D. Healthy Living · Healthy Living

My Eating Check-Up: Evaluating Habits with Canada's Food Guide

D2.1 A1.3 A1.6About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can evaluate my own eating habits and food choices using the recommendations in Canada's Food Guide.
I can include behaviours that support healthy eating, such as eating with others and paying attention to hunger and fullness.
I can set a realistic goal to improve one eating habit and check my progress.

Words to know

evaluate
To judge how well something meets a standard, using evidence.

Canada's Food Guide
Health Canada's healthy eating guidance (2019): eat plenty of vegetables and fruits, whole grain foods and protein foods; choose protein foods that come from plants more often; make water your drink of choice; and build healthy eating habits.

eating habit
A way of eating you do often, such as skipping breakfast, snacking while gaming, or eating dinner with family.

mindful eating
Paying attention to what, when, why and how much you eat, including hunger and fullness cues.

food marketing
Ads, packaging, influencers and store displays designed to make you want to buy certain foods and drinks.

sugary drinks
Drinks with added sugars, such as pop, energy drinks, sweetened coffee and tea drinks, fruit-flavoured drinks and sports drinks.

Your food, your evidence

At Grade 8, you make more food choices on your own: what to buy at the corner store, what to grab after practice, whether to eat breakfast. This lesson is a check-up, not a judgment.

The Grade 8 curriculum asks you to evaluate personal eating habits and food choices on the basis of the recommendations in Canada's Food Guide, taking into account behaviours that support healthy eating.

Remember from Grade 7

In Grade 7 you learned the plate model (half vegetables and fruits, a quarter whole grains, a quarter protein foods), the 5% / 15% Daily Value rule, and how eating patterns can help prevent or contribute to health problems. This year you'll use those tools to evaluate your own eating and to look closely at the habits around food.

Two parts of Canada's Food Guide

1. What to eat: plenty of vegetables and fruits, whole grain foods and protein foods (choosing protein foods that come from plants more often), with water as your drink of choice. Limit highly processed foods and sugary drinks.

2. Healthy eating habits: Canada's Food Guide says healthy eating is more than the foods you eat. It is also about where, when, why and how you eat.

A plate with broccoli, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes and apple slices on one half, brown rice on one quarter and grilled chicken with chickpeas on the other quarter, next to a glass of water. — This meal follows the plate model from Canada's Food Guide: about half vegetables and fruits, a quarter whole grains and a quarter protein foods (including a plant protein, chickpeas), with water to drink. AI-generated image

Canada's Food Guide plate: about half vegetables and fruits, a quarter whole grain foods, a quarter protein foods, and water as the drink of choice.

Healthy eating habits from Canada's Food Guide (2019).

The guide also reminds us that culture and food traditions can be part of healthy eating. For many families, that might mean bannock and wild game, rice and lentils, perogies, jerk chicken, pho, or Sunday dinners. For many First Nations, Inuit and Métis families, traditional foods like fish, wild meat, berries and wild rice are part of healthy eating and of culture and community. There is no single "right" cultural plate.

Question to ask yourself	What the Food Guide recommends	Why it matters
How many of my meals have vegetables or fruits?	Plenty: about half your plate	Fibre, vitamins and minerals; lower risk of several diseases
Do I choose whole grains?	Choose whole grain foods	More fibre; keeps you full longer
Do I get protein foods, including plant-based ones?	Eat protein foods; choose plant-based more often	Growth and repair; plant-based choices add fibre
What do I drink?	Make water your drink of choice	Sugary drinks are a main source of added sugars
How often do I eat highly processed foods?	Limit them	Often high in sodium, sugars or saturated fat
Do I notice hunger and fullness? Do I eat while distracted by screens?	Be mindful of your eating habits	Helps you eat when hungry and stop when satisfied
Do I eat with others and help cook?	Cook more often; eat meals with others	Builds skills and connection; home-cooked meals are often less processed
Do I read labels and notice marketing?	Use food labels; be aware of food marketing	Helps you make informed choices

An eating check-up based on Canada's Food Guide.

Energy drinks and caffeine

Many energy drink cans say they are not recommended for children. They are high in caffeine and often sugar. Too much caffeine can cause a racing heart, nervousness, headaches and trouble sleeping. Water is the best drink for thirst, including during most sports.

