Planning Good Meals

Food dollars are the most important dollars you spend. They can be spent wisely to buy nourishing meals, or they can go for spur-of-the-moment purchases. Good, nutritious meals don�ft just happen; they are planned. Everyone needs adequate amounts of protein, vitamins, minerals, and kilocalories* each day. Over a period of time these nutrients affect the health and well-being of every member of your family. Easy, quick meals must be prepared by someone—you (with help from family members) or processors who prepare convenience foods. In either case, good health for the family is the ultimate goal. This can be achieved only by providing the essential nutrients every day.

Today, the role of homemaker is often a shared one. In dividing household responsibilities, grocery shopping, food preparation and prepreparation, or cleanup often falls to the husband or older children. Meal planning guides as well as information on the purchase and preparation of food are even more important for you who are new to this area. Planning menus for 3 to 7 days at a time will save you time in shopping and preparing food. If the person who shops is not the person who prepares the meals, menu planning is a must. Also, knowing what will be prepared for dinner each night means this question doesn't have to come to your mind during a busy day or on the drive home.

Convenience foods are those that are partially or fully prepared. They can be canned, frozen, readyto- eat, ready-to-use, or packaged mixes. When deciding what to buy, think about your time, energy, the quality of food you can purchase, and your food budget. Many convenience foods are actually less expensive than the home-prepared counterpart. Frozen orange juice concentrate and frozen french fries are two good examples. Seasonal vegetables or those vegetables with limited growing regions are less expensive in the plain convenience form; staple vegetables in season are usually cheaper in the fresh form.


Fresh foods, such as fruits and vegetables, generally require some kind of preparation—either washing, peeling, cutting, or shelling. The trade-off is time spent in preparation for money spent on the convenience food. Canned foods, such as meats, soups, vegetables, chow mein, and chicken a la king, are completely cooked and ready to heat and serve. Many canned vegetables may be used in casserole-type main dishes. Canned fruits can be chilled and served. Frozen foods are both cooked and raw. Frozen foods that must be cooked before using may not save much cooking time but will save in preparation time. Meat, poultry, fish, soups, whole dinners, fruit pies, and breads that have been completely cooked and then frozen need only to be heated and served. Meat, poultry, and fish that were frozen raw must be cooked, of course.



Frozen vegetables are usually raw and need to be cooked. Some have been cooked and only need reheating. Fruits and fruit juices only need to be defrosted. Most juices must be mixed with water or other juices before using. Freezing home-prepared main dishes, desserts, or a complete meal can be a real convenience. The trick is to buy and fix two or three times your usual quantity. You can successfully freeze almost any casserole or main dish. Undercook the dish slightly before freezing since it will cook a little more as it thaws and warms. Biscuits and rolls can be made ahead and frozen either cooked or uncooked. As a rule, cooked potatoes, spaghetti, and macaroni don't store well in the freezer. They should be added to casseroles and sauces just before heating to serve. Also, add seasonings sparingly; freezing may increase the flavor.



Examples of do-it-yourself convenience foods to freeze are chili, chicken and dressing, baked beans, and chicken or turkey in gravy. You can also cook, chop, and freeze chicken or turkey for use in stirfried rice, chicken salad, chicken a la king, or turkey pot pie. Ground beef can be prepared and frozen as a meatloaf to be baked, as meatballs or croquettes (seasoned, shaped, and ready for browning) or for use in Italian sauce for spaghetti, lasagna, or chicken parmesan. Remember that cooked foods should be stored in the freezer for only a short time. Use them within 8 weeks of freezing for the highest quality. Freeze them in loaf-size pans; then remove when frozen solid and package tightly in freezer bags or wrap. Label the packages with name of dish and date. To serve, put a frozen casserole in a freezer-to-oven container and heat in the oven or a double boiler. If the food is already cooked, it will only need warming. To heat a 6-serving casserole from the frozen state, bake for 30 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. This is only a rule of thumb; time may vary. Cooking partly thawed food will take less time. If you have a microwave, you may use it to defrost and warm frozen dishes.



Packaged mixes are available in every food group. These mixes save a great deal of time in assembling, measuring, and blending ingredients as well as in washing and storing measuring equipment after use. They also tend to produce products of consistent quality. Prepare some in advance and freeze them. You may choose to make your own quick mixes to keep on hand for baked goods or coatings. Ready-to-eat foods include cold cuts of meat, sliced cheese, breakfast cereals, crackers, condiments, and bakery products. These are handy for lunches but can also be served with a salad, vegetables, or fruit for a quick meal.



Ready-to-use foods, in addition to canned and frozen foods, are items such as chopped and shredded ingredients for slaw or salad; instant milk, coffee, tea, and cocoa; salad dressings; bouillon cubes or granules; prepared stuffings; brown-and-serve sausage; instant potatoes; chopped meat, etc. The cooking, heating, or mixing required for these foods takes only a short time before the food is ready to serve. You can make your own ready-to-use foods. When you are chopping onions or green peppers for one dish, go ahead and chop the entire item and store it in the refrigerator or freezer in recipe proportions. For example, green pepper frozen in ½-cup portions and onion in ¼-cup amounts are useful. If you have leftover meats that can be used later in casseroles or sandwiches, chop or slice and freeze them also. A little planning ahead and doing the preparation when you have the time will provide you with your own convenience foods in your freezer. This also saves waste by allowing you to keep leftovers or planned-overs till another week.

For more information on Nutrition subscribe to my Newsletter "The Market basket" under Families & Consumers in the left hand column @  http:polk.ifas.ufl.edu by sending me an email @ j6256@ufl.edu.

Have a great Weekend!!