Canada Food Guide
Feb 22nd 2019 | 8:16 am
#1
Thread Starter
Just Joined
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 7
Canada Food Guide
The latest version of Canada's Food Guide was issued in January, 20!9. It began as Food Rules 77 years ago and has gone through 8 revisions since then. A recent poll on CTV's "Power Play" Indicated that almost 73% of responders thought the new Guide wasn't feasible.The emphasis in the 2019 version has shifted to plant-based protein rather than meat. It also recommends water as the drink of choice and urges people to cook more meals at home instead of eating out. My MLA assures me that the Food Guide is the most widely read government published document but I wonder how many people actually follow its advice. Out of 47 countries surveyed, Canada had the third highest rate of obesity. Have you read the new Guide? Will you follow any of its recommendations? Why or why not?
Feb 22nd 2019 | 10:21 pm
#3
BE user by choice
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 4,854
From: A Briton, married to a Canadian, now in Fredericton.
Re: Canada Food Guide
No, I’d never heard about it either, but a quick google reveals that the 2019 edition does seem to be causing a kerfufful. It’s rather shockingly telling us to cut back on salts and sugar
What brave soul might have suggested that?
I was speaking with a credit counsellor recently who told me that almost a 100% of her clients are low income families who don’t know how to cook and never prepare a meal at home. Certainly where I am, every deli counter offering is saturated with sugar. My husband currently travels for probably six months of the year in the US and has a devil of a job eating healthily and mostly seems to live on salads but even those aren’t great.
I think/thought that my diet was reasonably healthy, but for the last couple of years my son has been in one of those ‘my body is my temple’ phases and I bring something home and it’s immediately “oh look at the...transfats/sugar/sodium nitrates, glutamates in this mum†- which can be very irritating, but thought provoking too.
It’s interesting to note that the obese provinces, of which I am one, are all sitting under many metres of snow and ice for a bloody great period of the year. I defy anyone other than a lumberjack to get a reasonable amount of exercise in on a daily basis,when it feel like planet Mars, and the gym is not an economic or cultural possibility for many constrained families.
We need ‘big food producer’ to cut out the various rubbish that they are substituting, but this is not economically viable so it won’t happen. We are waiting for another big storm tomorrow, so I can guarantee that today Atlantic Superstore will be full of people buying many bags of chips (we have Storm Chips here) and pop to ride it out.
What brave soul might have suggested that?I was speaking with a credit counsellor recently who told me that almost a 100% of her clients are low income families who don’t know how to cook and never prepare a meal at home. Certainly where I am, every deli counter offering is saturated with sugar. My husband currently travels for probably six months of the year in the US and has a devil of a job eating healthily and mostly seems to live on salads but even those aren’t great.
I think/thought that my diet was reasonably healthy, but for the last couple of years my son has been in one of those ‘my body is my temple’ phases and I bring something home and it’s immediately “oh look at the...transfats/sugar/sodium nitrates, glutamates in this mum†- which can be very irritating, but thought provoking too.
It’s interesting to note that the obese provinces, of which I am one, are all sitting under many metres of snow and ice for a bloody great period of the year. I defy anyone other than a lumberjack to get a reasonable amount of exercise in on a daily basis,when it feel like planet Mars, and the gym is not an economic or cultural possibility for many constrained families.
We need ‘big food producer’ to cut out the various rubbish that they are substituting, but this is not economically viable so it won’t happen. We are waiting for another big storm tomorrow, so I can guarantee that today Atlantic Superstore will be full of people buying many bags of chips (we have Storm Chips here) and pop to ride it out.
Feb 23rd 2019 | 1:01 am
#4
Assimilated Pauper
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 40,070
From: Ontario
Re: Canada Food Guide
We need ‘big food producer’ to cut out the various rubbish that they are substituting, but this is not economically viable so it won’t happen. We are waiting for another big storm tomorrow, so I can guarantee that today Atlantic Superstore will be full of people buying many bags of chips (we have Storm Chips here) and pop to ride it out.
Feb 23rd 2019 | 3:49 am
#5
Banned
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 19,878
From: SW Ontario
Re: Canada Food Guide
No, I’d never heard about it either, but a quick google reveals that the 2019 edition does seem to be causing a kerfufful. It’s rather shockingly telling us to cut back on salts and sugar What brave soul might have suggested that?
