Food list

A handy guide to the “best”, “fair” and “poor” choices of individual foods when you are aiming to lose weight.

 

Protein: meat and poultry

Best choice	Fair choice	Poor choice
Chicken breast, skinless Turkey breast, skinless Veal	Beef, lean cuts Chicken, dark meat, skinless Corned beef, lean Duck Ham, lean Lamb, lean Pork, lean Pork chop Turkey, dark meat, skinless Turkey bacon	Bacon Beef, fatty cuts Beef, minced Hot dog (pork, beef, turkey, chicken) Liver, beef, chicken Pepperoni Pork sausage Salami

  

Protein: fish and seafood

All best choices

Bass

Calamari

Catfish

Cod

Clams

Crabmeat

Haddock

Halibut

Lobster

Mackerel

Prawns

Salmon

Sardines

Scallops

Snapper

Swordfish

Trout

Tuna steak, fresh and tinned

  

Protein: eggs – fair choice

  

Protein-rich dairy

Check that low fat or no fat and has no added sugar 

Best choice	Fair choice	Poor choice
Cheese, fat free Cottage cheese, low fat Cottage cheese, no fat	Cheese, reduced fat Mozzarella cheese Ricotta cheese	Hard cheese

  

Vegetarian protein

Check that soy products have no added sugar

All best choices 

Soy burgers

Soy hot dogs

Soy sausages

Tofu, firm or extra firm 

  

Split protein / carbohydrate

All fair choices 

Milk

Tempeh

Yogurt, plain

Tofu, soft 

  

Carbohydrates

All best choices 

Vegetables	Salad vegetables	Fruit
Artichoke Asparagus Beans, green Broccoli Brussels sprouts Cabbage Cauliflower Chickpeas Eggplant Kale Leeks Okra Spinach Swiss Chard Yellow Squash Zucchini	Alfalfa Sprouts Bean sprouts Broccoli Cabbage Cauliflower Cucumber Endive Green pepper Hummus Lettuce, iceberg Lettuce, romaine Radishes Mange tout Spinach Tomato	Blackberries Blueberries Cantaloupe melon Grapefruit Honeydew melon Kiwi Peach Pineapple Raspberries Strawberries _____________________ Grains Oatmeal Oatcakes

  

Fats 

Best choice: Rich in monounsaturated fat = good fats	Fair choice: Check that ‘light’ products do not contain added sugar	Poor choice: High in saturated fat
Almond butter Almonds Avocado Guacamole Macadamia nuts Olive oil Olives Peanut butter Peanuts Tahini	Mayonnaise light Mayonnaise Sesame oil Soybean oil Walnuts	Butter Cream Cream cheese Cream cheese, light Lard Sour cream Sour cream, light

  

Drinks 

Best choice	Poor choice
Water Sparkling water Naturally caffeine free tea, coffee	Alcohol Caffeinated drinks, tea, coffee Cordials and squashes Fizzy drinks, full sugar, low sugar, sugar free

 

Avoid processed foods wherever possible.  When shopping in the supermarket, shop along the grocery isles and the back deli and fish counters with the occasional dip into the central isles for porridge oats and oat cakes.

  

WEIGHT MAINTENANCE 

The following foods may be introduced occasionally when you have reached your desired weight and are maintaining your weight. 

Vegetables	Fruit	Fruit juices
Acorn squash Baked beans Beetroot Carrots Corn Parsnip Peas Potato baked Potato boiled Potato chipped Potato mashed Sweet potato baked Sweet potato mashed	Banana Cranberries Dates Figs Guava Kumquat Mango Papaya Prunes Raisins	Apple juice Cranberry juice Grapefruit juice Lemon juice Orange juice Pineapple juice Tomato juice V-8 juice

 

Vegetables	Other
Bagel Biscuit Bread, whole grain Bread, white Bread crumbs Breadstick Buckwheat Bulgur wheat Cereals Cornbread Cornstarch Couscous Croissant, plain Crouton Donut, plain Granola Melba toast Muffins Noodles, egg Pancake Pasta, cooked Pita bread Pita bread, mini Popcorn Rice, brown Rice, white Rice, cake Rolls Taco shell Tortilla, corn Tortilla, flour Waffle	Barbeque sauce Chocolate Cordials Cocktail sauce Crackers Crisps Honey Ice cream Jams Jellys Molasses Pickles Plum sauce Potato chips Relishes Sugar, brown Sugar, granulated sweets Syrup, maple Syrups Teriyaki sauce Tortilla chips