Why is it important to try & promote Healthy Eating?

More people are eating out today than ever before and many common health problems such as heart disease and being overweight or obese are closely linked to an unhealthy diet.

Caterers have the opportunity to help encourage people to make healthier choices when they are eating out. They can take this message with them when they are preparing their own meals at home. You are in the best position to make healthy eating choices available to a vast proportion of your local community.

But what is healthy eating and how can it be incorporated into your menus?

Healthy shouldn't mean boring. Small changes can be made to favourite and popular dishes that provide people with choices about how they want their food to be prepared and presented.

Healthy eating is about reducing the amount of salt, sugar and fat we eat and trying to increase our intake of fruit and vegetables and high fibre starchy foods.

If you are catering for young children under 5, the frail elderly or those who may have special or specific dietary requirements, then see our links page for more information on; healthy school meals, catering for those in care and much more...

Remember there is no such thing as a healthy or unhealthy food, only healthy or unhealthy diets!

It's all about getting the balance right....

Balance of Good Health

The Balance of Good Health shows the proportion of our daily diet which should come from each of the 5 food groups.

Does that mean every meal has to be balanced?

NO, but a good guide is to have something from the 4 main food groups (not including foods containing fat and sugar) at each meal.

If you can increase the portion size of the 2 main food groups and reduce the servings of fatty and sugary foods you can make a significant difference to the meals you serve.