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Enjoying your food is part of healthy eating. Enjoy the taste of your food and the many food-related activities that go along with eating.

The benefits of enjoying your food include:

• tasting the flavours
• being open to trying new foods
• developing a healthy attitude about food

Knowing that you are making healthy food choices can increase your enjoyment of food.

Enjoying your food includes:

1. socializing at mealtime
2. enjoying shopping for food
3. preparing and cooking food
4. growing or harvesting your own food
5. getting to know the people that grow or produce your food
6. involving others in meal planning, preparation and clean up

Click here for more ideas from Health Canada about enjoying your food.

Source: Health Canada

Cooking more often can help you develop healthy eating habits. You can cook more often by planning what you eat and involving others in planning and preparing meals.

Cooking and preparing food can support healthy eating habits. Cooking allows you to:

• learn new skills
• rely less on highly processed foods
• control the amount of sauces and seasonings
• make foods that you and your family like and will eat
• save money by avoiding extra money spent on meals eaten out
• choose healthy ingredients like:
  • fruits
  • vegetables
  • whole grain foods
  • protein foods
    • choose protein foods that come from plants more often

Click here to learn how to cook more often from Health Canada.

Source: Health Canada

Healthy eating is about more than just the foods you eat. It is being mindful of your eating habits, taking time to eat and noticing when you are hungry and when you are full.

Being mindful can help you:

• make healthier choices more often
• make positive changes to routine eating behaviours
• be more conscious of the food you eat and your eating habits
• create a sense of awareness around your every day eating decisions
• reconnect to the eating experience by creating an awareness of your:
  • feelings
  • thoughts
  • emotions
  • behaviours

Click here to learn more about mindful eating from Health Canada.

Source: Health Canada

Researchers have identified a healthy combination of foods — called the MIND diet — that can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.  MIND diet foods are delicious and nutritious, and are good for heart health, too.

Benefits of the MIND diet

The MIND diet research was conducted with a group of older adults over a 4½-year period. The researchers showed that sticking to the MIND diet can reduce the rate of developing Alzheimer’s disease by more than 50 per cent. Even modest adherence to the diet can bring a 35 per cent reduction.

Adults who follow this diet also have a slower overall rate of cognitive decline, which researchers say is equivalent to taking 7½ years off their age. This is due to the nutritious combination of foods that help reduce inflammation and preserve white matter in the brain, which is related to stronger cognitive benefits.

The MIND diet is good for whole body health, but focuses on preventing cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. It includes these 10 essential components:

1. Leafy green vegetables – daily
2. Other vegetables – daily
3. Berries – at least twice a week
4. Nuts – daily
5. Beans – every other day
6. Whole grains – three times a day
7. Seafood – at least once a week
8. Poultry – at least twice a week
9. Olive oil – as the main dietary fat
10. Wine – a glass a day (if you drink alcohol).

What not to eat

Beyond what you eat, the MIND Diet also includes a list of foods to limit:

1. Red meats – less than four times a week
2. Butter and stick margarine – less than 1 tablespoon a day
3. Cheese – less than one serving a week
4. Pastries and sweets – less than five servings a week
5. Fried or fast food – less than one serving a week.

Click here to learn more about the MIND Diet from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

Source: Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada

Enjoying healthy foods with family, friends, neighbours or co-workers is a great way to connect and add enjoyment to your life. It can provide many benefits and contribute to a healthy lifestyle.

By eating with others you can:

• enjoy quality time together
• share food traditions across generations and cultures
• explore new healthy foods that you might not normally try

Food is often a main part of celebrations and special events. However, eating with others doesn’t have to be saved for special events.

How to eat with others more often:

Making time to enjoy meals with others doesn’t just happen. With busy schedules at work, school and home, making time to enjoy your meals with others can often get pushed aside.

The key to making it happen often starts with a plan. You could:

• plan a breakfast date with friends
• participate in community celebrations and feasts
• start a regular community meal with your neighbours
• have lunch with a co-worker at work or friend at school
• ask your local community centre about groups you could join
• plan a weekly dinner with extended family members or friends
• eat dinner with:
  • roommates
  • a neighbour
  • family members
• start a dinner party among your friends where everyone takes a turn hosting

When you eat with others, it’s important to remember to:

• take your time. Don’t feel the need to rush. Enjoy your food and the social aspect of being together.
• put away distractions like the TV or electronics. This can help you be mindful of your food choices.
• use it as a chance to connect. Talk to those around you and share what is going on in everyone’s life.

