1. Meal Planning for the Family

2. Follow Food Guide Pyramid Recommendations
Bread, cereal, rice & pasta group * servings
Fruit group *2 - 4 servings
Vegetable group *3 - 5 servings
Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs & nuts group
*2 - 3 servings
Milk, yogurt & cheese group *2 - 3 servings
(teenagers servings)
Fats, oils & sweets *use sparingly

3. Understand aesthetic guidelines of meal planning
color
texture
flavor
temperature
size and shape
preparation method
nutritional variety

4. Seven items that you need to look at before planning meals.
The circumstances, values, and ways families manage their resources from house to house are very different in terms of meal preparation.

5. Family Size:
This affects the amount of money needed, the preparation time, and the style of table service preferred.

6. Age:
Babies, children, teenagers and parents need different foods and don’t eat the same amount.

7. Activity Level:
With more exercise, the body requires more energy.

8. Food Preferences:
All families don’t like the same kinds of foods because of culture and traditions.

9. Time:
Recipes vary greatly in preparation time required. When there is little time, fix foods requiring little time.

10. Special Diets:
Health considerations such as diabetes, high blood pressure, lactose intolerance, ulcer, stroke, and heart problems influence what people eat. What are some examples of foods some people must limit and why?

11. Food Budget:
If money is limited, foods from basic ingredients prepared from scratch may be a better choice than fast food or convenience foods. Some families don’t realize this and the fact that they could help themselves out of a trying financial situation with their food budget.

12. Time Management Organize kitchen
Assemble all ingredients before beginning
Work on several items at the same time (dovetail)
Clean up as you go
Implementing time-saving shopping strategies
Preparing larger quantities of food at one time and freezing some for later
Evaluate the use of convenience foods to save time; may increase expense and lower quality
At times the time saved may be of greater value than the additional expense

13. Budgeting and Shopping Strategies to Meal Management
prepare a shopping list - group similar foods together to be efficient
check cupboards/pantry to avoid duplication
familiarize yourself with the store layout
comparison shopping - compare unit prices and cost per serving
avoid damaged goods and frozen packages with ice crystals on outside
check dates on the package
plan meals around store specials
check ads for loss leaders

14. Budgeting and Shopping Strategies to Meal Management
stick to the list to avoid impulse buying
shop alone
avoid shopping when hungry or tired
limit shopping trips - the more trips to the store the more money spent
purchase what you can use and store
quantity buying can benefit if the item is used frequently
take advantage of sales of frequently used items; case lot sales
buy foods in season for best prices
using a calculator while shopping can help keep track of money spent while shopping

15. Eating Out
more and more meals are eaten outside the home or prepared and brought into the home
greater variety of types of foods are available; keep in mind the food pyramid and dietary guideline
fast food meals often are higher in fat and salt than home-prepared meals
portion sizes may be larger which often encourages overeating
on a limited budget reducing the amount of food eaten out can save money