Menu Planning For Health MENU PLANNING FOR HEALTH Developed by: The Public Health Nutritionists of Saskatchewan Working Group Funding Provided by: The Dairy Farmers of Saskatchewan August, 2007 Table of Contents Menu Planning Basics Introduction and Canada’s Food Guide . 1 Steps for Menu Planning . 3 Tips for Menu Planning . 3 Menu Planner Form . 4 Meal Planning Factors . 7 Menu Planning Checklist . 8 Sample Menu . 9 Menu Planning for Individuals/families Fast Cooking as an Option . 10 Preparation Tips for Fast Meals . 11 Make A Meal in 20 minutes or Less . 12 Fast Food Makeovers . 14 Meal Planning for Children Healthy Lunches for Kids . 16 Healthy Snacks for Kids . 17 Appendix A Canada’s Food Guide . 18 Appendix B 1. Serve Most Often . 19 2. Serve Sometimes . 20 3. Serve Least Often . 21 Appendix C Ideas for the Main Meal . 22 & 23 Appendix D Other Meal Ideas . 24 Appendix E Saving Money on Your Food Dollar . 25 Appendix F Good Food Buys . 27 Appendix G Buying Foods in Season . 28 Appendix H Holiday/Event Planner . 29 Appendix I Canada’s Food Guide For Children Two to Five Years . 30 Appendix J Food Safety . 31 Appendix K Food Handlers Storage Guide . 32 Appendix L The New Food Label . 35 Appendix M Recipe Revitalization & Recipes . 36 References . 40 Menu Planning For Health Table of Contents Introduction This menu planning tool has been designed to guide daily food choices over a period of time, or a cycle of weeks. The goal is to provide a variety of foods that supply the more than 50 nutrients a day that are necessary for good health, including adequate fibre. The cycle menu: • is a time-saving tool for those preparing the food • allows for cost control • makes pre-preparation and food purchasing easier Once the menu is created and recipes are perfected, the task of providing healthy, nutritious foods is less time-consuming and less stressful. Menus should be flexible enough to include holidays, special occasions, and seasonal availability of foods. The menu uses Canada’s Food Guide (see Appendix A) as a basis for ensuring the necessary nutrients are provided. Refer to the Food Guide for the numbers of each food group recommended for individuals based on age & sex. See Appendix B for a guide to which foods should be served most often, and those to serve occasionally. The serving sizes, as well as examples of foods from each food group follows. In order to help visualize serving sizes, keep the following in mind: • 1/2 cup looks like 1/2 baseball • 1 cup is about the size of your fist Grain Products One serving can be: • one slice of bread • 1/2 -1 cup of hot or cold cereal • 1/2 bagel (about the size of a hockey puck) or pita pocket • 1/2 a hamburger bun, pita or tortilla • 1/2 cup of rice or pasta Purchase or prepare breads, cookies, muffins and loaves with whole wheat in them to boost fibre content. To further increase nutritional value and fibre, add wheat germ, bran, oatmeal, dried fruit and nuts or seeds to grain products. Use brown rice and whole wheat pasta rather than white. Vegetables and Fruit One serving of this group can be: • a piece of fresh fruit (about the size of a baseball) • 1/2 cup of raw vegetable pieces • 1/2 cup cooked or canned fruit or vegetables (no added sugar in fruit) • 1/2 cup of unsweetened fruit or vegetable juice • 1/4 cup dried fruit (about the size of a golf ball) (Continued) 1 Menu Planning For Health To increase nutritional value as well as fibre, serve fruits and vegetables with the skins on whenever reasonable, such as baked and boiled potatoes, apples and kiwi fruit. Dried fruits add nutritional value to baked goods, or mixed with a handful of nuts make an easy snack. Milk and Alternatives One serving from this group may include: • 1 cup of fluid milk or buttermilk • 1 cup fortified soy beverage • 3/4 cup yogurt • 1/2 cup evaporated milk • 1/4 cup dry skim milk powder • 1 1/2 ounces/50 grams cheese (25g is about the size of your thumb, 50 grams is like 3 dominoes) Lower fat milk products are recommended for a more heart-healthy diet, including 1% or skim fluid milks, cheeses that are 20% milk fat (M.F. or B.F.) or less, and yogurts that are 1% M.F. or less. Meat and Alternatives This group often makes up the entrée or main course of the meals. Examples of one serving include: • 2-3 ounces/50-100 grams of cooked lean meat, fish or poultry (about the size of a deck of cards or the palm of your hand) • 1/3-2/3 cup canned fish (1/3 cup is like the cupped palm of your hand) • 1-2 eggs • 1/4 -1/3 cup tofu • 2 