In this lesson we are going to cover basic information about serving sizes, meal planning and cost analysis.
Serving sizes are important to consider when thinking about a healthier lifestyle. Americans trend towards gigantic serving sizes. In a vegetable dish, this may not be such a bad thing, but for anything else, it's a really good way to go up a pants size if you're not paying attention.
Protein can be found in meats, cheeses and beans. The standard serving size for protein is 4 ounces.
Grain is bread, pasta and rice. These are carbohydrates. They fuel the body with energy. Fruits and vegetables can contain carbohydrates. Here we are focusing on the grains, however. Again, I'll say the standard size for grain is 4 ounces. Whole grains are better for you than processed.
Fruit and Vegetables contain nutrients and vitamins that your body needs to stay healthy. A standard serving size is 8 ounces.
Anything that has a 4oz serving size, try not to go too far past that per serving. Anything that has an 8 oz serving size, feel free to increase the serving weight as desired.
Sugar, Fats and Salt are the special secret bad things that make stuff taste sooooo good. Sadly, they are terrible for you. Most of us have been trained to crave these flavors. They are in anything you buy from a standard fast food restaurant and in a box or can. Again, too much is bad but a little bit can make quite a flavor difference.
All of this information is basic 'rule of thumb' information - how to roll through your kitchen or grocery and do the math quickly in your head. Don't feel that this nutritional portion or serving info is the be-all-end-all. The Internet is full of people who can explain it way better and in more detail than me. Certain people need different amounts due to lifestyle or specific health reasons. For example, athletes need more proteins and carbs to fuel and build their muscles. Pregnant women have specific health requirements as well. For most of us, this is about as simply as it can be explained.
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Calculations:
Not everybody eats meat, but for those who do it's important to understand the fat content in the cuts of meat. Fat is what keeps the meat moist and tender, but as it cooks, fat leaves the meat and this changes it's weight. This is something that needs to be taken into consideration when purchasing. The fat in meat is also called marbling.
When figuring out how much meat/protein you need for a dish, you need to take into consideration how fatty the meat is, are there bones in it and how many people will be eating. This can be modified if you have small children you are cooking for - who eat less - or need to make an extra to pack for lunch the next day. I always make an extra serving for the pot. (It's a tradition in our family.)
If there are no bones and little fat the math is simple: (the amount of people eating X 4oz) + 4oz = how much meat you need to cook or protein needed for your dish.
Example: Trimmed chicken breast dish for 5 people. 5 x ounces per = 20 oz plus 4 oz for the pot = 24 ounces. One pound = 16 oz. 1.5 pounds of meat are needed.
I'm lazy, so I try to round my numbers as often as I can. If the same dish involved chicken AND cheese, consider 1oz of cheese per serving. You would subtract 6 oz from the meat total. (1 oz per person and 1 for the pot) That gives you 1lb 2oz of meat. You can choose to do 1.25lbs of meat or use 1# of meat and add a touch of extra cheese.
Balance, grasshopper, it's all about balance.
If your meat is marbled or has a small bone you have to take that into account for your serving weights. It doesn't matter if you will be serving it with a bone or not, the bone still weighs something.
Don't be afraid to inspect your meat. Is there a slab of fat that can be trimmed off? That weight will need to be subtracted and you're going to have to guess at it's weight. With time, you'll be able to eyeball a fat slab to the ounce. How? After you cut of off, weigh that sucker. You'll eventually get a data range to create an average from. Take notes or keep the information in your head, whichever is most effective for you.
Depending on how marbled the meat is, that's how I decide how high to bump up my weights. marbled pork butt with a bone = 6oz per serving. Marbled chuck roast without a bone = 5oz per serving. From there, it's off to the math.
Example: Pork Butt with Bone for 6 people plus one leftover lunch = 7 X 6oz = 42 oz plus 6oz for the pot = 48oz. Which equals 3 pounds of meat. (48 divided by 16)
Poultry is it's own thing. Whole poultry or breast with bone is calculated at 45% bone, while thighs and legs are calculated at 50% bone. The fat on this is generally pretty negligible. Again, I'm lazy, so I calculate them both at 50%, which means that for 4oz of meat, you'd need 8oz of bone-in poultry.
Example: Whole chicken for 5 people plus lunch = 6 x 8oz = 48oz plus 8oz for the pot = 56oz = 3.5lbs of chicken.
Now let's get tricky with it...
Example: Whole chicken for 5 people plus lunch plus a 2/3 serving for 5 people plus lunch to be used the next day = 6 x 8oz + 6 x 5oz + 8oz for the pot. *(The add to pot extra serving only ever counts once, no matter how many days you're using the meat for.) **(2/3 of 8 = 5.33 rounded to 5) = 48 + 30 + 8 = 86oz = 5.38lbs which can round up to 5.5 pounds or down to 5.25 pounds.
Why is this important?
Knowing the weights that you need will allow you to plan ahead. Honestly, it's all about money and time. If you know what you need ahead of time, you can shop more effectively, plan meals smoothly and not have too much or too little - wasted food is bad! Remember the adage: Everything costs you time, effort or money. You can usually get away with two of the three, but very rarely just one.
Meal planning:
Meal planning is where you choose what you are thinking about cooking for the month. Draw out a simple calendar and write in what you want to cook for each meal. In our house, only the weekends need notes about breakfast, we have standard breakfast stuff for through the week. Lunch and Dinner are daily considerations. I usually plan leftovers for one lunch and fresh made for two lunches every day during the week. Each meal has it's own requirements for ingredients and all ingredients need to be accounted for. Ever tried to make brownies without eggs or oil because you're out of that ingredient? It's not a happy thing. Kitchens should be happy. It takes effort and planning to run one in a cost effective and low stress manner.
