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When you eat, are you one to care about how nutritious your meal is? Are you one who plans out their meals? Do you use Health Promotion Board's My Healthy Plate for that?
To prevent ourselves from chronic diseases, having a healthy and balanced diet is essential. In today's post, we tackle the what, why and how of My Healthy Plate, that you can use to ensure that you get enough nutrients each day!
What is My Healthy Plate?
During our meals, we have to eat a wide variety of foods in the right amounts so that we can meet our daily nutritional needs. With My Healthy Plate, it will allow us to adopt healthier eating habits, to help us better manage our weight and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
My Healthy Plate is a visual guide that helps us understand what a healthier and balanced meal looks like. When we plan our meals, we can try to imagine a standard dinner plate and visualise the proportions of the food groups we need, through "Quarter, Quarter, Half" which means:
Quarter plate with wholegrains
Quarter plate with good sources of protein
Half plate with fruits and vegetables
Why should I use My Healthy Plate?
So, you might be questioning, why do I need to have all these food groups in my meal and how does My Healthy Plate help me to do so?
Well, let's breakdown the importance of each component of My Healthy Plate and why it's good for you to eat a balanced meal!
Quarter plate of Wholegrains
It is common for most of us to consume white rice or white bread in our meals. These are considered refined grains, which are grains that have been processed, leading to a loss of valuable nutrients.
Instead of refined grains, we can opt for wholegrains in our meals instead, as they are not over-processed, which means they are kept to their original form. Wholegrains are also rich in nutrients such as:
Vitamins B and E
Minerals such as iron, zinc and magnesium
Dietary Fibre
By eating wholegrains, you will feel full longer, thus minimising your urge to overeat, which helps in weight management. It also helps to lower the risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart diseases, diabetes and certain cancers in the long run.
For youths, the daily recommended intake of carbohydrates is 5 to 7 servings. Using My Healthy Plate at each meal, we are able to fulfil this as a Quarter plate of wholegrains is about 2 servings of carbohydrates. As reference, some examples of a single serving of wholegrains are:
2 slices of wholemeal bread (60g)
4 plain wholemeal crackers (40g)
1/2 a ricebowl of brown or red rice (100g)
2/3 a ricebowl of wholegrain noodles, beehoon or spaghetti (100g)
Quarter plate of Proteins (Meat & Others)
There are many examples we can list for good sources of proteins, such as poultry, red meat, fish, seafood, eggs and dairy products. There are also plant-based protein options such as soy milk, tofu, tempeh, nuts, beans and legumes.
Protein sources are essential as they provide us with vitamins and minerals such as iron, vitamin B and zinc. Besides that, eating fish also provides omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial fats!
By eating protein, it helps to build and repair our body tissues, as well as regulate our bodily functions, which keeps all the parts of our body healthy.
For youths, the daily recommended intake of protein is 2 to 3 servings. Using My Healthy Plate at each meal, we are able to fulfil this as a Quarter plate of protein is about 1 serving of protein. As reference, some examples of a single serving of protein are:
1 palm-sized piece of meat, fish or poultry (90g)
2 cups(250ml) of reduced-fat milk (500ml)
3 eggs (150g)
2 small blocks of soft beancurd (170g)
Half plate of Fruit & Vegetables
For most of us, our meals would normally lack in this portion, as we're not a big fan of vegetables. However, fruits and vegetables provide us unique nutrients and health benefits that we shouldn't miss out on. They are low in calories, fat and sodium, and are also rich in:
dietary fibre
vitamins
minerals
phytochemicals
antioxidants
That's a lot of nutritional benefits we can reap from having a good diet of fruits and vegetables!
Besides that, we'll be protected against many diseases such as heart diseases and stroke. They also help in weight management with their high water and fibre content, which help add volume and bulk to our meals – this fills us up and minimises our urge to overeat!
For youths, the daily recommended intake of fruit and vegetables is 2 servings each. Using My Healthy Plate at each meal, we are able to fulfil this as Half a plate of fruits and vegetables is about 1 serving of fruit and 1 serving of vegetables. As reference, some examples of a single serving of fruit and vegetables are:
1/4 of a 10-inch round plate of cooked vegetables
150g raw leafy vegetables
100g raw non-leafy vegetables
1 small apple, orange, pear or mango (130g)
1 wedge of papaya, pineapple or watermelon (130g)
10 grapes/longans (50g)
How do I use My Healthy Plate?
Now that we understand the benefits of My Healthy Plate, how can we apply it to our meals?
Here are some tips you can use to help you plan your meals better!
For Wholegrains, you can:
🍞 Add wholegrains gradually into your meals – Try replacing half of your white rice with brown rice, or incorporate wholegrains into your meal once a week before working your way up
🍞 Try different types of wholegrains – Besides brown rice and wholemeal bread, you can try other types (such as oats, wholegrain noodles, barley, and quinoa) to get used to the subtle nutty taste of wholegrains
🍞 Keep a lookout for wholegrain options – When buying groceries, you can opt for food products that have the "Higher in Wholegrains" Healthier Choice Symbol or dine at eateries with the "Wholegrain options available here" decal
For Proteins, you can:
🥩 Choose lean over fatty meat – Fatty meat are high in saturated fat which may lead to cholesterol build-up in blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart diseases
🥩 Choose fresh over processed meat – Processed meat are low in protein and high in saturated fats and sodium
🥛 Choose protein-rich foods that are high in calcium too – Try milk, tofu and sardines which are rich in protein and calcium, which strengthens bones and teeth, and reduces the risk of osteoporosis.
For Fruits and Vegetables, you can:
🥦 Add vegetables or fruit into your meat dishes – Instead of all-meat dishes, add in fruit and vegetables for an additional boost of vitamins and minerals (E.g. Adding pineapple to sweet and sour fish!)
🍎 End your meal with fresh or frozen fruit – Enjoy fresh-cut fruit or frozen fruit for dessert which you can try by freezing grapes, orange wedges, banana pieces, or watermelon.
🍎 Eat whole fruit instead of fruit juices – The whole fruit has its pulp and skin which are high in dietary fibre
Conclusion
Although it is highly recommended that we plan our meals using My Healthy Plate, sometimes, we might be unable to find a meal that fits the "Quarter, Quarter Half" proportions. However, do not fret, as you can make up for it in your next meal!
The Health Promotion Board(HPB) also provides other tips you can follow to benefit from your meals, such as:
Using healthier oils when cooking
Choosing plain water, as sugar-sweetened beverages may lead to weight gain (no matter how delicious bubble tea is, let's try to cut down on that too!)
Choosing healthier products
Using healthier cooking methods
If you want to find out more ways to eat a balanced diet, click the button below, where HPB provides abundant recommendations that you can follow!
Now, with the knowledge you have gained today on My Healthy Plate, will you start using it to plan your meals?
Information on today's post has been retrieved from Health Hub on HPB's My Healthy Plate programme that you may refer to for more information.
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