Eatwell Guide – Health and Wellbeing Portal

The Eatwell Guide

Use the Eatwell Guide to help you get a balance of healthier and more sustainable food. It shows how much of what you eat overall should come from each food group.

Eatwell Guide by Public Health England in association with the Welsh government, Food Standards Scotland and the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland

Fruit and Vegetables

Most of us are still not eating enough fruit and vegetables. These should make up over a third of the food we eat every day.

Aim to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and veg each day. Choose from fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or juiced.

80g fresh, frozen or canned fruits and vegetables. Canned fruit and vegetables should be in natural juice or water, with no added sugar or salt.
30g dried fruit (this is equivalent to around 80g of fresh fruit). Eat at mealtimes rather than as a snack to reduce the risk of tooth decay.

The below count as one portion a day, no matter how much you eat.

150ml fruit juice, vegetable juice or smoothie. Limit the amount to 150 ml per day to reduce risk of tooth decay.
80g beans and pulses. These are a good source of fibre but contain fewer nutrients than other fruits and vegetables.

Fruit and vegetables do not have to be fresh to count, you can also consider:

Frozen fruit and vegetables
Tinned or canned fruit and vegetables. Buy ones tinned in natural juice or water, with no added sugar or salt.
Fruit and vegetables cooked in dishes such as soups, stews or pasta
A 30g portion of dried fruit, such as currants, dates, sultanas and figs count as 1 of your 5 A Day, but should be eaten at mealtimes instead of a snack to reduce the impact on teeth.
Fruit and vegetables in convenience foods, such as ready meals and shop-bought pasta sauces, soups and puddings

Some ready-made foods are high in salt, sugar and fat, so only have them occasionally or in small amounts.

You can find the salt, sugar and fat content of ready-made foods on the label.

What Counts As 5 A Day?

Starchy Carbohydrates

Starchy food should make up just over a third of the food we eat. Choose higher-fibre, wholegrain varieties such as wholewheat pasta and brown rice, or simple leave skins on potatoes.

There are also higher-fibre versions of white bread and pasta.

Starchy foods are a good source of energy and the main source of a range of nutrients in our diet.

During cooking, aim for a golden yellow colour or lighter when baking, toasting, roasting or frying starchy foods like potatoes, root vegetables and bread.

Why Do We Need Starchy Foods?
Starchy foods are a good source of energy and the main source of a range of nutrients in our diet. As well as starch, they contain fibre, calcium, iron and B vitamins.

Some people think that starchy foods are fattening but gram for gram they contain fewer than half the calories of fat.Just watch out for the added fats used when you cook and serve them: this is what increases the calorie content.

Wholegrain varieties of starchy foods and potatoes – particularly when eaten with their skins on – are good sources of fibre. Fibre can help keep our bowels healthy and can help us feel full, which means we are less likely to eat too much.

Dairy Alternatives

Milk, cheese, yoghurt and fromage frais are good sources of protein and some vitamins, and they are also an important source of calcium, which helps keep our bones strong.

Try to go for lower-fat and lower-sugar products where possible, like 1% fat milk, reduced-fat cheese or plain low-fat yoghurt.

The total fat content of dairy products can vary a lot. To make healthier choices, look at the nutrition information on the label to check the amount of fat, including saturated fat, salt and sugar.

Much of the fat in milk and dairy foods is saturated fat. For older children and adults, eating too much fat can contribute to excess energy intakes, leading to becoming overweight.

A diet high in saturated fat can also lead to raised levels of cholesterol in the blood, and this can put you at increased risk of a heart attack or stroke.

There are a number of alternative foods and drinks available in supermarkets to replace milk and dairy products, such as:

Soya milks, yoghurts and some cheeses
Rice, oat, almond, hazelnut, coconut, quinoa and potato milks
Foods that carry the “dairy-free” or “suitable for vegans” signs

Protein

Protein is essential for growth and repair of the body and maintenance of good health as all of our cells and tissues contain protein. Protein provides the body with approximately 10 to 15% of its dietary energy and it is the second most abundant compound in the body, following water. A large proportion of this will be muscle (43% on average) with significant proportions being present in skin (15%) and blood (16%).

British Nutrition Foundation: Importance of Protein

Meat

These foods are good sources of protein, vitamins and minerals. Choose lean cuts of meat and mince and eat less red and processed meat like bacon, ham and sausages.

If you currently eat more than 90g (cooked weight) of red and processed meat a day, the Department of Health advises that you cut down to 70g, which is the average daily consumption in the UK – as there is likely to be a link between red and processed meat and bowel cancer.

