Blog / Recipes

10 Things I Want for the New Canada’s Food Guide

CFG image

It’s been nine years since the release of the last Canada’s Food Guide and based on emerging research and trends, it’s sure time for an update! In fact, Health Canada is in the process of revising the Guide. Help all Canadians eat better and fill in this online questionnaire from Health Canada to help shape the new Food Guide.

Here’s my wish list of the top 10 wants for the new version.

1. Create age-specific Food Guides – how about a different one for kids, teens, adults and older adults. Each Food Guide could address the specific nutritional needs and issues for each of these age groups. For example…
• The Food Guide for young kids could include tips for feeding picky eating and food literacy/cooking skills.
• In the teens’ Food Guide, there could be messages around sodium and sugar sweetened beverages, maximizing bone density, and the benefits of cooking and eating meals with your family.
• The adult’s Food Guide could include tips for meal planning and healthy eating in the workplace.
• For older adults, the Food Guide could highlight the need for certain supplements, bone health, and the important role of protein in the prevention of age-related sarcopenia.
2. Take the emphasis off “low-fat” foods. Highlight foods that naturally contain healthy fats such as avocados, nuts, seeds and olives in addition to healthy oils.
3. Include advice about eating protein – evenly throughout the day, at every meal, and especially breakfast to help with satiety and to maintain muscle mass.
4. Include visual images of portion sizes – for example, a fist is about 1 cup (250 mL) and the size of your palm is about one serving size of meat, poultry or fish. Encourage Canadians to fill half their plate with vegetables and fruit to help keep other foods in the right proportions.
5. Add ideas for eating sustainably and locally. We are eating for the health of ourselves, our families and our planet.
6. Encourage individuals and families to connect with food. Cook meals, grow a garden and create healthy eating environments at work, home, school and play.
7. Focus not just on what to eat, but also how to eat. Sit down and eat mindfully. Enjoy meals with family and friends.
8. Consider creating a vegetarian Food Guide or include more vegetarian options in the new Guide.
9. Add a message about alcohol that echoes the national low risk alcohol drinking guidelines.
10. Include lifestyle messages about the importance of sleep and physical activity that are essential partners to a healthy, wholesome diet.

Revising the Food Guide is no easy task! It requires an extensive review of the evidence-based research as well as consultation with health professionals and consumers. Here’s hoping that some of my top 10 – and your comments too – will make it to the final round!

It’s time to teach our kids how to cook – sign the petition now


Kudos to the Ontario Home Economics Association (OHEA)! The association is spearheading a petition to mandate at least one food and nutrition course in high school.

According to Mary Carver, Professional Home Economist and member of OHEA, “all children need to have the basics of nutrition and some cooking skills so that they know how to make food from scratch and don’t reach out so often for fast food or prepared entrées that are readily available.”

I couldn’t agree more. As a dietitian and chef’s daughter, I know first hand the benefits of eating a wholesome, home cooked meal. Teaching kids to cook not only gives them confidence in the kitchen, but also a life skill that boosts their food literacy.

Food literacy, the latest buzzword, is defined as the knowledge and skills (planning, budgeting, shopping and cooking) that help people make healthy, tasty and affordable meals for themselves and their families. It’s about getting involved with food – at the grocery store choosing locally grown foods, in the kitchen trying a new recipe, or even going on a family outing to an apple orchard.

Please take a minute to sign the OHEA petition asking for at least one mandatory food and nutrition course in Ontario schools. The goal is to attain 2,000 signatures by October 31st. You’ll be glad you did.

Love to learn? Love to eat?

Sign up for my free nutrition news, tips, trends, recipes and fascinating food facts!