a. Canada's Food Guide

Canada's Food Guide will help you make healthy food choices for you and your baby.

What should I eat?

Canada’s Food Guide includes lots of ideas for ways to eat healthier. By clicking on any of the links below, you will be directed to more information on that topic.

To eat well you should:


How much should I eat?

How much you need to eat depends on how much weight you need to gain, how active you are, and your own personal eating style. Remember to listen to your body. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. Click on this link for ways to be more mindful of your eating habits.

In your second and third trimester, you will need to eat a little more. This can include an extra snack each day. Snacks can include a couple of healthy foods and a healthy drink. Examples of some healthy snacks include an apple and a glass of milk or veggie sticks and hummus. Click on this link for other healthy snack ideas. 


Healthy Eating Habits

Besides the foods you choose, other things that can help you eat healthier are:

 
Here are some resources from Canada’s Food Guide to help you make healthier choices when cooking and shopping for food:
 
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1. Vegetables and Fruits

Have plenty of vegetables and fruits

When putting together a healthy meal, half of your plate should include vegetables and fruits. Include vegetables and fruits at every meal and snack.

Eat a variety of vegetables and fruits. Colourful vegetables and fruits are richer in certain important nutrients. Enjoy salads, broccoli, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, and oranges.

Vegetables and fruits can be eaten fresh, raw, slightly cooked, canned, or frozen. 

Choose canned vegetables with little or no sodium added. You can drain and rinse to lower the sodium. Choose canned fruit with little or no added sugar.

Fruit juice is high in sugar. Have a glass of water instead with whole or cut vegetables or fruits.

Make it easy to snack on vegetables and fruits by washing and slicing them ahead of time. Prepare extra vegetables when you’re making a meal, then freeze or refrigerate so it’s easy to add them next time. For other ideas to help you eat more vegetables and fruits, click on this link.

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Test Your Knowledge








  Why is it important to eat vegetables and fruits. The following exercise will help you to discover their importance.
Select and slide each term to its proper place.
 
 
Folic acid
Fibre
Vitamin A
Iron
Vitamin C
 
 
  Nutrient Functions  
    Helps to produce red blood cells and to build your baby's blood and tissues.  
    Helps build bones and teeth and keeps eyes and skin healthy.  
    Keeps your gums and blood vessels healthy and helps you fight infections.  
    Your baby stores his or her own reserves which will last for the first four to six months of his or her life. Necessary for your blood to be healthy.  
    Helps your bowels to function well. Necessary for health in general.  
 

2. Whole Grain Foods

Choose whole grain foods

One quarter of your healthy meal should be whole grains.

Whole grain products such as wheat, oats, barley, and rye are healthy choices because they are high in fibre.
Enriched products are good because certain vitamins and minerals that are lost during transformation have been
added.

Look for the words “whole grain” or “whole wheat” on the ingredient list.

Some grain foods like breads and muffins, crackers and pasta dishes can have a lot of added sodium, sugars or
saturated fats.

Try whole grain cereals, crackers or pita bread with snacks.

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Test Your Knowledge








  Why is it important to eat whole grain foods? The following exercise will help you to discover their importance.
Select and slide each term to its proper place.
 
 
Vitamin B
Fibre
Iron
Carbohydrates
 
 
  Nutrient Functions  
    Gives energy and help transform fat into energy.  
    Helps your body transform food into energy. Helps keep your eyes, skin, nervous system and appetite healthy. It is also important for growth and development.  
    Your baby stores his or her own reserves which will last for the first four to six months of his or her life. Necessary for your blood to be healthy.  
    Helps your bowels to function well. Necessary for health in general.  
 

 

3. Protein Foods

Eat protein foods

One quarter of your meal or plate should be protein foods. This can include lower fat unsweetened milk or soy beverage.

Protein foods are an important part of healthy eating. Include foods such as beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, lean meats and poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, lower fat milk and lower fat dairy products. Some protein foods, like lean meats, are high in iron. Other protein foods, like milk, are high in calcium. Make sure that each meal contains a source of protein.

Among the sources of high quality protein, don't forget eggs, which are economical.  

