Below you'll find a list of foods we recommend choosing for each section of the balanced plate model and suggested portion sizes.
These lists aren’t exhaustive, so if there’s a food you're unsure about that isn't listed, ask your health coach about this in the group or 1-1 chat.
Vegetables 🥕
For example:
Salad (pepper, cucumber, tomato, celery, lettuce, salad leaves, radish)
Root vegetables (beetroot, carrot, celeriac, daikon, parsnip, swede, turnip)
Courgette, aubergine, marrow, pumpkin, squash, butternut squash
Leafy greens (spinach, pak choi, swiss chard, kale)
Broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, cabbage, brussels sprouts
Corn, green / broad / runnerbeans, peas, mangetout
Onion, leek, garlic, fennel
Mushrooms
Bamboo shoots and bean sprouts
👆 Potato, sweet potato, cassava, and yam, are not included in this category as they count as complex carbohydrates, rather than vegetables.
Protein 🐟
Whole or minimally processed meat, poultry, fish, or seafood (i.e. whole chicken, minced beef, tinned tuna).
It’s ok to include some processed meats such as bacon, ham, and chorizo. However, we recommend choosing fresh, unprocessed meat where possible, such as steak or chicken. When buying processed meats, make sure you check the ingredients list to make sure there's no added sugar
Eggs
Dairy yoghurt (we recommend natural Greek yoghurt with no added sugar), milk (whole or semi-skimmed), and cheese
Soy yoghurt, milk, and cheese for a non-dairy alternative (we recommend natural soy products with no added sugar)
Vegetarian or vegan proteins: tofu, Quorn (no added sugar), and tempeh
Beans, legumes, and pulses (e.g. kidney beans, lentils, and chickpeas) (Note: these also provide complex carbohydrates)
👆 For more support with vegetarian and vegan options, see our Nutrition Toolbox.
Complex carbohydrates 🥔
Sliced bread, pitta bread, wraps, bread rolls (wholegrain or sourdough)
Cassava
Couscous (wholemeal)
Crackers (wholegrain)
Rolled oats
Homemade muesli or granola
Pasta / noodles (wholemeal)
Plantain
Potato, sweet potato, yam
Quinoa
Beans and lentils
Rice (brown)
Fats 🥑
Oils - aim to use extra virgin, cold-pressed, and unfiltered oils where possible
For cooking, choose an oil that is high in monounsaturated fatty acids or saturated fat, as these are more stable at higher temperatures. For example, extra virgin olive oil, butter, or coconut oil.
For drizzling or salad dressings, choose an oil that is high in polyunsaturated fat. For example, extra virgin olive oil, nut oil (i.e. walnut), hemp seed oil, flaxseed oil, or cold-pressed rapeseed oil (we'd strongly recommend purchasing a high-quality, cold-pressed version, as regular rapeseed oil is highly processed).
Nuts and nut butter (without added sugar)
Seeds
Olives
Avocado
Cream
We often get asked why we don’t provide more guidelines on the amount of fat to eat each day. This is because it will be different for everyone.
Sometimes you might have a meal with multiple sources of fat (for example, nuts, cream, and olive oil) and that’s completely ok. If that’s the case, then you’ll likely be satisfied with a smaller portion size compared to if you have a recipe with only one source of fat.
If you’re having a meal with a few fat servings (like the Second Nature butter chicken), while you’re eating, consider whether you feel satisfied with a smaller amount. Do you stay fuller for longer, despite having a smaller portion size?
We’ll provide you with more support on tuning into your hunger cues as you move throughout the programme. But if you’d like more guidance on this or how to balance your plate, please reach out to your health coach.
Fruit 🍓
Fresh or frozen fruit
A serving of fresh fruit is around 80g.
This might look like:
2 small sizes fruits (e.g. plums, kiwi, satsumas)
A handful of berries
1 medium-sized fruit (e.g. apple, pear, peach, banana)
A couple of slices of larger fruits (e.g. melon, pineapple)
Tinned or canned fruit
A serving is roughly the same as fresh fruit (80g).
This might look like:
2 peach or pear halves
6 apricot halves
Dried fruit
We recommend roughly one tablespoon per portion and combining it with sources of protein and fat.
This might look like:
1-2 dates
2 dried apricots
1 dried fig
1 tbsp raisins
👆 While dried fruit does contain the fibre component of whole fruit, due to it being dehydrated, it’s a more concentrated source of sugar compared to fresh fruit. Generally, we recommend choosing fresh fruit over dried fruit. However, including a small amount of dried fruit as part of a recipe is absolutely fine.