Worked example

Let's evaluate Noah's day

Noah's Tuesday: skips breakfast; buys chips and an energy drink on the way to school; lunch is a white bread ham sandwich and an apple; after school, eats cookies while gaming; dinner with family: chicken stir-fry with vegetables and brown rice, milk.

Vegetables and fruits: an apple and stir-fry vegetables. Some, but less than half his plates.
Whole grains: brown rice at dinner (good); white bread at lunch.
Protein foods: ham, chicken and milk. Could add plant-based protein (like beans or nuts).
Drinks: an energy drink (caffeine and sugar; not recommended for children); milk at dinner.
Habits: skipping breakfast; eating while gaming (not mindful); a strength: family dinner, likely home-cooked.
Goal: one realistic change, such as swapping the energy drink for a water bottle and grabbing a yogurt or banana for breakfast.

Noah's strengths: family dinner with vegetables, whole grains and protein. Areas to improve: breakfast, the energy drink, and mindless snacking while gaming. A good first goal: "I'll fill my water bottle and take a banana every school morning this week."

Just for fun

Funny but true: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts are all the same plant species (Brassica oleracea), just bred in different ways. So if you say you hate all five, that's really just one plant you're holding a grudge against.

Hands-on activity

Three-day eating check-up

You need: paper, a pencil, and three days.

For three days, jot down what you eat and drink, when, where, and who with. No measuring or calorie counting.
Use the check-up table above. For each row, give yourself a ✓ (doing well), ~ (sometimes) or ✗ (rarely).
Circle two strengths.
Choose one habit to work on. Write a SMART goal: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. Example: "I will eat breakfast at least 4 school days next week."
Track it for a week, then talk with your grown-up: What helped? What got in the way?

What to look for: honest notes, evidence-based ratings and a realistic goal. Sticking with a goal builds motivation and perseverance (A1.3).

Your turn

What does Canada's Food Guide recommend as your drink of choice?

Name four healthy eating habits from Canada's Food Guide.

What does "evaluate" mean in this lesson?

Why does the Food Guide suggest choosing plant-based protein foods more often?

Is eating while gaming an example of mindful eating? Explain.

Can cultural and traditional foods be part of healthy eating?

More practice: warm-up

About how much of your plate should be vegetables and fruits?

Name one sugary drink.

True or false: healthy eating is only about which foods you eat.

Name one whole grain food.

What does SMART stand for in goal setting?

More practice: on your own

Turn this into a SMART goal: "I'll eat better."

Why might eating meals with others support healthy eating?

Lily skips lunch to save time, then is starving after school and eats a whole bag of chips. Evaluate this habit and suggest a change.

An influencer says a protein bar is "the healthiest snack ever." How would you evaluate the claim?

Why is it better to evaluate three days instead of one?

Challenge

A Grade 8 athlete drinks two sports drinks during every 1-hour practice. Evaluate this using the Food Guide and suggest a plan.

A family has a busy schedule and eats takeout four nights a week. Suggest three realistic changes that fit the Food Guide's habits, and explain each.

Explain why the Food Guide's message about food marketing matters especially for teens.

Check your understanding

Quiz

What is the Food Guide's recommended drink of choice?

Which is a healthy eating habit from Canada's Food Guide?

Which goal is SMART?

Being "mindful" of eating means...

Which protein foods does the Food Guide suggest choosing more often?

Which is the best way to evaluate your eating?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: This lesson covers the Grade 8 expectation to evaluate personal eating habits and food choices on the basis of the recommendations in Canada's Food Guide, taking into account behaviours that support healthy eating (D2.1). It builds goal setting and perseverance (A1.3) and critical thinking (A1.6).

How to help at home:

Let your child plan and help cook one meal a week.
Eat together when you can, with phones away.
Talk about food in terms of energy, growth and enjoyment, not weight or appearance, and avoid labelling foods as "good" or "bad".

Common difficulties: focusing only on foods and forgetting habits; setting goals that are too big; feeling guilty. Keep the check-up positive: start with strengths. If your child seems very anxious about food, restricts eating, or talks a lot about weight, speak with your family doctor. The National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC) also offers information and support.