Consuming a Variety of Foods to Attain Balanced Diet

Summer is coming close. When you find yourself lack of appetite in hot weather, a light meal can perhaps be a good solution. Light mealism refers to a low calorie, balanced, natural, light flavoured and 70-percent-full healthy eating concept which highlights simple lifestyle. Generally, a light meal is a small portioned yet filling meal or quick snack between main meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner).Susan CHUNG, a registered dietitian (Canada), shares with you some tips on choosing light meals.

Susan pointed out that, to attain healthy diets, the “3 Low 1 High” principle should be observed, i.e. consuming foods low in fat, sodium and sugar but high in dietary fibre. However, a person’s daily needs for energy and other nutrients vary with gender and activities.She explained that different foods contain different nutrients, so a variety of foods from each food categories must be consumed to achieve balanced diets. No matter what meal it is, be it a main meal or snack, we should still adopt the principle of healthy diets.

Susan added, “Both Chinese and Western foods offer different kinds of healthy light meals, e.g. pasta with seafood or chicken, rice in soup with winter melon and diced pork, udon in soup with assorted seafood, sandwich with tomato and egg, and assorted vegetables salad. They are not only delicious, but also nutritionally diversified.”


Extract from CookSmart, Issue 26