I was speaking with a credit counsellor recently who told me that almost a 100% of her clients are low income families who don’t know how to cook and never prepare a meal at home. Certainly where I am, every deli counter offering is saturated with sugar. My husband currently travels for probably six months of the year in the US and has a devil of a job eating healthily and mostly seems to live on salads but even those aren’t great.
I think/thought that my diet was reasonably healthy, but for the last couple of years my son has been in one of those ‘my body is my temple’ phases and I bring something home and it’s immediately “oh look at the...transfats/sugar/sodium nitrates, glutamates in this mum†- which can be very irritating, but thought provoking too.
It’s interesting to note that the obese provinces, of which I am one, are all sitting under many metres of snow and ice for a bloody great period of the year. I defy anyone other than a lumberjack to get a reasonable amount of exercise in on a daily basis,when it feel like planet Mars, and the gym is not an economic or cultural possibility for many constrained families.
We need ‘big food producer’ to cut out the various rubbish that they are substituting, but this is not economically viable so it won’t happen. We are waiting for another big storm tomorrow, so I can guarantee that today Atlantic Superstore will be full of people buying many bags of chips (we have Storm Chips here) and pop to ride it out.
What brave soul might have suggested that?I was speaking with a credit counsellor recently who told me that almost a 100% of her clients are low income families who don’t know how to cook and never prepare a meal at home. Certainly where I am, every deli counter offering is saturated with sugar. My husband currently travels for probably six months of the year in the US and has a devil of a job eating healthily and mostly seems to live on salads but even those aren’t great.
I think/thought that my diet was reasonably healthy, but for the last couple of years my son has been in one of those ‘my body is my temple’ phases and I bring something home and it’s immediately “oh look at the...transfats/sugar/sodium nitrates, glutamates in this mum†- which can be very irritating, but thought provoking too.
It’s interesting to note that the obese provinces, of which I am one, are all sitting under many metres of snow and ice for a bloody great period of the year. I defy anyone other than a lumberjack to get a reasonable amount of exercise in on a daily basis,when it feel like planet Mars, and the gym is not an economic or cultural possibility for many constrained families.
We need ‘big food producer’ to cut out the various rubbish that they are substituting, but this is not economically viable so it won’t happen. We are waiting for another big storm tomorrow, so I can guarantee that today Atlantic Superstore will be full of people buying many bags of chips (we have Storm Chips here) and pop to ride it out.
I'm with your son on this, lol.. I religiously study every single label before I buy anything (although I make 90% of my food from scratch) - if it's high in fats/transfats, sodium, sugar - if it contains additives or refined carbohydrates (i.e. white pasta, white rice, white bread, pastry etc.,) I won't buy it. The only 'chips' I can eat are the rice crackers zero sodium. It's shocking how much sodium is in foods - even yoghurt has sodium in it - I managed to find one with 70mg sodium per pot, the rest had over 120 (even those little fromage frais ones for kids)! I now eat mostly plant based proteins and fish - with one piece of chicken a week.. one portion of red meat every 6 months. I can't go out and exercise (both physically and medically) but I do gentle standing leg lifts, oblique standing crunches, knee raises and sideways/backwards standing leg lifts and squats 3-4 times a day for 2 minutes.. no equipment or weights necessary
Calories in - v - Calories out.. burn more than is consumed and lose weight. I think the issue for many families is that they have never been shown how to prepare food or cook from scratch - and have been eating salt, sugar, additives and fat laden foods since they were babies - it's all they know and often all they like - a vicious circle and not an easy thing to break.
Feb 23rd 2019 | 6:05 am
#6
Thread Starter
Just Joined
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 7
Re: Canada Food Guide
Good to hear that at least a few people are paying attention to what they buy and eat. I have been eating a plant-based diet for many years and rely on legumes for most of my protein. It is shocking to see how much salt, fat, and sugar there are in most foods in grocery stores and restaurants. Drinks are also loaded with sugar. All "fruit juices", except a few kinds of apple juice, are made from concentrates and are simply liquid junk yet I see people, especially men under about age 40, with cartloads of juice and soft drinks and not much else. Most bread is also terrible with the consistency of Playdoh and the butritional value of Styrofoam The reasons people seem to have for eating so much processed rubbish seem to be the cost of fresh produce and the time it takes to cook from scratch but it's actually cheaper to eat an almost meatless diet. You can use a jug of homemade soup in the fridge to stave off the hunger pangs and tiredness while you make the rest of the meal, and having things such as powdered chia or pea protein can add extra value to just about anything. Curried lentil soup and west African peanut yam soup and especially substantial energy sources,. Yes, the weather in most of Canada isn't conducive to outdoor exercise but you can get quite a bit of walking in as you trek round and round the supermarket trying to find something worth eating. I keep salt in an airtight jar with a small measuring spoon so that users can see exactly how much they're putting on their food and I have NoSalt (potassium chloride) as an alternative.
