Breads and cereals based diet

Enjoying a wide variety of nutritious foods is important you get older. Eating three regular meals each day will help provide the variety and amount of food needed for good health. If you have a poor appetite try small meals with nutritious snacks between meals.

If you are physically active, with a good appetite, use the higher figure to meet your needs while maintaining a healthy weight. “Extra” foods should be avoided if you are trying to lose weight.

Eat at least the following serves from the five food groups: 

Breads, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles	4-9 serves per day	A serve is: 2 slices of bread 1 medium bread roll 1 cup cooked rice, pasta, noodles 1 cup porridge 1 1/3 cup breakfast cereal 1/2 cup muesli

Vegetables, legumes	5 serves per day	A serve is: 1/2 cup cooked vegetables 1/2 cup cooked or canned beans, lentils, chick peas or split peas 1 cup salad vegetables 1 small potato

Fruit	2 serves per day	A serve is: 1 medium piece (eg. apple, banana, orange, pear) 2 small pieces (eg. apricots, kiwifruit, plums) 1 cup diced or canned fruit 1/2 cup 100% juice dried fruit (eg. 4 apricot halves, 1 1/2 tbsp sultanas)

Milk, yogurt, cheese Choose reduced fat varieties	2 serves per day	A serve is: 250 mL (1 cup milk) 1/2 cup evaporated milk 40 g (2 slices) cheese 200 g (1 small carton) yogurt 250 mL (1 cup) custard

Meat, fish, poultry,eggs, nuts, legumes	1 serve per day	A serve is: 65-100 g cooked lean meat or chicken (eg 1/2 cup mince, 2 small chops, 2 slices of roast) 1/2 cup cooked or canned beans, lentils, chickpeas or split peas 80-120 g cooked fresh fillet 2 small eggs 1/3 cup peanuts or almonds 1/4 cup sunflower or sesame seeds

Limit Extra Foods. Some foods do not fit into the five food groups. They contain too much fat, sugar and/or salt and very few essential nutrients. Choose carefully – only eat these foods sometimes or in small amounts. Avoid sugar substitutes and drinks high in kilojoules, sugar or artificial sweetners (eg. soft drinks and diet drinks). 

Healthy Eating recommendtations sourced from The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating © Commonwealth of Australia, 1998.
Reproduced with permission.