Variety is the key to healthy eating. When planning your meals for the week, make sure you include a variety of foods.

• Plan your main meal around the vegetables. Add an extra serve of vegetables to each main meal.
• Watch your portion size. Rice and pasta can be easy to over-serve. At your main meal keep to ½ to 1 cup (cooked) and load up instead on vegetables
• Add legumes (beans, peas or lentils) to meat or poultry dishes – this adds more vegetables and makes the meat go further, saving money.
• Include a handful (30 g) of nuts every day. Include as a snack or add to your favourite stir fry or breakfast cereal. 

Healthy snacks include chopped up vegetables and fruit, reduce fat plain yoghurt and nuts.

Check out our top heart-healthy eating tips and recipes for inspiration. 

These foods are high in salt, sodium and/or saturated fats. Avoid them by planning healthy main meals, and having healthy snacks on hand.

Keep healthy snacks on hand including chopped salad vegetables, a small handful of plain, unsalted nuts, or a pot of reduced fat natural yoghurt (plain or flavoured), snack on wholegrain or wholemeal crisp bread with sliced tomato and pepper.

Check out more of our healthy meal and snack ideas.

Watch your portion size.

• Plan your meals around vegetables, aim to fill half your plate with a variety of coloured vegetables
• Rice, pasta and potato can be easy to over-serve. At your main meal keep these carbohydrate-containing foods to ½ to one cup (cooked).
• When choosing your meat, chicken or fish - look at your palm, judge its size and then compare it to a piece of meat before it goes onto your plate. If it’s the same size, you’re on the right track. 

For more information on ideal protein portions and grain food portions. 

Plain tap water is the best drink choice. It's cheap, quenches your thirst and has no kilojoules.

In addition to water, it’s fine to have these drinks in moderation:

• plain mineral or soda water
• unflavoured reduced fat milk
• herbal tea
• tea or coffee (regular or decaffeinated) with reduced fat milk.

It's also OK to have a small glass (125 ml) of 98% fruit or vegetable juice sometimes. Try adding sparkling or still water to make the drink last longer.

Buy a plastic water bottle so you can take your own water everywhere you go.

Read about healthy drink choices.

Sugary drinks are very high in sugar and kilojoules and provide no nutritional value. We recommend that all people avoid sugary drinks like:

• soft drinks
• cordial
• fruit drinks (the ones that are less than 98% fruit juice)
• sports drinks
• energy drinks

Try adding chopped fresh fruit or vegetables to cold still or sparkling water for a refreshing drink, such as mint, lemon or cucumber.

Healthy men and women should drink no more than two standard drinks per day. For women who are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is the safest option.

If you have a heart condition, you may need to have less than this. Talk with your doctor or health practitioner about what's right for you.

If you do drink, alternate your alcoholic drinks with low-kilojoule drinks, such as water, plain mineral water or soda water.

Learn more about alcohol measures and heart health.

A health professional can give advice and information that’s custom made for you. Dietitians are trained to advise on healthy foods and meals. They can help you with changes you may need to make to your eating patterns.

Find an accredited practising dietitian  near you.