What is Canada's food guide recommendation regarding proteins?

December 25, 2025 •

3 min read

The latest version of Canada’s Food Guide, released in 2019, shifted from prescriptive serving sizes to a visual 'plate model' to simplify healthy eating. This pictorial representation recommends that protein foods should constitute roughly one-quarter of a person’s plate at each meal, alongside half a plate of vegetables and fruits and one-quarter whole grains.

Quick Summary

Canada's Food Guide recommends that protein foods occupy one-quarter of your plate, with an emphasis on choosing plant-based sources more often. It provides a wide range of suitable protein options, including lean meats, low-fat dairy, and legumes, and encourages mindful preparation methods.

Key Points

Plate Model: Canada's Food Guide recommends filling one-quarter of your plate with protein foods.
Plant-Based First: The guide encourages choosing protein foods from plants more often, citing benefits like higher fibre and lower saturated fat.
Diverse Sources: A wide array of protein options, including legumes, nuts, seeds, lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, and low-fat dairy, are recommended.
Healthier Choices: For animal products, focus on lean cuts and lower-fat dairy to reduce saturated fat intake.
Mindful Preparation: Healthy preparation methods like grilling and roasting are encouraged, along with minimizing sauces and added sodium.
Nutrient Synergy: Combining protein foods with vegetables, fruits, and whole grains creates a balanced and satiating meal.

The Canada's Food Guide Plate Model for Protein

Canada's Food Guide uses a plate model suggesting protein foods fill one-quarter of your plate at each meal, alongside vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. This visual guide replaces previous complex serving size recommendations, making healthy eating more accessible. The aim is to promote a varied intake of protein sources.

Prioritizing Plant-Based Protein

A significant recommendation is to "choose protein foods that come from plants more often". This is due to evidence linking plant-based diets to reduced risks of chronic diseases like heart disease and certain cancers. Plant proteins like legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy products are typically higher in fibre and lower in saturated fat than animal proteins, benefiting heart health. While animal proteins remain options, the guide encourages increasing the frequency of plant-based meals. This shift can be gradual, such as adding lentils to soups or using tofu in stir-fries more often.

A Diverse Range of Protein Foods

The guide lists a variety of protein foods from both plant and animal sources, allowing for diverse choices based on dietary needs, culture, and budget.

Plant-based protein sources:

Legumes: Lentils, beans, split peas.
Soy products: Tofu, tempeh, edamame, fortified soy beverages.
Nuts and Seeds: Various nuts and seeds with little added sodium or sugars.
Other options: Quinoa.

Animal-based protein sources:

Fish and Shellfish.
Lean Meats and Poultry: Skinless options and lean cuts.
Eggs.
Lower-fat Dairy Products: Unsweetened milk, yogurt, and lower-fat, lower-sodium cheeses.

Comparing Plant-Based and Animal-Based Proteins


Feature	Plant-Based Protein	Animal-Based Protein
Saturated Fat	Generally lower or absent	Can be higher, particularly in fattier cuts and full-fat dairy
Fibre Content	High fibre content	Contains no dietary fibre
Environmental Impact	Generally lower greenhouse gas emissions and resource usage	Higher resource usage and larger environmental footprint
Common Examples	Lentils, beans, tofu, nuts	Lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy
Cost	Often more budget-friendly (e.g., dried legumes)	Can be more expensive, though varies by type
Nutrients	Good source of folate, magnesium, and fibre	Good source of iron and Vitamin B12

Smart Preparation for Healthier Protein

The guide stresses healthy preparation methods to reduce intake of saturated fat, sodium, and sugars. For animal proteins, this involves trimming fat and removing skin. Recommended cooking methods include grilling, roasting, and stir-frying. When choosing packaged protein foods, check nutrition labels for options low in added sodium, sugar, or saturated fat. Cooking at home is also encouraged for better control over ingredients.

Mindful Eating Habits

Mindful eating is encouraged, including paying attention to protein portion sizes and their role in satiety. Combining protein with vegetables and whole grains creates balanced and satisfying meals.

Conclusion

Canada's Food Guide recommends filling one-quarter of your plate with a variety of protein foods, prioritizing plant-based options more often. This approach utilizes the health benefits of plant-based sources while still including animal proteins. By selecting diverse protein foods and using healthier preparation methods, Canadians can create balanced and nutritious meals. More information is available on the official Canada's Food Guide website.(https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/healthy-eating-recommendations/make-it-a-habit-to-eat-vegetables-fruit-whole-grains-and-protein-foods/eat-protein-foods/).

How to build a balanced plate with protein

Visual Aid: Use the plate model to guide meal composition, filling one-quarter with protein foods.
Prioritize Plants: Intentionally choose plant-based proteins like legumes, nuts, and seeds more frequently.
Lean Choices: When consuming animal protein, opt for lean meats, fish, and lower-fat dairy products.
Smart Prep: Cook using healthier methods like roasting or grilling and limit added saturated fat, sugar, and sodium.
Check Labels: Read Nutrition Facts tables on packaged protein products to select items with less added sodium and sugar.
Enjoy Variety: Incorporate a wide range of both plant and animal protein sources throughout the week for a balanced intake of nutrients.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, Canada's Food Guide does not mandate a vegetarian diet. While it emphasizes choosing plant-based proteins more often, it still includes a variety of animal-based protein foods such as lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, and lower-fat dairy as part of a healthy diet.

The guide recommends prioritizing plant-based protein because these foods typically provide more fibre and less saturated fat than animal proteins. A higher intake of plant-based foods is associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases like heart disease.

Protein foods include a wide range of options from both plant and animal sources. Examples are beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, tofu, fortified soy beverages, lean meats, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, and lower-fat dairy products.

The old Food Guide had separate categories for 'Meat and Alternatives' and 'Milk and Milk Products' with specific serving sizes. The new guide combines them into a single 'protein foods' category, represented by one-quarter of the plate, and encourages eating plant-based options more often.

No, your body is capable of combining different amino acids from a variety of plant foods eaten throughout the day to form complete proteins. It is not necessary to combine them at every single meal.

Lean animal protein choices include skinless chicken and turkey, fish, shellfish, eggs, and lean cuts of beef and pork, such as sirloin steak and round roast.

You can reduce fat by trimming visible fat from meat, removing poultry skin, and using healthy cooking methods like grilling or roasting. Choose canned legumes with low or no added sodium, or rinse and drain regular canned versions.