How to Read Nutrition Facts Tables

Nutrition Facts tables give you a clear snapshot of what’s in the food you eat, helping you compare products to make informed choices. A nutrition facts table lists calories, nutrients, and the percent daily value (% DV) for a standard serving. So how do you actually use these?

Start by checking the serving size.

The serving size is located at the top of the table. All the information below is based on this amount, so it’s important to compare it to how much you eat. For example, if the serving size is one cup but you eat two, you’ll need to double the calories and nutrient amounts listed. In the example below, this would mean two cups would be 220 calories. 

A serving size is not a recommendation of how much of the food to eat or drink but rather represents the amount of food typically eaten by consumers in one sitting. Serving sizes are selected based on reference amounts, which are established by Health Canada based on categories of food. 

Understand the percent daily value (% DV). 

The % DV helps you see if the food you are eating has a little or a lot of a nutrient. 

• 5% or less DV =  a little 

• 15% or more DV = a lot 

This tool allows you to compare food items to decide which ones have better sources of nutrients you want more of, and which ones are higher in nutrients you are looking to limit. 

• Nutrients you may want more of include: fibre, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and calcium

• Nutrients you may want to limit include: fat, saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium

Let’s use sodium as an example. 

Sodium is a mineral that helps regulate fluid balance and supports nerve and muscle function. Too much sodium can raise blood pressure and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. You can use the nutrition facts table to compare similar products and choose the one with a lower % DV for sodium. 

For example, let’s say you are comparing two burgers.

Here, because the two burgers have the same serving size, you can directly compare the % DV. In this case, if you were looking for a product with less sodium, you would choose product 2. 

Make it work for you. 

Choosing the healthier option isn’t always straightforward. Sometimes one product might be lower in saturated fat but higher in sodium, while another might be higher in saturated fat but lower in sodium. That’s why reading a Nutrition Facts table isn’t about finding a “perfect” food—it’s about understanding what’s in your food so you can make choices that fit your needs. 

References: 

Unlock Food [Internet]. Canada: Dietitians of Canada; [updated 2023 Jul 6;  cited 2025 Aug 15]. Understanding food labels in canada; [about 7 screens]. Available from: https://www.unlockfood.ca/en/Articles/Nutrition-Labelling/Understanding-Food-Labels-in-Canada.aspx. 

Unlock food [Internet]. Canada: Dietitians of Canada; [updated 2019 Jan 29; cited 2025 Aug 15]. Get the scoop on salt; [about 4 screens]. Available from: https://www.unlockfood.ca/en/Articles/Heart-Health/Get-the-Scoop-on-Salt.aspx.  

Alberta Health Services [Internet]. Alberta: Alberta Health Services, Nutrition Services; [updated 2019 Jul; cited 2025 Aug 15]. Label reading the healthy way; [about 4 screens]. Available from: https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/info/nutrition/if-nfs-label-reading.pdf 

Health Canada [Internet]. Ottawa: Government of Canada; [updated 2024 Sep 5; cited 2025 Aug 15]. Nutrition labelling: nutrition facts table; [about 5 screens]. Available from: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/nutrition-labelling/nutrition-facts-tables.html 

Health Canada [Internet]. Ottawa: Government of Canada;  [updated 2025 Feb 25; cited 2025 Aug 15]. Nutrition labelling - Table of reference amounts for food; [about 100 screens]. Available from: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/technical-documents-labelling-requirements/nutrition-labelling-table-reference-amounts-food.html

Balancing the Sweet Stuff: A Farm-Fresh Look at Sugar & Health

Hi everyone! We’re Alex and Angelique, two Master’s students specializing in Dietetics (aka: food and nutrition). If you’ve visited the farm recently, there’s a good chance you’ve seen us out and about chatting with folks about food, farming, and all things nutrition. 

During these chats, one question kept popping up again and again: “Should I be worried about the sugar in fruits, jams, jellies, and other preserves?”. 

We love this question for many reasons, but a big one is because there’s so much conflicting information out there about this topic. It causes a lot of confusion and unnecessary fear, especially when it comes to the sweet, seasonal foods we all enjoy.  

