Canada Food Guide Plate

Salmon Dinner

If you look at this salmon dinner plate, you may consider it healthy, but according to the Canada Food Guide Plate, the portions are just a tad bit off.  When you’re trying to get your diet right and get all the nutrients you need, portion size plays a big role.  It’s important to always keep portion size in mind for every plate that you eat because eating too much of something, or not getting enough, could mean that your nutrition is unbalanced.

In the United States, we were taught the food pyramid, which is a good concept to build off of, but it doesn’t help me remember how I should be eating each and every meal.  Then, when MyPlate was introduced, it was a better visual but still, it doesn’t quite say exactly how much of the food groups should be on my plate.  So when I saw the Canada Food Guide Plate, I appreciated how easy it is to remember my correct portions so I could get enough of what I need each day.

Canada Food Guide

The Canada Food Guide Plate starts off with what’s most important: fruits and vegetables.

Fruits and vegetables should equal half of your plate.  With so many people struggling to get their daily recommended servings of vegetables, it could be a helpful visual reminder that half of your plate should be vegetables and fruits.  The recommended amount averages to about  2.5-3 cups a day, but that all depends on your age, gender, and activity level, so make sure to check with your physician to see what’s right for you.  But regardless of the exact amount, seeing a plate half full with vegetables and fruits will help to ensure that people will get plenty of nutrients from their foods.

What I also appreciate about the Canada Food Plate Guide is that they also showcase real foods on their visual.  The plate shows a variety of how you can get all the food groups in without getting bored with all the same food.  The carbs are whole grain foods, which are better sources of fiber and protein than refined grains.  I grew up in a household with white rice as a staple, but ever since I made the switch to brown rice, I feel a lot better about eating carbs.  Seeing that carbs should be 1/4 of your plate make it easy to remember that carbs can be ok, just make sure they’re whole grain and portioned out.

The protein on the Canada Food Guide Plate is what I think really makes a difference.

First of all, the visual shows plant-based proteins alongside meat, which helps to make the connection that plants can be a great source of protein.  Second, the plate also shows that protein should be limited to 1/4 of your plate.  If you scroll up to the first salmon dinner photo posted, then take a peek at the salmon dinner plate below, you’ll see how I adapted the portion sizes to fit with the Canada Food Guide Plate.

Salmon Dinner correct portions

In the first plate, I had one salmon fillet, which equaled 1/2 my plate, and then served with 1/4 plate of vegetables, and 1/4 plate of carbs.  But if you look at serving sizes, a serving size of salmon is about 3 ounces, whereas a salmon fillet is usually about 6 to 8 ounces.  So instead of serving a while fillet, which would most likely be eaten up, make sure to portion it out and cut it down to 3 ounces.  That leaves more room on your plate, and in your bellies, for the 1/2 plate serving of vegetables, and more vitamins in your body!  Try this recipe for this salmon dinner, and you’ll have the correct portions in this gluten-free, Whole30-approved meal.

So the next time you make a plate of food, think back to the Canada Food Guide plate to see if your portions are right.  Just because your plate looks healthy doesn’t mean that it is.