How to have good eating habits

Often young people complain about how tired and run-down they are and often use caffeine or sugar to keep them going. Eating well is overlooked nowadays and here on tips on a healthy life style so to not be influenced by bad foods.

 Don't skip meals:

Did you know breakfast is the most missed meal of the day? This is bad because young people need a healthy breakfast such as toast, yoghourt, or fruit. To help them get through the day and improve their concentration.

Eat Health Snacks:

Snacks like cheese, yoghurt, vegetables, fruits, nuts, fruit muffins, wholegrain rolls or crispbreads are all tasty, healthy and nutritious alternatives to high-fat, high-sugar content foods.
Occasionally eating a bag of chips is OK but don't make it a habit of eating it everyday.
Stick to the main food groups:
Young people need more energy than adults so use the sugary or salty foods as a treat and stick to daily serves of dairy and cereal products.
 Healthy eating plan from www.goforlife.vic.com.au

• Group 1 - Breads and cereals: Use wholegrain products wherever possible, for example, bread, pasta, rice and breakfast cereals. Minimum 5 serves per day (maximum 11 per day). One serve equals 2 slices of bread (60g), 1 cup of cereal flakes, 1 cup cooked rice/pasta.

• Group 2 - Fruit and vegetables: Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables - cooked, raw or in the form of juice. Try to have at least one citrus fruit and a yellow or dark green leafy vegetable daily. minimum 3 fruit and 3 vegetables per day. One serve equals 1 medium piece of fruit or 2 small pieces of fruit, 1 cup salad vegetables, half cup cooked vegetables or half cup cooked peas or lentils.

• Group 3 - Meat and alternatives: Meat, chicken, fish (haem iron sources), dried beans, peas, nuts or lentils and eggs may be substituted for meat (non-haem iron sources). Minimum 1 serve per day. One serve equals 65-100g cooked meat or chicken, 85-120g fish, third of a cup cooked beans or lentils, third of a cup peanuts or almonds, 2 small eggs.

• Group 4 - Milk and milk products: Milk, yoghurt, cheese. Minimum 3 serves per day. One serve equals 1 cup (250ml) of milk, quarter cup powdered milk, half cup evaporated milk, 200g tub of yoghurt, 2 slices (40g) of cheese.

• Group 5 - Extra foods: 1-3 per day. One serve equals 2 plain biscuits, one and a half scoops of ice-cream, a sandwich with salad and cheese.

Sample healthy eating meal plan
The following table provides a 3-day sample healthy eating plan for a young person. This meal plan is a guide only, and individual energy and nutrient needs will vary depending on activity level or the presence of medical conditions.

Table 1: Sample meal plan

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Day 1	cereal - wheat biscuits 2 slices wholegrain toast margarine and cheese fruit juice	vegetable soup toasted cheese and tomato sandwich	fried rice chicken, vegetables yoghurt
Day 2	scrambled eggs 2 slices wholegrain toast margarine and vegemite tea/coffee	sandwich on multigrain bread with chicken and salad fruit smoothie	roast chicken with roast vegetables apple pie and custard
Day 3	fruit salad 200g yoghurt cereal - natural muesli tea/coffee	baked potato with baked beans/tuna, salad and cheese	spaghetti with meat sauce garden salad milkshake
Snacks Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. Choose 1-2 snacks a day if hungry from the following options: raisin toast, banana sandwich, piece of fruit, reduced-fat cheese sandwich, 200g low-fat yoghurt, low-fat muesli bar, handful of nuts and dried fruit, banana/fruit smoothie.

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