Example: I bought a pound of carrots. I'm using them in the crock pot pork roast, they also go into the dim sum next week and the salad on Saturday. I'll need 2 pounds of carrots if I'll be making carrot raisin salad on Monday as well.
If I know I have a busy Tuesday coming, I'll want to cook something on Monday that I can utilize on Tuesday to make a fast supper or a dinner that can be handled without me. If I'm going out to have fun on Friday night, I want to spend time on my hair and makeup - not in the kitchen. Time to grab something out of the freezer or utilize my leftovers.
What happens when you run out of what you need? It costs you time, effort and maybe even money. Pffft. Not this rabbit, man.
Don't worry about switching a meal plan in the middle of the month. It's NOT written in stone. It may impact some of your other meal plans, but now that you know ahead of time you can manage any issues.
Meal planning is like a logic puzzle. The goal is to have the least amount of waste possible. Throwing out rotten this or that is a loss in the game. Having to pick up more ingredients more than once a week is a loss in the game. (Kitchen staples not included in that calculation!)
THIS is a link to a one week meal planning sample.
Things to look for or consider:
1. How often do you see ingredients repeat?
Ingredients that repeat allow you to buy perishables (food that goes rotten more quickly) and use them before they go bad or to buy larger quantities of an ingredient in order to get a better price.
2. How often do you notice a protein being recycled the following day?
This allows for time trading. The time you don't spend cooking something can be used to cook something else that is more intricate or to save time in that day's cooking to be used somewhere else. It also allows you to buy larger quantities to get a better price per pound.
3. Are there patterns due to the day of the week?
Sunday dinners are, in my house, traditionally the days that are for serious sit down dinners OR a day where the whole family cooks together. Saturday lunches are most often leftovers of Friday night's dinner.I'd rather be having fun than stuck in the kitchen. I try to keep my Saturday lunches portable. Grab and go, it's beach time. Saturday night dinners are served later in our house than any other day of the week. I try to have that dinner as something that can be made in parts if I have to. Bread can be rising while protein is cooking and I'm gathering clothes that need to go into the washer.
Multi tasking is your friend.
4. Can changes be made if you must?
Always!! There are days that can be traded with little impact. When I trade the dinner, I need to look at the lunch for the next day to make sure I have what I need for that as well.
Example: Wednesday night I want to go to a game event and play Munchkin. I didn't find out about it until Sunday night. My plan called for chicken breast as nuggets on Tuesday and sliced in a pita on Thursday. I'd switch my Thursday and Wednesday meals (if possible). Cook the chicken breast for the pita while I'm cooking the nuggets on Tuesday and make the pita dough up in pre-prep before bed. Pre-prep is where you get your things ready for cooking ahead of time. That leaves me with minor cooking and assembly on Wednesday. Everybody's happy!
5. Plan for the unexpected but possible. I try to keep at least one dinner in the freezer that can be whipped out at a moment's notice. There are a hundred simple little things that can wreck your time in a day. Having something stashed away can be beyond helpful. I like dim sum as my backup plan. Steam them straight outta the freezer and *boom* you've got quick dinner.
Cost Analysis:
Most households work within the parameters of a budget. Money is allotted for bills, supplies, food, etc. The less you spend in one area, the more you have to save or to use in another area.
Meal Planning allows you to know how much money you will need for food for the month. Is it 100% accurate? Nope, but it does come close if you're savvy. It's also usually less expensive and better for you to cook something at home rather than buy it already cooked. (and it tastes better, too!)
Example:
Dim Sum at a local restaurant = $4.95/8
Made at home? Let's do the math.
1# ground pork = $3.00
2 cups flour = Flour is 4.5 cups per pound. A bag of white is $2 for 5#. 5x4.5=22.5 cups.
Divide that by price = 22.5/200 = 11.25 cents per cup.
This means 2 cups of flour = 22.5 cents per recipe.
Ginger knuckle = 50 cents
OJ Concentrate = 2 tbsp in recipe. OJ Concentrate costs $2.00 for 12 oz. We use 2oz per recipe. 12/2 = 6. 6oz/2.00 = 33.3 cents per recipe.
Carrots = 3 medium which is close to 1/5 of a pound. Carrots sell at $1 per pound, which equals 20 cents per recipe.
Scallions = 3 stalks which is 1/4 of a packet. Scallions sell at $1.00 per packet, which equals 25 cents per recipe.
Five Spice costs $4.95 per bottle. I'd guess at 25 cents per recipe.
The shortening and cornstarch are minimal, so I'd do 20 cents between them.
Soy sauce is $5.00 per bottle, but there is no set amount to be used, that's all up to personal preference. Around here, we go through about 1/4 bottle per recipe. This equals $1.25 per recipe.
recap:
Pork = $3.00
Flour = $.23
Ginger = $.50
OJ = $.34
Carrots = $.20
Scallions = $.25
Five Spice = $.25
Shortening = $.10
Cornstarch = $.10
Soy Sauce = $1.25
Total recipe cost = $ 6.22
Servings per recipe = 8
Cost per serving = $.78
Difference between store bought and homemade is around $4 per serving.
Yeah. Seriously. That's a big deal. And you can be certain of the ingredients because you bought them yourself.
