Eating a balanced diet means choosing a wide variety of foods and drinks from all s the food groups. It also means eating certain things in moderation, namely saturated fat, cholesterol, refined sugar, and salt. The goal is to take in nutrients you need for health at the recommended levels. You can get the most nutrients by choosing foods with a high-nutrient density. Nutrient-dense foods provide substantial amounts of vitamins and minerals and relatively few calories, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meat and fish, and whole grains and beans.Low-nutrient dense foods have few vitamins but lots of calories, such as candy bars, soda, donuts and onion rings. Vegetable sources of protein, such as nuts, beans, and whole grains are great choices and offer vitamins, minerals and healthy fibres. The best protein choices are poultry and fish. For those who love red meat, you should stick with the leanest cuts, choose moderate portion sizes, and make it only an occasional part of your diet. Developing healthy eating habits is not as confusing or as restrictive as you may imagine. The first principle of a healthy diet is simply to eat a wide variety of foods. This is important because different foods make different nutritional contributions. Fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes-foods high in complex carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins, and minerals, low in fat and free of cholesterol-should make up the bulk of the calories you consume. The rest should come from low-fat dairy products, lean meat and poultry, and fish.