Feb 23rd 2019 | 7:13 am
#7
Assimilated Pauper
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 40,070
From: Ontario
Re: Canada Food Guide
I quite often have a cart like that but, not to worry, the contents of the cart will be diluted with tequila or "champagne" or similar.
Feb 23rd 2019 | 8:06 am
#9
Stand-up Philosopher
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 16,344
From: Regina Saskatchewan
Re: Canada Food Guide
Canada's Food Guide in it's assorted editions has always been a set of loose guidelines, and not the rule of law. Learning to cook is the key to healthy eating and almost necessary unless you're rich anyway.
Something from the burger group
Something from the fries group
Something from the beer group
Something from the excessively sweet group
Again, they're just guidelines, and not written in stone.
Feb 23rd 2019 | 8:07 am
#10
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 448
Re: Canada Food Guide
I volunteer for our local food bank and it isn't just about having the know how, its also about actually having the appliances to cook from scratch.
An awful lot of people have just a microwave and a kettle to cook with, which makes it very challenging to prepare family meals, especially they have to make do with what the food bank provide
An awful lot of people have just a microwave and a kettle to cook with, which makes it very challenging to prepare family meals, especially they have to make do with what the food bank provide
Feb 23rd 2019 | 8:24 am
#11
Stand-up Philosopher
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 16,344
From: Regina Saskatchewan
Re: Canada Food Guide
The Regina Food Bank used to have cooking classes for their clients, and a commercial class for those interested in becoming kitchen staff in the workforce. They had a little cafe selling their daily specials but afaik all that ceased when they changed locations some years ago.
Sometimes healthy foods are discussed on BE and that's all the inspiration it takes to seek them out (sudden craving for sprouts wrapped in bacon). The chips I had with my sausage, eggs, toast and beans this morning are chock full of vitamins, and the sea salt and malt vinegar are good for me as well. I get my healthy smoothies, twigs, quinoa and spring water vicariously through Oink.
Sometimes healthy foods are discussed on BE and that's all the inspiration it takes to seek them out (sudden craving for sprouts wrapped in bacon). The chips I had with my sausage, eggs, toast and beans this morning are chock full of vitamins, and the sea salt and malt vinegar are good for me as well. I get my healthy smoothies, twigs, quinoa and spring water vicariously through Oink.
Feb 23rd 2019 | 8:33 am
#12
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 448
Re: Canada Food Guide
The Regina Food Bank used to have cooking classes for their clients, and a commercial class for those interested in becoming kitchen staff in the workforce. They had a little cafe selling their daily specials but afaik all that ceased when they changed locations some years ago.
Sometimes healthy foods are discussed on BE and that's all the inspiration it takes to seek them out (sudden craving for sprouts wrapped in bacon). The chips I had with my sausage, eggs, toast and beans this morning are chock full of vitamins, and the sea salt and malt vinegar are good for me as well. I get my healthy smoothies, twigs, quinoa and spring water vicariously through Oink.
Sometimes healthy foods are discussed on BE and that's all the inspiration it takes to seek them out (sudden craving for sprouts wrapped in bacon). The chips I had with my sausage, eggs, toast and beans this morning are chock full of vitamins, and the sea salt and malt vinegar are good for me as well. I get my healthy smoothies, twigs, quinoa and spring water vicariously through Oink.
We've been having a drive on digging out all the microwave cookbooks from the 1980s, but they're surprisingly hard to come by. I've been testing some microwave recipes out on Mr Raindrops and Mini Raindrops, with very mixed results!!
​​​​​
Feb 23rd 2019 | 9:23 am
#13
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 3,876
From: BC, Canada
Re: Canada Food Guide
I'm surprised to see so many of you saying that you had never heard of the new Food Guide before this.
It was all over the media (print, TV and radio) when it came out a few weeks ago.
