Meal Planning and Management Chapter 9

Meal Planning Challenges Eating a meal together is an important family activity Planning meals involves making decisions about what foods to include and how to prepare them The needs of your guests, and family need to be taken into consideration.

Factors to Consider The primary purpose of eating should be nutrition Other than nutrition there are other factors that influence meal planning. Schedules Likes and dislikes Food allergies Special diets A persons activity level Cultural or religious dietary laws Stage in lifecycle (Child, Adult, Elderly) Knowing the needs of the people your are preparing for makes them feel like you care about them.

Nutrition and Energy Requirement When planning a meal use the food guide to make sure that the meal helps the person meet their daily nutritional needs Keep in mind that different people have different energy requirements Males need more energy than females Activity level Age

Toddlers and Preschoolers Children are hard to plan for You should still use Canada’s food guide Some tips for planning for children include Plan moist meals that are easy to chew Get children involved in the planning and prep of meals Plan fun and interesting meals Serve new foods with old favorites.

Older Adults Older people are often required to change their diets Some tips for planning for older people include Include nutrient dense foods Plan foods high in milk and milk products (calcium) Plan colorful tasteful foods to stimulate sense of taste Plan for food to be easy to chew Include lots of fiber.

Special Diets Acquire recipes and cook books to suite the people in your life Many people have special diets for medical or personal, cultural reasons. You should respect a persons diet choices, and plan to include them

Busy Schedules School, work, and extra curricular activities often make it hard for families to plan meals Family meetings can be used to decide food planning, cooking, cleaning, and shopping responsibilities. Some tips for busy schedules include Have quick and easy recipes available Use the microwave Make use of one dish meals Combine convenience food with nutritious foods Cook for the freezer

Unpredictable Schedules Plan meals that can be cooked early, and reheated when ready to eat Use a slow cooker Set up a breakfast bar near the fridge with cereals, fruit, milk juice.

Healthy Choices for When you Don’t Want to Cook Find restaurants in your are a that offer healthy choices Purchases food from the prepared food section of your local grocery store Take turns cooking with others in your house, or even with groups of friends or family.

Basic Meal Planning There are many aspects of meal planning Time and energy Food choices and availability Money Preparation skills Equipment

Meal Appeal When selecting a main course, think about meal appeal: Meal Appeal: the characteristics that make a meal enjoyable. Factors that infuence meal appeal include: Colour: the more the better Shape and size: Vary the shape and size of foods, use interesting cuts. Flavour and aroma: Avoid using foods with similar flavours, aromas, and intensities. Chili and garlic bread is not a good idea Texture: meals should have a variety of textures Texture: the way a food feels when you chew it Temperature: Keep in mind the environmental temperature, cold foods on hot days, hot foods on cold days. Hot food should be served hot, cold food should be served cold.

Food Cost and Budget Budget: Plan for managing money To plan a meal you must look at how much money you have to spend on food. Most Canadians spend roughly 11% of their income on food. Lower income families spend a greater percentage on food

Factors Affecting Food Expenditures The total family income. The number of family members. Larger families are more expensive to feed. The age of the family members. Growing teens cost the most. Food prices. Amount of food eaten outside of home. Time and skill available for food preparation. The amount of food wasted. Type of foods or meals that are eaten.

Using a Food Budget There are several things that can be done to help prepare a budget Keep a spending record Set a budget amount Stick with your budget Evaluate the food budget over several weeks

Reducing Your Spending You can save money before you even spend it by planning your meals with your budget in mind. Some things to keep in mind are: Look for supermarket advertisements. Choose economical main dishes. Reduce food waste. Prepare simple meals at home more often. Allow some flexibility in meal planning. Choose less expensive forms of food.

Weekly Meal Planning Tips for weekly meal planning Aim for balanced nutrition and variety in meals and snacks over the course of the week Set aside a regular time and place for meal planning Ask family members about their plans for the week Check the refrigerator, freezer, and kitchen cabinets to see what foods you have on hand Check newspaper ads, and online ads to see what foods are on sale Plan nutritious snacks as well as meals

Costing Menu Items Some important things to consider about the cost of food items when purchasing them. Cost per serving: How much product will you need to buy to make a serving. 1lb of oranges… is that before or after they are peeled? Converting measurements: Converting items measured by number into volume measurements can be tricky. Use a buyers guide to help 1mushroom = 50ml 500 ml of mushroom =10 mushrooms Cost per unit: Amount of money each unit costs 12 wieners in a pack for $1.50 = 12.5 cents a wiener. Ingredient cost: The amount of all units of an ingredient in a recipe Calls for 4 wieners= 4 x 12.5 cents= 50 cents Ingredient cost total: The total cost of menu items in a recipe 4 wieners 50cents 4 buns @ 30cents a bun = 1.20 4 hotdogs = $0.50 + $1.20 = $1.70

Time Management In the Kitchen Some tips for working efficiently Organize the kitchen Learn to use the equipment properly Look for ways to simplify Father all equipment and ingredients first Dovetail tasks Clean as you go