So, think of this as a “back to the basics”,  where we’ll break down the science to help you understand how to enjoy your favorite fruity foods while nourishing your body. Before we start, one small disclaimer: this information is for educational purposes and is general enough that it can apply to both those with a condition that impacts sugar metabolism and normal sugar metabolizing folks alike. That being said, nothing you read online should replace individualized care recommendations from your health care team, so take what fits and leave the rest! 

Let’s dive in!  

It seems like every time  we open our phone, turn on the TV, listen to the radio, or even have conversations with friends and family, everyone has an opinion about sugar. Limit this, don’t eat that, fruits are bad, fruits are good, just cut out sugar completely! The list goes on… But the reality is, sugar is a necessary part of our diet, to keep our brains  functional. The conversation shouldn’t be  about avoiding sugar altogether, but rather it should be about understanding how to enjoy it safely and confidently!  

We talk about this much more over in our Nutrition Hub but our bodies ultimately break down even the most stereotypically “healthy” foods into simple sugars to keep our basic functions going.  Think of these foods like a chain linked together, and every time our body breaks off a link of the chain, it releases some energy needed to survive. If the chain is strong, we are going to break it apart one link at a time, with a gradual release of that energy. If the chain is weak, then we  break it apart all at once, giving a quick burst of energy that can often leave us feeling not so great. So, how can we make the chain stronger? Protein and fibre! 

Protein and fibre make the chain stronger. These two components require  a lot of  energy to break apart in order to access  the fuel (aka glucose). If your body is focused on breaking apart these components, it’s harder for the sugar you eat to spike your blood sugar. Clinical research trials  found that eating something high in protein before something high in sugar will lower blood sugar spikes. This observation has been repeated so many times that the idea of pairing protein with high sugar, (aka high carbohydrate) foods is encouraged by Diabetes Canada. Fibre, especially soluble fibre (the type that forms a gel, commonly found in fruits, chia seeds, and oatmeal) can actually slow down the speed that our body takes sugar into the blood while digesting it. Insoluble fibre (the kind found in vegetables and grains to make up their “bulk”) is known to improve insulin resistance over time when consumed regularly. Insulin is like the key unlocking the door to let sugar into our cells so we can use it as the energy we need. If we improve insulin resistance, it means that our bodies are going to react to insulin the way it is supposed to, not “resisting” its unlocking effect. This means we will have steadier blood sugar levels even if we eat foods with sugar! Pretty cool huh?   

Now that we’ve broken down the science, let's chat about what this looks like when it comes to your everyday food choices.  Throughout this section, our hope is that you can see that balance is more important than restriction. 

Many of the farm visitors we spoke with expressed how much they love preserving the berries they pick into delicious jams and jellies. But, they don’t feel like they can eat these items anymore because of the sugar content. Taking what we’ve learned above, here are a few ideas for eating the delicious preserves without spiking your blood sugar:

1. Try a simple snack of your homemade jam on some wholegrain toast, with some high protein yogurt on the side! 

Not your thing?

1.  Try some oats, chia seeds, your jam and a hard-boiled egg with eggs from our chickens! 

2. Make  a delicious berry crumble, but use a sugar alternative in the crumble like stevia, with a variety of seeds to add more fibre. When enjoying this, try some vanilla high protein yogurt as a swap for the ice cream. Or, have a scoop of your favorite ice cream with your crumble and a protein shake. 

Noticing a trend here? Good! That brings us to the idea of building your plate strategically to enjoy your favorite foods without a burst of sugar. Remember the goal, balance not restriction! When enjoying anything that’s high in sugar, try building your plate so that you have something high in protein and something high in fibre to eat along with the higher sugar foods.  

Food labels are a great tool to help you understand where to be strategic. When we look at a food label, Health Canada shows us the “percent daily values”. Health Canada has also created the easy to memorize tagline: “5% is a little, 15% is a lot”. This is a great tool for knowing when to pair your foods with protein and fibre. Think about it like this, if the label shows a sugar content above the 5% daily value cutoff for it being “a little”, pair it with protein and fibre! Additionally, the ingredients list is a good indicator for pairing foods with protein and fibre. Ingredients are listed in order, from most to least by weight. This means that the first ingredients listed are what there is the most of, and the last ingredients are what there’s the least of. So once again, if you see sugar as one of the first ingredients, pair it with protein and fibre! 

