. However, salt, sugar, and preservatives are sometimes added during the canning process. Draining and rinsing foods can lower their salt and sugar contents. To avoid extra sugar, choose fruits that are canned in water or juice instead of syrup. It is therefore important to read the label.
Use a freezer if that is available: frozen fruits and vegetables can be a cost-effective option or buy fresh vegetables or fruit in bulk if it is available at a good price and freeze.
Avoid buying prepared food: If you have time, prepare food yourself instead of buying prepared or frozen meals. Thirty minutes will give you enough time to bring together simple, tasty meals.

#3

CHOOSE HEALTHY OPTIONS WHEN BUYING COOKED/READY-TO-EAT FOOD ITEMS/MEALS

Many commercially produced ready-to-eat food items/meals are high in saturated fat, salt, and/or sugar.
Many restaurants and fast food outlets offer portions that are much larger than necessary.
Fried meal options that are sold at ‘fast food outlets’ often consist of refined starchy food and/or meat and are often high in fat and salt. These meals typically do not include any vegtables.
Eating home-cooked meals can make it easier to exercise portion control and to avoid overeating.

#4

PRACTICE HEALTHY HABITS WHEN PREPARING MEALS AND WHEN EATING

During long periods of stress we may find ourselves eating more or less than we need to. Plus, staying at home for longer periods may also lead us to snack out of boredom or forget to eat. Practising healthy eating habits can be a useful strategy to maintain a healthy relationship with food and to change unhealthy eating behaviours, for example binge eating.