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NPLANNING MEALS
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PLANNING MEALS
• Meal management
involves using resources
of skills, money, and time
to put together nutritious
meals.
• A meal manager must
plan well-balanced
menus; shop for healthful,
economical foods; and
prepare meals in the time
available.
Planning meals
• How do you plan
great meals?
• Cookbooks
• Magazines
• Food sections of
newspapers
• Recipe collection
Meals
• Five factors when you
plan meals
• Nutritious and
appealing
• Suit your cooking
skills
• Food budget
• Available preparation
time
• Foods you eat provide
your body with
carbohydrates, proteins,
fats, minerals, vitamins,
and water.
Using a pyramid meal pattern
• A meal pattern is a
guide that outlines the
basic foods normally
served at a meal.
• Currently pattern is:
• Grains 6 oz.
• Vegetables-2 ½ c
• Fruits 2c
• Milk 3c
• Meat/bean-5 ½ oz.
Using a Pyramid Meal Pattern
• Use a meal pattern based
on the Pyramid. This will
help you make sure you
get your total
recommended number of
servings each day.
• Write down everything
you ate yesterday. Then
evaluate whether or not
your meals and snacks
followed the meal pattern
described in Pyramid
Meal Pattern.
Nutrition
• Do you eat enough
vegetables?
• What are some ways you
could work more
vegetables into your diet?
• Fruit drinks and punches
are not the same as fruit
juice. They may contain
much more sugar.
Variety in Meals
• Color, flavor, texture,
shape, size, and
temperature are
important points to
consider in planning
meals with variety.
• Attractive meals
• Delicious
• Choosing foods that
appeal to the senses
(sight, smell, and taste)
will make meals
enjoyable.
Variety in Meals
• Color adds eye appeal to
meals
• Garnishes can add color
and variety to a meal
• Flavor of foods should
complement each other
• Use well-liked
combinations of foods
that taste good together
• Vary the flavors of food
items to avoid repeating
one flavor
Variety in Meals
• Use your creative flair to
• Plan to include foods
combine a variety of
that differ in
shapes and sizes in your
temperature as part of
meals
the meal plan
• Texture of foods should
offer variety.
• Crisp, tender, soft,
creamy, smooth, crunchy,
and chewy
• Serve three textures
Variety in Meals
• Variety in colors, flavors,
textures, and shapes
plays a role in foods of all
cultures
• Culture and society
have been influencing
people’s food choices
• Regional and cultural
influences
When You are the Meal Manager
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Cooking skills
Food budget
Energy cost
Preparation time
Eating schedules
• Convenience food are
food products that have
some preparation steps
done to them
• Frozen dinners
15-2 Shopping for Food
Planning and organize a shopping
list
• Shopping for food is
an important part of
meal planning
• Must decide what to
buy, where to shop,
and how much will
meet you needs
• Must be able to
evaluate the quality of
food product
• Shopping list is a detailed
list of the kinds and
amounts of food you want
to buy.
• Save three valuable
resources time, energy,
and money
Preparing a Shopping List
• Write shopping list before
you go grocery shopping
• Review all the recipes
you are planning to
prepare
• Use store ads to write
a shopping list that
will save you money
by taking advantage
of advertised specials
• Organizing your
shopping list
according to the
grocery store’s layout
Deciding Where to Shop
• Most common types
of food stores
• Supermarkets
• Discount
supermarkets
• Specialty stores
• Convenience stores
• Supermarkets sell a wide
range of food and
household products
• Lower prices
• Services offered check
cashing, home delivery
Shopping
• Discount supermarket
warehouse
supermarkets sell
foods and household
items at discounted
prices
• Less variety and
fewer customer
services
• Specialty stores
specialize in carrying one
type of food items
• Seafood store
• Bakery
Shopping
• Convenience stores
offer convenient
locations, longer
hours, and fast
service
• Selection is limited,
and prices are higher
• Conveniences are
worth the cost
• Does the store offer
courteous service and
helpful employees?
