Food guide highlights plant-based proteins as an alternative to meat

The new Canada Food guide is recommending you round out your meals with protein-rich meat alternatives like lentils.

The new guide, released this week emphasizes, more plant-based proteins on the plates of Canadians.

Gordon Zello, a professor of nutrition at the University of Saskatchewan, said he likes what he sees for the most part.

The guide is much smaller than previous versions and it uses a plate to describe the various food groups.

"We no longer see the dairy or the meats and alternatives which was one part of our last food guide," Zello told Saskatoon Morning host Leisha Grebinski. "That's been combined into the proteins."

"The other half of the plate is fruits and vegetables, and the last part are whole grains."

He said the younger generations are steadily moving toward a plant-based protein diet and that is reflected in the guide.

Saskatchewan produces a wide variety of these plant-based proteins such as lentils and chickpeas.

"You know there are quite a few legumes and pulses which we grow a lot of in Saskatchewan," Zello said. "They contain very high levels of protein in a plant source."

While the food guide doesn't display dairy and meat prominently, it's not saying you must abstain from them.

"It is a guide," he said. "It's telling you to watch certain foods."

When it comes to protein, "it's not really a concern that we're not going to get enough protein, if we follow the food guide," Zello said.

"The amount of protein we need in a day is not as high as people necessarily think. We need about 50 to 70 grams of protein," but people are typically getting about 100 grams, he said.

One of the complaints about the new guide is that it looks expensive.

Zello said it can be, but if you dig deeper there are plenty of inexpensive alternatives.

"First of all fruits and vegetables don't have to be fresh," he said. "You can eat frozen vegetables. Or canned vegetables and fruits that are low in sodium."

The new guide also emphasizes a low-fat diet.

"Things like nuts, high-fat legumes like soybeans and peanuts will provide healthy fats," Zello said. "Seeds will also provide some of those fats that will replace some of the meats that we have been eating."

Another big change is the move to get away from free sugars that are found in soda and fruit juices.

"This is a real problem and that's why we see water as the preferred drinks," Zello said.

Now it's just a question if people are willing and able to adjust their eating habits to conform to the new guidelines.

"I think the the challenge will be to actually eat these foods, especially for us in the 50-above range where we aren't used to eating pulses," he said.