Healthy eating – the basics

There’s no one 'perfect' diet and healthy eating will look different for everyone. The following is a good place to start.

• Eat mostly whole and less processed foods. These are foods close to their natural form – like vegetables, fruit, beans, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, grains and plain meat or chicken.
• Add colourful vegetables and fruit to your meals. Aim for half your plate to be vegetables.
• Eat a range of different coloured vegetables and fruit every day, such as:
  • red – capsicum, tomato, strawberry etc.
  • green – broccoli, beans, silver beet, puha, peas, kiwifruit etc.
  • orange – carrot, mandarin, orange, pumpkin, golden kūmara etc.
  • white – cauliflower, potato, pear, taro etc.
  • purple – eggplant, plum, red cabbage etc.
• Swap refined carbohydrates such as white bread and pasta to whole grain and high-fibre options such as wholegrain bread, brown rice and rolled oats.
• Include protein in your meals such as eggs, tofu, beans, lean meats, seafood or dairy products.
• Use healthy fats such as avocado, nuts, seeds, oily fish and olive oil instead of butter, ghee, coconut oil, lard.
• Cut back on highly processed foods including:
  • processed meats such as sausage, luncheon, bacon and ham etc.
  • sugary drinks – energy drinks, fizzy drinks, sports drinks etc.
  • packaged foods – biscuits, chips, crackers, instant noodles 
  • chocolate and confectionary (sweets)
  • takeaway and bakery foods – fried chicken, burgers, fish and chips, pies, sausage rolls, sweet slices etc.
• Limit how much alcohol you drink or don’t drink at all.

Image credit: Canva

Video: What's the best diet? Healthy eating 101

Healthy eating can be confusing, so sit down at the clinic with Doctor Mike Evans as he provides some great healthy eating tips and advice in this video.
 

A simple way to check if your plate is balanced is to look at the balance of each food group.

Use the healthy plate model as a guide to help you serve up lunch and dinner meals: 

• Half your plate vegetables – cooked, raw, frozen or canned.
• A quarter of your plate protein foods – beans, legumes, fish, eggs, tofu, chicken, meat.
• A quarter of your plate grain foods or starchy vegetables – brown rice, kūmara or wholegrain bread.

Image credit: Healthify He Puna Waiora

Savoury and sweet snacks can often be high in sugar, salt and fat. Learn to read food labels by taking a closer look at the nutrition information panel or use the health star rating(external link) to help you make a choice between similar foods such as for yoghurts or muesli bars. 

The best snacks are the ones that don’t come in packets and are based around whole or minimally processed foods. You will feel more satisfied when you combine foods that contain protein (eg, yoghurt, cottage cheese and boiled eggs), dietary fibre (eg, vegetables, fruit, hummus) and healthy fats (eg, nuts and seeds). Snack ideas include fruit, vegetable sticks and hummus, yoghurt, wholegrain crackers and cheese or a small handful of nuts and seeds. 

If you are wanting to make a start at healthier eating, you don’t need to change your whole diet. The best changes are the ones that you can make and keep up over the long-term.

Try swapping 1 or 2 foods each week. Small changes add up. Get some ideas about what to swap for better health. 

Image credit: Healthify He Puna Waiora

Let’s face it, life can be busy and your priorities can change week to week.

Here are some quick tips to help keep you on track.

• Add one vege to each meal – fresh, frozen or tinned.
• Keep healthy snacks handy – nuts, fruit, boiled eggs or plain popcorn
• Try not to skip meals – it can lead to overeating later
• Listen to your body – eat when you feel hungry and try to stop before you feel full. Our bodies take a little time to feel full, so many of us eat more than we need without realising.
• Sit down to eat when you can – eating on the go or while distracted makes it easier to overeat without noticing.
• Make a little extra when you cook dinner – you can use leftovers for lunch or freeze a portion for busy days.

Eating well can have a powerful impact on how you feel and live through life. Your daily food choices are something you can take charge of.

Remember, diets where you cut out a whole food group or over restrict your food intake don’t work in the long term. Instead, focus on sustainable lifestyle changes that you can keep up even on the days when you're busy or tired. 

To get started:

• Write down 1 or 2 small changes you want to start this week.
• Think about what might get in the way and how you'll overcome it.

Apps reviewed by Healthify

You may find it useful to look at some nutrition apps.