Since then, it has received little attention, because, TBH, too many people apparently see it as being too much geared to a plant-based diet.
We follow the rule of portion size, moderate amount of meat, fish twice a week, cook from scratch 95% of the time, etc. I do not add sugar to anything so limit the amount I take in.
OH takes in an incredible amount of sugar in coffee, on cereals, etc, rarely drinks water but loves fruit juice, ha 2 or 3 cups (ca 8-12 oz) of coffee a day, has cider regularly with his evening meal, 3 or 4 glasses of wine a week, ca 7 glasses of other liquor a week at bedtime ............ but he's reached the age of 80, is still very active, walks wherever and whenever he can, has not changed his weight in the 50+ years we've been married, and is usually described as "very healthy" at his annual exam.
I can't see changing his diet too much now!!
It was all over the media (print, TV and radio) when it came out a few weeks ago.
Since then, it has received little attention, because, TBH, too many people apparently see it as being too much geared to a plant-based diet.
We follow the rule of portion size, moderate amount of meat, fish twice a week, cook from scratch 95% of the time, etc. I do not add sugar to anything so limit the amount I take in.
OH takes in an incredible amount of sugar in coffee, on cereals, etc, rarely drinks water but loves fruit juice, ha 2 or 3 cups (ca 8-12 oz) of coffee a day, has cider regularly with his evening meal, 3 or 4 glasses of wine a week, ca 7 glasses of other liquor a week at bedtime ............ but he's reached the age of 80, is still very active, walks wherever and whenever he can, has not changed his weight in the 50+ years we've been married, and is usually described as "very healthy" at his annual exam.
I can't see changing his diet too much now!!
Feb 23rd 2019 | 9:33 am
#14
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 3,876
From: BC, Canada
Re: Canada Food Guide
That's fantastic about the food bank, sadly ours is very underfunded, and most of the people we cater to do just have a microwave and a kettle, plus very few can afford to heat their homes more than the absolute minimum in order to survive, let alone afford chia seeds and the like.
We've been having a drive on digging out all the microwave cookbooks from the 1980s, but they're surprisingly hard to come by. I've been testing some microwave recipes out on Mr Raindrops and Mini Raindrops, with very mixed results!!
​​​​​
We've been having a drive on digging out all the microwave cookbooks from the 1980s, but they're surprisingly hard to come by. I've been testing some microwave recipes out on Mr Raindrops and Mini Raindrops, with very mixed results!!
​​​​​
I remember going to a friend's for dinner in the early 80s to find she had cooked roast beef in their new microwave.
It was the most unappetising grey-ish piece of meat any of us had ever seen. The hostess was so upset, kept saying how the machine was supposed to roast meat "perfectly", and make life so much easier for "the housewife".
I didn't get a microwave until 1999, and then only a 10 year old one that my daughter had inherited from a friend and didn't want to take to NS with her. I've only tried to cook a couple of things in either that old one or the new one we bought 3 or 4 years ago.
Have not been satisfied with any of them, and usually also had to clean the microwave after mis-judging size of container and getting boil over, or food leaving a lingering.
It's mostly used for re-heating food or coffee, thawing frozen ground beef or my home-made frozen mashed potato ............ or for heating up my microwave heating pads.
Feb 23rd 2019 | 10:08 am
#15
Stand-up Philosopher
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 16,344
From: Regina Saskatchewan
Re: Canada Food Guide
A microwave is good for more things than I know how to do, but I only use mine to reheat food and some defrosting. For years at the lake when I had no power I cooked on a Coleman stove in summer and a little wood burning airtight in winter, and for decades on old 2 burner stoves and hotplates, but I don't know if I could do it on a microwave alone. The Dean of Home Economics on BE is Not2old; he can get the last squawk and pinfeather out of the chicken and make a meal out of it.
When I think of microwaves in the context of the food bank all I see is a class two or three times a week where everybody gets together and makes x number of large pots of chili, stew, soup, etc on a real stove then loads up containers and takes them home and reheats at mealtime.
When I think of microwaves in the context of the food bank all I see is a class two or three times a week where everybody gets together and makes x number of large pots of chili, stew, soup, etc on a real stove then loads up containers and takes them home and reheats at mealtime.
Last edited by caretaker; Feb 23rd 2019 at 10:10 am. Reason: find Waldo, lol