Fish is a protein food that contains the healthy omega-3 fats DHA and EPA. Pregnant or breastfeeding women or women who could become pregnant, should eat fish to get DHA. Some larger fish may contain mercury. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or could become pregnant, you should avoid or rarely eat fish that are high in mercury (maximum 150 g or about 2 cups per month). This includes fresh/frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughly and escolar. Canned white tuna, or albacore, should be limited to no more than 300 g per week (or 4 cups). You do not need to limit the amount of canned light tuna, which is lower in mercury and usually costs less.  

Protein foods include milk, soy beverage, and dairy products. Certain milk products have less fat and energy but still provide high quality protein and calcium. If you do not like milk products or cannot eat them, talk it over with a registered dietitian who can advise you how to get the necessary calcium.

Include proteins that come from plants, such as beans, lentils, nuts and seeds. These protein foods are often less expensive and are high in fibre and low in saturated fat. For ideas to help you eat more proteins that come from plants, visit this Canada’s Food Guide link.

 

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Test Your Knowledge








  The following exercise will help you to discover the importance of protein foods.
Select and slide each term to its proper place.
 
 
Protein
Calcium
Iron
Vitamin D
Fibre
Folic acid
 
  Nutrient Functions  
    Builds and repairs all parts of the body and helps to fight infection.  
    Builds strong bones and teeth.  
    Your baby stores his or her own reserves which will last for the first four to six months of his or her life. Necessary for your blood to be healthy.  
    Helps your bowels to function well. Necessary for health in general.  
    Builds bones and teeth and keeps them strong. It also helps the nervous system to function well and blood to clot.  
    Helps to produce red blood cells and to build your baby's blood and tissues.  
 

4. Healthy Eating Habits

Healthy eating is more than the foods you eat. It is also about where, when, why and how you eat.

It is just as important to think about your eating habits as the foods you choose. Here are some things you can do to follow healthy eating habits:

Be mindful of your eating habits.

This means being aware of: how, why, what, when, where and how much you eat.

Take your time to eat. Pay attention to when you’re hungry and when you’re full. Make it easy to eat healthier by having healthy food and drinks available.

Cook more often.

Cooking can help you to learn new skills, eat less processed foods, eat more whole foods prepared in a healthy way, and save money. You can save time cooking by preparing bigger batches and freezing or refrigerating the left-overs. Plan what to make for your meals and snacks ahead of time.

Canada’s Food Guide has recipes for breakfast, lunch/dinner and snacks.

Enjoy your food.

Take the time to enjoy the textures and flavours of your food. Put away distractions while you’re eating, to focus on your food and connect with the other people at the table. Change things up by trying new foods or meals from different cultures. 

You can still enjoy healthy meals by taking the time to plan ahead if you’re eating on a budget.

Eating with others can make meals more enjoyable. If you live on your own, consider planning a regular meal with family, friends or neighbours. 

Use food labels to make healthier choices. You can use the nutrition facts table to compare calories, nutrients and % daily values (% DV). The % DV can help you know whether a serving has a little or a lot of a nutrient. Aim for 5% DV or less for nutrients like sodium and 15% DV or higher for healthier nutrients like calcium. The list of ingredients can also be helpful because it lists everything that’s in the product, starting with the ingredients in the highest amount.

Limit foods high in sodium, sugars or saturated fat. Too much of these foods can be harmful to your health and can replace the healthy foods your baby needs to grow. The best way to cut back on sodium, sugars and fats is to eat less processed foods and prepare more of your meals from whole foods. Replace sugary drinks with water or unsweetened lower fat milk or soy beverage. Canada’s food guide offers ideas for naturally flavouring your water if you’re looking for a change.

Be aware of marketing. Marketing is often used to promote foods higher in sodium, sugars or saturated fat. Advertisements can mislead you to convince you to buy their product. Instead, read the nutrition facts table and list of ingredients to decide if a product is a healthy choice for you.

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Test Your Knowledge

 

Think about the last meal or snack that you had. 

Can you describe:

how you ate?

  • did you eat slowly?

  • were you distracted?

  • did you eat with others?

why you ate?

  • were you hungry?

  • was it offered to you?

what you ate?

  • what food and drink did you have?

when you ate?

  • what time was it?

  • how long had it been since the last time you ate?

where you ate?

  • were you in a space meant for eating?

how much you ate? 

  • how much food and drink did you have?

Being able to recall and describe answers to these questions means you were likely being mindful of your eating habits.

 

Source: Canada’s Food Guide