The Healthy Eating Plate
by Elena Vicente | 20th Apr 2023
Are you looking to build healthy and balanced meals and you don’t know how?
Here at GourmetFuel we want to give you a few ideas to help you prepare your meals based on Harvard's Healthy Eating Plate.
What is the Harvard's Healthy Eating Plate?
The Healthy Eating Plate was created by nutrition experts at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The idea of this Healthy Eating Plate is to guide, in an easy way, people who want to improve their eating choices and to suggest society how a healthy meal should be sized by the different food groups.
Harvard's Plate isn’t based on the amounts of or the servings per day, since each person is different and has different nutritional needs, based on age, gender, body size and level of activity. It is a guide that focuses on diet quality.
What does the Healthy Eating Plate recommend?
The Healthy Eating Plate recommends including the following food groups in our meals:
Whole Grains
Whole grains are complex carbohydrates, high in fibre and nutrients compared to refined grains, such as: white rice, white bread, white pasta,...
Fibre makes us feel satisfied faster and helps us to control our sugar spikes and lower our cholesterol levels in blood.
Recommendation - ¼ of your plate should contain whole grain.
Healthy Protein
There are two sources of protein: animal protein (meat, fish, eggs and dairy products) and plant based protein (pulses, tofu, whole grains, nuts and seeds).
It is important to have a balanced protein intake and be conscious of limiting the consumption of red meat and processed meat, such as: sausages and bacon.
Recommendation - ¼ of your plate should contain healthy protein.
Vegetables and Fruit
They are a source of nutrients, fibre and most of them are low in calories. There are so many versatile ways to eat them, for instance: in salads, pasta, as a side dish or mixed with pulses or other grains.
Recommendation - ½ of your plate should contain fruit and veg.
Healthy Oils
Choose healthy vegetable oils, such as: olive, canola, sunflower, avocado or soy, but always use them in moderation. It has been scientifically proven that a drizzle of olive oil has several positive health benefits such as: lowering the LDL cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol, reducing the risk of developing heart problems, as well as having an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect on our body.
Finally, never forget to drink between 2-2.5L of water a day and stay active!
At GourmetFuel we prepare and deliver healthy and delicious food, made from natural ingredients that are designed to give your body all the power it needs. If you want to improve your eating habits or the quality of your diet, you can always book a nutrition consultation and get recommendations from our registered nutritionists!