1. Meal Planning
Just FACS

2. What’s for dinner?

3. Why Plan Meals? Reduces stress Saves time and money
Helps better meet nutrient needs
Helps better manage calorie intake
It is a skill you need for independent living and helps build your cooking skills

4. 5 Easy Steps to Meal Planning
Step 1: Create a Meal List
Step 2: Take Inventory
Step 3: Create a Meal Plan
Step 4: Make a Shopping List
Step 5: Shop Wisely

5. Step 1: Create a Meal List
Create a list of all meals you enjoy, know how to prepare or would like to know how to prepare.
You may even include the unhealthy ones!

6. Example Meal List Spaghetti and meatballs with tossed salad and corn
Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes and peas
Macaroni and cheese, fried chicken and green beans
Beef burritos with rice and salad
Chili dogs, fries and Cole slaw

7. Meal List Tips You can then group all meals by their main dish.
Label foods that you usually have enough for leftovers or that can be frozen
Label meals that contain healthy options

8. Step 2: Take Inventory
Check your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry to find out what items you have.
Always keep a list of staples you have to avoid buying more.

9. Step 3: Create a Meal Plan
Plan meals for one or more weeks at a time.
Use a meal planning calendar if desired
Remember to incorporate Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate Recommended servings.

10. Sample Meal Planner

11. Searching for Recipes www.allrecipes.com www.foodnetwork.com
Allows you to enter ingredients you have on hand and generates a list of recipes.
Also have an app on the iPhone or iPod Touch
USE BLOGS 

12. Meal Ideas
If you are looking for meal ideas visit the following websites:
PINTEREST!

13. Step 4: Create a Shopping List
Use the information from your meal plan and inventory to create a list of items needed from the store.
Clip coupons for any needed items on your list.
You may check online for coupons:

14. Step 5: Shop Wisely
Try shopping only once a week to save time and money
Make sure you are not hungry during shopping
Don’t be afraid of the store brands
Shop the perimeter of the store first where you will find less processed and healthier foods.
Buy produce in season or frozen if cheaper.

15. Tips to Remember Remember that meal planning does not have to be hard!
Planning meals ahead of time helps save time, money, reduces stress and helps meet your nutrient needs.

16. 5 Basic Menu Planning Principles
Strive for balance
Emphasize VARIETY
Add contrast
Think about color
Consider eye appeal

17. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
STRIVE FOR BALANCE
Balance Flavors in appealing ways:
Avoid serving many strong flavored foods in a meal.
Serving only mild flavored foods may make a meal bland and unappealing.
As we grow older, our palate (tastes) may change. Some may be overly sensitive to any flavors, while some may not really be able to taste much at all.

18. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
STRIVE FOR BALANCE
Examples:
Spicy Meal: Italian sausage lasagna, garlic bread, Mexicali corn, spinach salad, milk
Bland Meal: Baked chicken breast, white rice, mashed potatoes, roll, pears, milk.

19. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
STRIVE FOR BALANCE
Balance higher fat foods with lower fat foods:
Avoid having all high fat entrées during the same week.
Balance out higher fat entrées with lower fat side dishes.

20. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
STRIVE FOR BALANCE
Example:
Entrée: Grilled ham and cheese sandwich
Sides: Steamed carrots and fresh strawberries (instead of scalloped potatoes and peach cobbler)

21. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
EMPHASIZE VARIETY
Include a wide variety of foods from day to day:
Avoid keeping a “scheduled” day for specific items.
Lasagna every Monday
Tacos every Tuesday,etc.

22. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
EMPHASIZE VARIETY
Vary the types of entrées you serve:
Don’t serve sandwiches and casseroles for dinner every day
What about main dish salads, soups, calzones, pastas

23. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
EMPHASIZE VARIETY
Include food in different forms or prepared in several ways:
Do you usually serve vegetables raw or steamed?
What about flavorings and spices?

24. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
EMPHASIZE VARIETY
Example: Broccoli
Ways to prepare:
raw steamed boiled
sautéed broiled blanched
Ways to use:
in a salad with garlic
in a quiche with pasta
Some combination dishes may only provide a partial serving of fruit or vegetable component, so be sure to have enough of another fruit or vegetable to have a reimbursable meal.

25. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
EMPHASIZE VARIETY
Include a small amount of unfamiliar food in meals and snacks:
Add a seasonal fruit or vegetable to an old favorite
Offer a small amount of a new food in addition to the planned menu
Be sure what you are adding does not displace a component.

26. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
CONTRAST
Think about the texture, taste, and appearance of foods :
Hamburger gravy, mashed potatoes, applesauce, roll and milk
Add a crisp green salad, crunchy carrot rounds, or strips of steak for a more appealing meal
For those with texture modification needs, try you best not to just slop scoops of pureed food on the plate. Maybe look into getting food molds, or use garnishes for color.

27. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
CONTRAST
Avoid offering too much of the same types of foods in a meal:
Starchy: chicken pasta, baked potato, breadstick, corn, milk
Sweet: Honey glazed ham, baked yams, apricot cous cous, roll, strawberries, and milk

28. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
CONTRAST
Use different combinations of shapes and sizes of foods:
Cubed meat, diced potatoes, mixed vegetables, fruit cocktail isn’t too exciting
Whole food, cubes, mounds, shredded bits, strips should all be combined in a meal

29. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
THINK ABOUT COLOR
Avoid using food of all the same color in a meal:
Turkey, white rice, white bread, cauliflower, pears, and milk all lack color

30. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
THINK ABOUT COLOR
Use color foods, like fruits and vegetables to add natural color:
Broccoli with mashed potatoes, a tomato slice on macaroni salad, green peppers to corn

31. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
THINK ABOUT COLOR
Sprinkle herbs and spices on bland foods for both taste and color:
Cinnamon on canned fruit
Paprika on vegetables or potatoes
Basil, parsley, or cilantro

32. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
CONSIDER EYE APPEAL
Visualize the entire presentation:
Consider the color of the dishes or trays that will be used
Don’t forget about making the meal setting appealing, with table clothes and seasonal decoration, if possible

33. Meal Pattern Menu Planning
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Meal Pattern Menu Planning
CONSIDER EYE APPEAL
Plan the way you will place the items on the plate:
Visualize how it will look when it is served
Place foods next to each other that “go”, like bread and pasta, not pears
Some people are picky about their food touching and running together.

34. “Meal Appeal”
Have an interesting combination of flavors, colors, textures, shapes and sizes, and temperature
They go good together
They complement each other