Source: Health Canada

My Food Journal

Download "My Food Journal" to help motivate yourself to make more healthy food choices.

Download File,

Keeping a journal of your daily food choices can be a good way to keep you motivated!

Using the My Food Journal

Write down your food choices each day for a week, using copies of the My Food Journal.

Note that the My Food Journal does not have a section to add foods that do not fall into one of the four food groups.  This is to reinforce the promotion of choosing foods based on Canada’s Food Guide recommendations.

To address foods that do not fall into one of the four food groups, limit foods and beverages high in calories, fat, sugar or salt (sodium).

Self Reflection Activity

After you’ve used the My Food Journal for a few days, think about these questions:

• Do you notice any patterns in your eating habits?
• Do you eat a lot from one food group and not much from another? If so, what food group?
• Are there one or more food groups that you think you would like to work on?
• What’s one change you plan to make around the food choice that you are making?

Additional Reading

Canada's Food Guide

Physical activity offers a range of benefits for all ages and abilities as part of a healthy lifestyle. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, physical activity is important across all age ranges. Here’s what they say…

Source: Government of Canada

For Older Adults (65 yrs and older)

• Weight-bearing physical activity reduces the rate of bone loss associated with osteoporosis.
• Regular physical activity maintains strength and flexibility, balance and coordination, and can help reduce the risk of falls.
• In short, physical activity helps prolong good health and independence.

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Physical Activity Guideline 65+

Download and read this handout (Physical Activity Guideline 65+) to learn more about movement guidelines.

Download File,

Source: Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology

Physical activity offers a range of benefits for all ages and abilities as part of a healthy lifestyle. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, physical activity is important across all age ranges. Here’s what they say…

Source: Government of Canada

For Adults (18-64 yrs)

• Physical activity has been shown to reduce the risk of over 25 chronic conditions, including coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, breast cancer, colon cancer, Type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis.

• Regular physical activity and higher levels of fitness allow daily tasks to be accomplished with greater ease and comfort and with less fatigue. Research shows that as much as half the functional decline between the ages of 30 and 70 is due not to aging itself but to an inactive way of life.

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Physical Activity Guideline 18-64

Download and read this handout (Physical Activity Guideline 18-64) to learn more about movement guidelines.

Download File,

Source: Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology

Physical activity offers a range of benefits for all ages and abilities as part of a healthy lifestyle. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, physical activity is important across all age ranges. Here’s what they say…

Source: Government of Canada

Youth (12-17 yrs)

• Physical activity is essential for healthy growth and development.
• Regular physical activity in childhood develops cardiovascular fitness, strength and bone density.
• Physical activity plays an important role in the health, well-being and quality of life of Canadians and helps to prevent chronic diseases like cancer, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease later in life.
• Establishing positive habits early in childhood and adolescence can last a lifetime.

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Physical Activity Guideline 12-17

Download and read this handout (Physical Activity Guideline 12-17) to learn more about movement guidelines.

Download File,

Source: Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology

1. Enjoy a variety of foods in many different colours:
   1. Blue and purple fruits and vegetables tend to be packed with anti-oxidants. Blackberries, blueberries, purple cabbage and plums are all great food choices.
   2. Go green every day with fruits and vegetables that are good for your brain and also benefit bones, teeth and vision. Green options include avocados, broccoli, celery, cucumbers, peas, spinach, pears, honeydew melon and many more.
   3. Choose white, tan and brown fruits and vegetables such as bananas, cauliflower, potatoes, turnips, onions and garlic.
   4. Add orange and yellow fruits and vegetables such as grapefruit, cantaloupe, butternut squash, peaches, papaya, oranges, sweet potatoes, yellow peppers and lemons to your plate.
   5. Reach for reds every day. Beets, raspberries, red grapes, radishes, tomatoes, red peppers, watermelon, rhubarb, pomegranates and cherries are just a few excellent red choices.
2. Eat high fibre breads, cereals and grains and low-fat animal proteins. Include foods rich in omega-3 oils such as cold-water fish (e.g. trout, salmon) and walnuts.
3. Add flavour to dishes by adding herbs, spices, nuts and olives. You don't have to give up flavour to follow a healthy diet.
4. Maintain a healthy weight by choosing appropriate portion sizes, eating healthy snacks, and drinking plenty of water.
5. Plan meals in advance so that you don't leave healthy eating to chance.
6. When it comes to food and brain health, set reasonable goals and be patient. By following basic healthy eating guidelines, your brain fitness has the potential to improve.

Click here to download Canada’s Food Guide for more information about making healthy food choices.

Source: Health Canada