Daily bite: Canadian government releases newly-updated food guide

New guide to healthy eating encourages more plant-based protein and plenty of water

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After much anticipation, the government of Canada finally released the revision to Canada’s food guide this morning. Being the first revision in the past decade, the new food guide suggests some major changes to eating habits.

Starting with healthy food choices, the guide suggests eating more fruits and vegetables and plant-based protein, such as beans, peas and lentils, which should naturally lead to decreased consumption of saturated fats. The food guide also asks people to make water their drink of choice and avoid consumption of sugar in sweetened drinks. To help people in achieving that goal, the guide lists a variety of flavour combinations for infused water, such as chopped apples and a cinnamon stick and strawberries and fresh basil.

The new Canada’s food guide also recommends making cooking a family activity while using healthy cooking techniques like baking, grilling, steaming and broiling with fewer sauces and seasonings. In order to cook easier and faster, the new food guide lists several recipes to start with, including creamy hummus, turkey chili and savoury broccoli and cheese muffins.