Use My Healthy Plate. It is an easy way to plan healthy meals for your breakfast, lunch and dinner without the need to count calories or read long lists of ingredients. In addition, it helps you:

  • eat a variety of foods
  • control your portion sizes (amount of food you place on your plate)
  • lower your risk of chronic diseases including diabetes
  • control your blood glucose levels if you have diabetes

Related: Cut 100 Calories From Your Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Every Day

Here’s How It Works

my healthy plate guide 

Fill a quarter of your plate with wholegrains (e.g. brown rice, wholemeal bread, rolled oats).

Unlike refined grains (e.g. white rice, noodles, white bread), wholegrains are rich in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and dietary fibre.

Wholegrains can help with weight management because they keep you feeling fuller for longer and reduce the need for snacking. Wholegrains can also help people with diabetes to control their blood sugar levels.

Fill a quarter of your plate with lean meat and others (e.g. poultry, seafood, eggs, nuts, beans, tofu, dairy products).

Cook meat in a variety of ways: stir-fry, roast, steam, boil, grill.

Go for oily fish (e.g. tuna, mackerel, tenggiri batang and ikan tenggiri), poultry with visible fat removed (chicken, duck, turkey), and lean meat.

Fill half your plate with fruit and vegetables.

Cook vegetables in a variety of ways: stir-fry, roast, steam, blanch, sauté.

For fruit, eat them whole rather than as juices.

Fruit and vegetables are high in dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals, and are mostly low in fat. They lower your risk of many diseases.

Related: What is the Glycaemic Index?

How to Use My Healthy Plate to Plan a Meal

how to use my healthy plate to plan a meal

Choose your meal — is it time for breakfast, lunch or dinner?

Place the foods in the proper place on your plate:

  • Fill ½ of the plate for fruit and vegetables (optional for breakfast)
  • Fill ¼ of the plate for lean meat and others, like beans, nuts, dairy products or eggs
  • Fill ¼ of the plate for wholegrains, like brown rice or wholemeal bread

Ask your nutritionist or dietitian to show you:

  • what to eat from the different food groups
  • how many servings of food to eat and what one serving of food looks like
  • healthy methods of cooking

How to Plan Your Breakfast Using My Healthy Plate

plan your breakfast using my healthy plate 

Fill a quarter of your plate with wholegrains

  • Wholemeal bread, wholegrain toast, rolled oats, brown rice porridge, millet porridge

Fill a quarter of your plate with lean meat and others

  • Eggs, low-fat cheese, low-fat plain milk, unflavoured low-fat yoghurt, soya bean milk with less or no added sugar

Optional: Fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables

  • Raw leafy vegetables, sliced tomatoes, cucumber, banana, apple, oranges, berries  

Here is a sample breakfast using My Healthy Plate.

my healthy plate with example portions 

Wholegrain bee hoon
1 serving of vegetables (optional)
1 egg
1 cup of soya bean milk with less or no added sugar, or plain water
1 serving of fruit (optional)

Related: What to Eat to Lose Weight

How to Plan Your Lunch or Dinner Using My Healthy Plate

how to plan your lunch or dinner using my healthy plate

Fill a quarter of your plate with wholegrains

  • Brown rice, wholemeal pasta, wholemeal bee hoon, chapati

Fill a quarter of your plate with lean meat and others

  • Chicken with visible fat removed, fish, lean meat (pork, mutton, beef)

Fill half your plate with fruit and non-starchy vegetables

  • Bok choy, carrots, broccoli, spinach, carrots, capsicums, cabbage, kai lan, kang kong, chye sim

Here is a sample lunch or dinner using My Healthy Plate.

If you are eating in:

my healthy plate with example portions

Rice with side dishes

  • ¼ plate of brown rice
  • ¼ plate of lean meat or other good sources of protein, e.g. steamed chicken or steamed tofu with mushroom if you are vegetarian
  • ¼ plate of vegetable
  • 1 serving of fruit

If you plan to eat out:

healthy mee siam portion  

Mee Siam
1 bowl of bee hoon, ask for wholemeal bee hoon or wholegrain noodles if available
½ serving of beansprouts, ask for more if possible
1 hard-boiled egg and few pieces of tofu puffs (tau pok)
1 glass of water
Bring along an apple

Or

Nasi padang
1 bowl of rice, ask for brown rice if available
1 serving of stir-fried vegetables
1 serving of grilled chicken, remove visible fat
1 cup of teh tarik (with less sugar)

Pair with a serving of fruit

If you are unable to meet Quarter-Quarter-Half for your current meal, you can make up the missing food groups in your next meal. My Healthy Plate is a simple way to eat healthily.

Download the HealthHub app on Google Play or Apple Store to access more health and wellness advice at your fingertips.

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