• Is the store clean and
well maintained?
• Are meats, produce
and dairy products
always fresh?
Shopping
• Does the store stock
a variety of foods in
various package sizes
to meet your needs?
• Is the checkout fast
and efficient?
Deciding How Much Food to Buy
• Food budget
• Three other factors
you will want to
consider are:
• Serving sizes
• Storage space
• Shelf life
•
how have some
supermarkets included
“specialty stores” within
their stores? Why do you
think they do this?
Recognizing Quality in Foods
• To be a good
shopper, you must be
able to recognize
quality
• One way to select the
best value in meats is
to compare quality.
• Look for the quality
best suited to your
needs
• Wise buying includes
knowing which quality is
best suited to your needs
Quality Foods
• National brands are often
advertised nationwide
• High quality
• Cost more
• House brand are brands
that are sold by a store or
chain of stores
• Quality is similar to
national brand
• Generic products have
plain labels containing
only the names of the
products and other
required label information
Quality foods
• Products are nutritionally
equivalent to national and
house brands
• Often cost less than
branded products
• Damaged packaging
can affect the quality
of any food product
• For best quality avoid
buying damaged
packages
• Generic products are
characterized by their
plain labels
15-3 Buying Information
Buying Information
• Resources available to
help you get the most for
your food dollars
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Resources
Unit pricing
Open dating
Package labeling
• Unit pricing shows the
cost per standard unit of
weight or measure
• Unit pricing labels are
usually posted on the
shelves beneath food
items
Unit Pricing
• Open dating this
• Pull date is often used
dating process gives
on dairy products and
you information about
cold cuts
the freshness of foods • Is the last day a sore
• Four forms
should sell the
product
• Pack date tells you
when the food was
• Freshness date the
processed
end of the product’s
quality peak, product
can be used beyond
this date
Unit pricing
• Expiration dates
appear on products
such as yeast or baby
formula
• Is the last day a
product should be
used or eaten
• Unit pricing allows you to
compare prices of various
products
Food Labeling
• Can learn a great deal
about the foods you buy
by reading labels.
• Food label must
include
• The common name of
the product and its
form, such as whole,
sliced, or diced
• The net contents or
net weight
• The name and
address of the
Food Label
• Manufacturer, packer, or
distributor
• A list of ingredients
• Ingredients must be listed
in descending order by
weight
• Food additives are
substances that are
added to food for a
specific purpose
• added during any phase
of producing, processing
• Storing, or packaging
• Additives must be proved
safe for their intended
uses
Nutrition Facts Panel
• Designed to help
consumers choose
healthful diets
• Serving size
• Servings per
container
• Calories per serving
and calories from fat
• Nutrients per serving,
including total fat,
saturated fat, cholesterol,
sodium, total
carbohydrate, dietary
fiber, sugars, and protein
• Percent Daily Values of
nutrients based on a
2,000 calorie diet
Universal Product Code
• This is a group of
bars and numbers
that contains price
and product
information
• Other Sources of
Information
• FDA
• USDA
• Extension agent
• FACS teacher
• Web sites
15-4 Storing Foods
Storing Foods
• Storing food properly
is just as important as
selecting it.
• Types of foods you
buy will determine the
proper storage
method
• Refrigerator
• Freezer
• Shelf
Storing Foods
• Most foods kept in the
refrigerator should be
packaged in airtight
wraps or containers
• Frozen foods should be
labeled and dated so they
can easily identify them
and avoid storing then too
long
Storing foods
• Food rotation store the
freshest food at the back
of the shelf, use the
oldest foods stored at the
front of the shelf first
• Aseptic packaging in this
type of packaging, foods
and containers are
sterilized separately then
the food is packed in the
container in a sterile
chamber
• Retort packaging
foods are sealed in
foil pouches and then
sterilized
• Shelf-stable entrees
• Shelves for up to six
months