You’ve made it to the end! Congratulations. We really hope that this blog post has given you the confidence to eat foods that have sugar in them, without being afraid. Remember, sugar has a place in a balanced diet. It's much more important to consider what you pair the sugar-forward items with, and how these delicious items fit into the bigger picture of your food choices over time. Get curious and try combinations of protein and fibre to see what feels best with your body. Don’t feel guilty for enjoying these delicious foods. And if you see us (Angelique and Alex) around the farm, come say hi and let us know how you’ve tried putting this into practice! 

Sources: 

1. Diabetes Canada. (2024). Protein and Diabetes:  What You Need to Know . Toronto, ON; Diabetes Canada. 

2. Song, J., Oh, T. J., & Song, Y. (2023). Individual postprandial glycemic responses to meal types by different carbohydrate levels and their associations with glycemic variability using continuous glucose monitoring. Nutrients, 15(16), 3571. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15163571 

3. Bae, J. H., Kim, L. K., Min, S. H., Ahn, C. H., & Cho, Y. M. (2018). Postprandial glucose‐lowering effect of premeal consumption of protein‐enriched, dietary fiber‐fortified bar in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus or normal glucose tolerance. Journal of Diabetes Investigation, 9(5), 1110–1118. https://doi.org/10.1111/jdi.12831

4. Weickert, M. O., & Pfeiffer, A. F. (2018). Impact of dietary fiber consumption on insulin resistance and the prevention of type 2 diabetes. The Journal of Nutrition, 148(1), 7–12. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxx008
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

From Picking to Plating: Fun Ways to Get Kids Involved in the Kitchen

Have you been looking for a meaningful activity to do with your child? Inviting them into the kitchen might be just the thing! Cooking together is more than making meals—it’s a hands-on way to explore where food comes from, how it nourishes our bodies, and the family traditions that shape how we eat. Whether you’re planning your meals, picking fresh produce at the farm, or preparing dishes at home, each step offers a chance to connect, learn, and grow. 

Start your meal with a good plan! 

One of the best places to start is by planning meals together. This doesn’t mean your child needs to plan the whole week’s menu, but giving them a say in what the family eats—even once or twice a week—can make a big difference in building healthy habits early on. 

No matter their age, children can contribute in meaningful ways. Younger children might enjoy flipping through a family recipe book, drawing the foods they’d like to eat, or helping check what’s in the fridge and cupboards. Older kids can suggest meals they’ve been wanting, help brainstorm new dishes, write out grocery lists, or go through the flyers to look for sales.  

Involving children in the planning process can make them feel included, teach organization and budgeting, and help them think about their food choices. 

Turn shopping into a fun adventure. 

Once your meals are planned, bring your child along to choose the ingredients. Whether you're heading to the Pick-Your-Own Patch at the farm, a farmers’ market, or the grocery store, these outings can be turned into fun, hands-on learning experiences. During this time, you can talk about how food is grown, what makes certain foods seasonal, and how to harvest foods! 

At the farm, we often see children get excited when they get to pick their own food—whether it’s plucking raspberries off the bush, pulling a carrot up out of the soil, or getting eye level with a zucchini plant, noticing the bees buzzing in and out of the flowers as they gather nectar and pollinate. Kids will often talk to us about what they are going to make at home with the produce they just picked! These simple moments help children connect with where their food comes from and get excited about eating it. 

In the grocery store, children can help find items on your list, choose colourful fruits and vegetables, compare prices, or read food labels with you. You can even encourage them to pick one new fruit or vegetable to try at home. 

Sometimes we shop before we’ve planned our meals. That’s okay! You can still have your child help you choose ingredients and then decide together how to use them once you’re home. Cooking is flexible, and you can do whatever works best for you and your family.

Cooking together turns your meals into fun memories!

Back at home, kids of all ages can take part in helping make a meal or snack. Younger children might rinse produce, mash bananas, or stir ingredients, while older children can use a child-safe knife to chop soft foods, crack eggs, or measure ingredients. Adolescents may be ready to follow full recipes or even take the lead on preparing a dish.

Encourage kids to smell fresh herbs, taste new flavours, and ask questions as they go. Having them help you in the kitchen not only teaches practical skills like food safety, measuring, and following instructions, but also supports curiosity and confidence.

Food is where stories and traditions come alive. 