tbsp. peanut butter • 1/2 - 1 cup of cooked beans, peas or lentils • 1/4 -1/3 cup nuts or seeds Fats & Oils About 3-4 tbsp. (45-60ml) of unsaturated fat should be eaten daily. Sources of this type of fat include oil used for cooking, or in salad dressings, soft margarine or mayonnaise. Water Water is essential to life. The body does not store water so it must be replaced daily. Include water as a choice for each meal or snack, especially in hot weather or when physically active. Other foods and beverages can be good sources of water or fluid, such as fruit, soup, milk, and decaffeinated tea and coffee. Aim to drink the equivalent of 9-13 glasses of fluid a day through a combination of these foods, beverages and water. Menu Planning For Health 2 Steps for Menu Planning 1. Refer to Canada’s Food Guide (Appendix A) to see which foods fit into each food group. • Assemble your favourite recipes and cookbooks for menu ideas. If desired, use the Meal Ideas worksheet (See Appendix C) to list all meal ideas. • If you are having trouble thinking of what to make for the main meal, see the filled in Ideas for the Main Meal (Appendix C) that has a few ideas. • You may want to start your planning by keeping a record of what is cooked each day for a week. 2. Use the Menu Planner form (p. 4) to begin planning meals for each week. 3. Select a meat or alternative for each meal, for every day of the week. 4. Select the grain product to go along with the meat or alternative. 5. Select vegetables (both cooked and raw) for each meal. 6. Add milk/alternatives and fruits as beverages, snacks and desserts. 7. Use the “Menu Checklist” (page 8) to ensure nutrition, variety and appeal in your menu. Tips for Menu Planning • Use weekly Menu Planning forms and Food Preparation Sheet (See next 3 pages) • Use a variety of foods from each food group in Canada’s Food Guide (See Appendix A). Choose foods from 3 of the 4 food groups for breakfast, and foods from each of the 4 food groups for lunch and supper. Aim for food from 2 of the 4 food groups for snacks. • Consider color, shape, flavour, texture and temperature (see Meal Planning Factors, p.7) • Watch the current prices and consider your budget (see Appendices E & F) • Use foods that are in season (see Appendix G) • Plan around holidays and special occasions (see Appendix H) • Consider your kitchen equipment and storage space • Keep menus simple • Try some new foods • Try foods from another culture • Plan to use prepared entrees in another meal (see Cook Once, Eat Twice at www.lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciqf.htm) • Keep food safe!! (Appendix J & http://www.fightbac.org/main.cfm) 3 Menu Planning For Health Menu Planning For Health PlanningFor Menu Menu Planner: Week of Week Meal Pattern Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Meat/ Alternatives Grain/Cereal Fruit/Juice Breakfast Milk/ Alternatives (3 of 4 food groups) Meat/ Alternatives Grain product Vegetable Lunch or Fruit Milk/ Alternatives (one of each food group) Meat/ Alternatives Grain product Vegetable or Fruit Dinner Milk/ Alternatives (one of each food group) 4 Menu Planning: Sunday Planning GROCERY LIST Monday Grain Products Tuesday Vegetables and Fruit Wednesday Milk and Alternatives Thursday Meat and Alternatives Friday Other Foods Saturday Non Food Items 5 Menu Planning For Health Food Preparation Sheet Sunday Planned Menu Tasks to Be Done Ahead Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Menu Planning For Health 6 Meal Planning Factors Along with “Tips for Menu Planning”, there are a few other food combination factors to consider. These include: 1. Flavour • Try to balance tart flavours with sweet ones, mild flavours with highly seasoned ones and light with heavy. Examples: cranberry sauce with turkey, and roast beef with horseradish. • Try not to repeat flavours at a meal. Examples: Beef soup with a beef sandwich, or tomato soup and tomato juice served at the same meal. 2. Texture • Try to have a variety of textures at a meal. • Some textures include crisp, soft, grainy, smooth, hard and chewy. Examples: A crisp salad goes well with soup and raw vegetables go well with a sandwich. 3. Color • Try to have a variety of colors on a plate. This makes the food more appealing. Examples: A tossed green salad, mashed potatoes and steak would look attractive on a plate. Cauliflower, mashed potatoes and fish would not. 4. Shape • Having a variety of food shapes can make the meal more exciting. Example: Roast beef, mashed potatoes and peas.