Useful lists to help you make the healthy food choice
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Can you spot the healthy food choices when you shop or plan a meal? These useful lists of healthy food will help you decide what to buy, and what to cook.
Include foods from this healthy food choice list at every meal and you won't go wrong. Unhealthy food choices are also highlighted, so from now on, you can shop
selectively.
Seek out organic, seasonal fruit and vegetables, ideally locally produced . Choose vegetables
from across the colour spectrum – dark and light green, orange, red,
yellow blue or black - to get the best range of nutrients.
Less healthy choice
Non-organic vegetables are grown in soil treated with artificial
fertilisers which deplete the earth, and rob vegetables of mineral content.
Canned vegetables can be good sources of nutrients, but avoid those
processed with added salt and sugar.
POTATOES
Healthy food choice
Organic, locally produced potatoes. Get to know the names of common
varieties, as different types are suitable for different uses.
Unhealthy choice
Avoid ready-made chips, waffles or other shaped potato products. Buy
fresh potatoes rather than canned or frozen.
FRUIT
Healthy foods list
Organic, fresh fruits, in season and locally produced are the ideal. Be mindful of food miles, and choose seasonal fruit where you can. Again, go for a range of
colours. Dried fruits like apricots, pears, raisins, prunes, are also
good.
Unhealthy food list
Steer clear of fruits canned in sugary syrups. 'Fruit flavoured'
products may contain no real fruit at all.
CEREALS AND GRAINS
Healthy grain choice
Add variety to your diet with cous-cous, bulgur wheat, quinoa,
oats.
Unhealthy grain choice
Many breakfast cereals are made of refined grains, coated with sugar.
Look for whole grain muesli, and check out the sugar content on the label before you buy. Learn how to choose healthy breakfast cereals.
NUTS AND SEEDS
Healthy food choice
Lots of possibilities here. Try walnuts, almonds, cashews, pumpkin
seeds, sunflower seeds. All excellent sources of nutrients, sprinkled
or chopped into breakfast cereals, desserts, sandwiches, or eaten by
themselves. Nuts and seeds are high in calories because of their
natural fat content.
Unhealthy choice
Deep-fried, salted nuts and seeds.
BREAD
Healthy food choice
Buy wholemeal bread from a local craft baker who bakes from scratch,
if you can find one. Or make your own - use a bread making machine to make the job quick and easy.
Unhealthy choice
Quite apart from its shortcomings in texture and flavour, mass-
produced, sliced and wrapped bread contains unhealthy hydrogenated
vegetable oils. Beware also bread from supermarket in-store bakeries.
Almost all is made from factory-produced dough which has been part-
baked and frozen, and the baking finished in the store.
POULTRY
Healthy food list
Ideally, buy free-range and organic chicken and turkey. These are
good, low-fat meats, high in nutrients, and have been humanely
produced.
Unhealthy food list
Avoid coated or shaped chicken or turkey products. These are often
made from poor quality meat from birds raised in battery cages.
Products contain a high proportion of added fat, fillers and other
additives.
MEAT
Healthy meat, healthy sausages
Look for free-range, organic pork, beef, lamb. Limit to once or twice
a week. Choose cuts with the least fat. Buy sausages with high meat
content, from butcher who makes them. Learn more about the meat facts.
Unhealthy meat, unhealthy sausages
Avoid coated or shaped meat products and cheap, mass-produced
sausages.
FISH
Healthy fish choice
Serve oily fish, like salmon, sardines, tuna, 2-3 times a week.
Canned fish is a good alternative to fresh. White fish, like plaice,
haddock or cod are also good. Avoid deep frying - cook by grilling (broiling), steaming or oven-baking.
Unhealthy fish choice
Avoid crumbed or battered fish products. Cheaper versions are made
with minced fish, mixed with fat and fillers.
PASTA
Healthy pasta choice
Try organic wholewheat or corn-based varieties and serve with homemade vegetable-
based sauces, like those in these healthy pasta recipes.
Unhealthy choice
Canned pasta, such as spaghetti hoops, is high in sugar and salt and
very low in fibre/fiber.
DAIRY PRODUCTS
Healthy dairy food choice Milk Buy organic milk – it tastes better and is more
nutritious. Choose skimmed, or semi-skimmed or 1% fat. Try substituting soya or oat
milk. They're particularly good on cereal and taste creamier than
ordinary milk. Cream, fromage frais, yogurt Look for
low-fat, organic products. Cheese Choose low fat,
organic cheeses. If you want to serve a cheese board, where the
emphasis is on flavour, buy the full-fat varieties but serve smaller
quantities.
Unhealthy choice
Full-fat milk, cream, cheese, yogurt – use only occasionally.
EGGS
Healthy food choice
Organic, free-range eggs are the best choice.
Unhealthy choice
Avoid battery-produced eggs. Chickens that produce eggs labelled ‘Barn eggs’ or ‘perchery eggs’ may still be kept in miserable conditions, without freedom to roam outside.
Unhealthy snacks choice
Fat-laden and salty crisps, tortilla chips, nuts.
CAKES, COOKIES, BISCUITS
Healthy food choice
Making your own gives you control over how much fat and sugar you
use. Try our healthy cake recipes.
Unhealthy choice
Inspect labels of manufactured goods very carefully. Avoid any that
contain hydrogenated vegetable oil. Remember that 'low fat' fat
products are often very high in sugar, while 'low sugar' products
usually have high levels of artificial sweetener.