Food can also be a way to pass down family culture and traditions. Whether it’s baking a special dessert during the holidays, preparing a dish from your childhood, or telling stories about who taught you to cook, these moments help children understand that food isn’t just fuel—it’s a way to connect with their cultural roots and the people around them. 

The best meals are made together!

When children take part in planning, choosing, and preparing meals, they’re not just helping in the kitchen—they’re building lifelong skills, like learning how to manage money, stay organized, read and follow recipes, write shopping lists, and measure ingredients. It also gives them a chance to practice teamwork and problem-solving, both skills that build confidence. Plus, they’re more likely to try the foods they’ve helped create! Whether you start with a simple salad, a batch of muffins, or a favourite family recipe, inviting kids into the kitchen turns meals into moments of connection, learning, and joy. So give it a try and enjoy the delicious creations you make together!

References: 

Unlock Food [Internet]. Canada: Dietitians of Canada; [updated 2021 Oct 25; cited 2025 Aug 8]. Cooking with kids of different ages; [about 6 screens]. Available from: https://www.unlockfood.ca/en/Articles/Child-Toddler-Nutrition/Cooking-with-Kids.aspx 

Unlock Food [Internet]. Canada: Dietitians of Canada; [updated 2020 Nov 27;  cited 2025 Aug 8]. Cooking with kids; [about 5 screens]. Available from: https://www.unlockfood.ca/en/Articles/Childrens-Nutrition/Cooking-and-Meal-Planning/Cooking-with-Kids.aspx.

Canada’s Food Guide [Internet]. Ontario: Government of Canada; [updated 2024 Jun 25; cited 2025 Aug 8]. Involve kids in planning and preparing meals; [about 6 screens]. Available from: https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/healthy-eating-recommendations/cook-more-often/involve-others-in-planning-and-preparing-meals/involving-kids-in-planning-and-preparing-meals/.

Alberta Health Services [Internet]. Alberta: Alberta Health Services, Nutrition Services; [updated 2023 Jan; cited 2025 Aug 8]. https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/info/nutrition/if-nfs-feeding-toddlers-and-young-children.pdf.

PYO Fruit & Vegetable Patch Experience

Are you looking for a family-friendly outdoor activity this summer? We have just the thing for you! This August we are hosting a pick-your-own fruit & vegetable experience where you will learn about the farm, agriculture, and food production first-hand by picking your very own fruits and vegetables. With the items you pick, you will then be making a delicious recipe right here on the farm, while also learning about the nutrients in the ingredients you picked!

This event will be one hour long, and when you are finished you can eat and take any leftovers home with you to share with your family. We will be hosting sessions throughout August:

This fun and educational activity is $15 per person. To choose an available time and pre-pay click here. See you soon!

What's up with Watermelon?

Happy National Watermelon Day! Watermelon is definitely a summertime favourite around here - keep reading to find out why!

• It's packed full of water, keeping you hydrated & refreshed

• A great source of Vitamin A (helps our eyes & skin stay healthy)

• A great source of Vitamin C (helps our bones, teeth, & skin grow/repair)

• One of the best sources of Lycopene, a pigment that doubles as a powerful antioxidant (may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease & certain cancers)

Overall, watermelon is oh-so-delicious & full of nutrition. Enjoy some today!

Alex Chesney, RD

Strawberry Season is Here!

This time of year, when strawberries are still so new & exciting, my favourite way to enjoy them is simply sliced up as a snack. And what a delicious & nutritious snack they are! Packed full of fiber, potassium, and lots of Vitamin C, strawberries are incredibly tasty & super good for you. 

Come pick some up from the farm, pick-your-own-patch, Innerkip Farm Market, or your local farmers' market today! 

Alex Chesney, RD

What's So Great About Asparagus?

We all love asparagus for its delicious taste, but what else has it got going for it? Turns out, quite a lot! 

Like all veggies, asparagus is a great source of fiber, which is found primarily in the skin on its stalks, so try to avoid peeling it! On top of that, asparagus packs in lots of vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin A, folate, and potassium. 

Enjoy some asparagus tonight, and try steaming, grilling, or roasting (as opposed to boiling) to maintain the best possible nutritional and culinary integrity.

Let me know if you have any questions!
Alex Chesney, RD