Choose vegetables more often than fruit – every day.

Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables daily! Look for dark green and orange/red coloured vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, carrots, red peppers and sweet potatoes. Choose the bright orange colored fruits such as cantaloupe, mangoes and citrus fruit more often – they are all rich in antioxidants which help to reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer.

Enjoy fruits and vegetables that are microwaved, steamed, simmered, stir-fried, broiled, boiled, grilled, air-fried, baked, roasted, or poached. Steaming retains most of the nutrients because the vegetables do not come into contact with the cooking liquids.

Canned vegetables and fruit can have added sodium (salt) and sugars. Choose those that are packed in water or their own juices, those low in sodium, and rinse and drain canned goods before use. Avoid fruits packed in heavy syrups.

Shop for fresh or canned fruits that are easily portable to bring with you throughout the day.

Choose smoothies over juices. Smoothies contain the whole fruit and fibre while juices do not. If necessary, choose 100% pure fruit and vegetable juices over concentrated juices. Fruit drinks, cocktails, beverages, and punches have added sugar, contain very little real fruit juice, and contain few vitamins and minerals compared to products made with concentrated fruit juices or fruit puree; they are often high in sugar and low in nutrients compared to real juice. Don’t be fooled by products that claim they have real fruit or fruit juice added. Look at the ingredient list: the further down the list the fruit/fruit juice is, the less of it there is in the product. See an example ingredients list of a reference orange drink below:

Ingredients: Water, Sugars (sugar/glucose-fructose), concentrated orange juice, citric acid, modified corn starch, sodium citrate, natural and artificial flavours, colour.

Here, you can see the product is primarily water and sugars with a smaller amount of orange juice. How do we know that? Water is the first ingredient, indicating that the product contains more water than any other component,  while sugars are not far behind as the second ingredient. The orange juice is the third ingredient and is in a concentrated form, meaning most of the water was removed during processing. Look for juices with no sugars added or if necessary, with sugars further down toward the end of the list.

Sugar is sugar! Keep in mind that unsweetened fruits and fruit juices can contain as much natural sugar as sweetened fruit drinks and regular soft drinks. Any form of sugar can raise your triglyceride levels.

See the chart below for a comparison of a whole orange, orange juice, orange drink and orange soda pop, and a recipe for a homemade sugar spritzer alternative!

Comparing Sugars in Popular Products

  Whole Medium Orange Reference 100% Orange Juice (With Pulp) Reference Orange Drink Crystals Reference Orange Soda Pop
Sugars (g) per 250 mL 12.25 25 29 30
Fibre (g) per 250 mL 2.3 0 0 0

Sparkling Water Juice Spritzer

Try this sparkling water spritzer instead of orange juice, drink, and soda!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup sparkling water (any flavor or plain)
  • 1-2 tablespoons 100% fruit juice (choose your favourite, such as orange, cranberry, or grape)
  • Ice cubes
  • Optional: fresh fruit slices or herbs for garnish (e.g., lemon slices, basil leaves, mint leaves)

Instructions:

Fill a glass with ice cubes, sparkling water, and a splash of juice. Garnish with fresh fruit slices or herbs for even more flavour (optional). Serve immediately and enjoy your refreshing spritzer!