Meats such as chicken, pork, lamb and beef are all rich in protein. A balanced diet can include protein from meat, as well as from non-animal sources such as beans and pulses. Red meat provides us with iron, and meat is also one of the main sources of vitamin B12.

Food hygiene is important when storing, preparing and cooking meat.

How To Make Healthier Choices

Ask your butcher for a lean cut
When buying pre-packed meat, check the nutrition label to see how much fat it contains and compare products
Go for turkey and chicken without the skin as these are lower in fat (or remove the skin before cooking)
Try to limit processed meat products such as sausages, salami, pâté and beefburgers, because these are generally high in fat – they are often high in salt, too. Processed meat refers to meat that has been preserved by smoking, curing, salting or adding preservatives.
Try to limit meat products in pastry, such as pies and sausage rolls, because they are often high in fat and salt

How to Cut Down on Fat When Cooking Meat

Cut off any visible fat and skin before cooking – crackling and poultry skin are much higher in fat than the meat itself.
Grill meat, rather than frying – trimmed pork chops that have been grilled contain around one-third the fat of roasted untrimmed chops, while a lean grilled rump steak contains about half the fat of fried rump steak with the fat and fried chicken breast in breadcrumbs contains nearly 6 times as much fat as chicken breast grilled without the skin
Don’t add extra fat or oil when cooking meat
Roast meat on a metal rack above a roasting tin so the fat can run off
Try using smaller quantities of meat and more vegetables, pulses and starchy foods in dishes such as stews, curries and casseroles

Fish

Aim for at least 2 portions of fish every week – 1 of which should be oily, such as salmon or mackerel.

Fish that is steamed, baked or grilled is a healthier choice than fried fish. Frying can increase the fat content of fish and shellfish, especially when cooked in batter.

To ensure there are enough fish to eat now and in the future, we should try to eat a wide variety of fish and to buy fish from sustainable sources.

Eggs

There is no recommended limit on how many eggs people should eat.

Eggs can be enjoyed as part of a healthy, balanced diet, but it’s best to cook them without adding salt or fat. For example:

Boiled or poached, without added salt
Scrambled without butter and using low-fat milk instead of cream
Frying eggs can increase their fat content by around 50%

Pulses

A pulse is an edible seed that grows in a pod. Pulses include all beans, peas and lentils, such as:

Baked Beans
Red, green, yellow and brown lentils
Chickpeas (chana or garbanzo beans)
Garden peas
Black-eyed peas
Runner Beans
Broad Beans (fava beans)
Kidney beans, butter beans (lima beans), haricots, cannellini beans, flageolet beans, pinto beans and borlotti beans

As well as being a great source of protein, pulses are also a good source of iron, add fibre and 80g will count as one of your 5 A Day!

Pulses are often bought in tins. If you buy tinned pulses, check the label and try to choose ones that have no added salt or sugar.

Oils and Spreads

Unsaturated fats are healthier fats and include vegetable, rapeseed, olive and sunflower oils.

Remember all types of fat are high in energy and should be eaten sparingly.

A small amount of fat is an essential part of a healthy, balanced diet. Fat is a source of essential fatty acids, which the body cannot make itself.

Fat helps the body absorb vitamins A, D and E. These vitamins are fat-soluble, meaning they can only be absorbed with the help of fats.

Too much fat in your diet, especially saturated fats, can raise your cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease.

Current UK government guidelines advise cutting down on all fats and replacing saturated fat with some unsaturated fat.

Water

Water, lower-fat milks and lower-sugar or sugar-free drinks including tea and coffee all count.

Fruit juice and smoothies also count towards your fluid consumption, but they contain free sugars that can damage teeth, so limit these drinks to a combined total of 150ml per day.

Water is a healthy and cheap choice for quenching your thirst at any time. It has no calories and contains no sugars that can damage teeth.

Plain tea, fruit tea and coffee (without added sugar) can also be healthy.

If you don’t like the taste of plain water, try sparkling water or add a slice of lemon or lime. Or heat the water and infuse a tea bag, some coffee or a slice of lemon.

You could also add some no-added-sugar squash or fruit juice for flavour.

Crisps, Chocolate and Biscuits

These foods include chocolate, cakes, biscuits, sugary soft drinks, butter, ghee and ice cream.

They’re not needed in the diet and so should be eaten less often and in smaller amounts.

NHS: How to Cut Down on Sugar