The document discusses the principles of meal planning, emphasizing its role in simplifying meal preparation and improving nutrition while saving time and reducing food waste. It outlines guidelines for creating balanced meals, offers reasons for food selection, and highlights the importance of family meals for fostering connections and healthy eating habits. Finally, it covers the pros and cons of meal planning and stresses the need for organizing shopping efficiently.

1. P R I N C I P L E S O F F O O D P R E P A R A T I O N
Meal
Planning
Lineth D. Largodizimo

2. Meal Planning
M e a l p l a n n i n g i s t h e s i m p l e a c t o f p l a n n i n g a n d w r i t i n g
d o w n a n y o f y o u r m e a l s f o r t h e w e e k ( o r m o n t h a h e a d o f
t i m e .
M e a l p l a n n i n g i s d o n e i n o r d e r t o s i m p l i f y t h e
o v e r w h e l m i n g n u m b e r o f o p t i o n s a v a i l a b l e f o r b u y i n g
a n d m a k i n g f o o d .
M e a l p l a n n i n g c o u l d b e a p o t e n t i a l t o o l t o o f f s e t t i m e
s c a r c i t y a n d t h e r e f o r e e n c o u r a g e h o m e m e a l p r e p a r a t i o n ,
w h i c h h a s b e e n l i n k e d w i t h a n i m p r o v e d d i e t q u a l i t y .
H o w e v e r , t o d a t e , m e a l p l a n n i n g h a s r e c e i v e d l i t t l e
a t t e n t i o n i n t h e s c i e n t i f i c l i t e r a t u r e .

6. Meal Planning Guidelines
Balanced meals: Include dairy, vegetables, fruits,
grains and proteins in your meals.
Servings: Estimate the number of meal servings for
your family.
Budget: Have a realistic budget goal, track and adjust.
Time: Be more efficient by planning upfront and
organizing shopping.
Workload: Share your meal plan with family
members who can help you.
Diets: Most diets fail because of poor planning. Plan
your meals following the advice of a doctor or
registered dietitian.
Picky eaters: Involve your family in meal planning,
provide food variety and mix it up your favorite
ingredients.
Lunch boxes: Create a list of your children’s favorite
food that contain a good balance of fruits, dairy,
vegetables, grains and proteins.
Break the routine: Experiment with new recipes.

7. Reasons for Food
Selection
1. Improves nutrition
2. Save time
3. Portion control
4. Reduces the amount of food waste
5. Enjoy more variety
6. Save money
7. Avoid unhealthy foods
8. Eat high quality foods
9. Decrease stress

8. Improves Nutrition
1.
By planning in advance, you can aim to have nutritionally well-balanced meals
throughout the week. For example, you can make sure each of your dinners have
the requisite veggies, protein, and grains. Planning your meals ultimately allows
you to take control of your own personal nutrition needs. Whether you have to
stick to a lower sodium diet or want only to eat whole grains and veggies, you can
plan for it!
2. Save time
Planning your meals for the week can help you to manage your time better. We
spend a lot of time deciding what to eat, grocery shopping, cooking and then
cleaning up after dinner. By planning ahead and organizing your meals, it means
there’s no more last minute trips to the shops and reduces the aimless wandering
and overspending when you’re there.

9. 3. Portion control
Planning your own meals will allow you to see how much you’re actually eating.
This also prevents you from overeating like how you eat at restaurants, which tend
to serve a way bigger portion than you should actually be eating. Meal planning
will helps you to eat just a right portion every meal time.
4. Reduce the amount of food waste
Whether you’re planning out your meals or using a food delivery service to
manage your meal prep, it can help reduce the amount of food you waste. We can
all be a little guilty of wasting food, but by only buying what you need and using
the ingredients as close to when you purchase them can reduce what ends up
leftover foods in the bin at the end of the week.

10. 5. Enjoy more variety
When we’re busy, it can be easy to cook the same thing over and over again. Meal
planning helps to ensure you’re eating a variety of different foods, and it can help
you eat more fruit and vegetables, which can help reduce the risk of chronic
lifestyle diseases. By following a healthy meal plan, it will also help ensure you’re
eating the right foods in the right portions.
6. Save money
With meal planning, you can be more prepared, and this reduces impulse buying
of unnecessary groceries at the shops. A lot of which will be thrown away anyway.
It also means you can cut down your spending on takeaways and eating out. Meal
planning can help you become more aware of how much money you’re spending
on food.

11. 7. Avoid unhealthy food
Meal planning helps to make the easy option a healthy one. Instead of heading to
the drive-through or picking up an unhealthy takeaway on the way home,
knowing you have a meal ready for you at home can eliminate the temptation of
unhealthy last minute options. These foods can be higher in calories and sodium
and can sabotage your weight management or health goals. The combination of
being too tired and hungry can lead to poor food choices, so it’s handy to have
meals ready to go when you are.
8. Eat high quality foods
Homemade meals are almost always more nutrient-dense and filled with less
calories, salt, and fat than takeout or quick ready-made options at your grocery
store. Choosing your own recipes and ingredients for the week allows you to make
important food choices, such as buying local meats or organic produce.

12. 9. Decrease stress
By having your meals organised ahead of time can reduce the dreaded ‘what’s for
dinner?’ question. We know planning dinner can be an unnecessary stress,
particularly on weeknights when you have to race home from work and try and
get a healthy, nutritious meal on the table. If you have a healthy meal pre-
organised all that is left at the end of a long day is to heat and eat.

13. C R E A T E A L I S T O F
T R U S T E D R E C I P E S
Assemble that master list
of recipes you know by
heart — the ones you make
week after week and know
your family loves. Then
add one or two new
recipes each week, but
only if you want.
S O R T T H E R E C I P E S
B Y P R O T E I N
Even avid chicken fans get
tired of eating it for dinner
every night. If your list of
trusty recipes is all chicken-
based, head back to your
recipe file and mix things
up. Then alternate the
proteins, so we aren’t
eating the same one on two
nights in a row.
M A K E Y O U R L I S T S
Once you know which
meals you’ll be serving,
write them down on one
side of a sheet of paper.
On the other side, make
a list of all the
ingredients required
F I G U R E O U T
W H A T Y O U
A L R E A D Y H A V E
Look through your
cupboards, refrigerator,
freezer, and pantry to find
out what ingredients you
don’t need to buy. If you’re
short on something or don’t
have it at all, put it on your
grocery list. Don’t be afraid
to make substitutions,
either.
1 2 3 4

14. P O S T I T !
Hang your weekly menu
plan where family
members can see it. Next
time they ask what’s for
dinner you can point to
the list. This isn’t just
about saving your voice:
once they see you’ve got
the week’s meals planned.
J U S T D O I T
Get your shopping done
and start serving meals
based on your weekly menu
plan. Make notes as
needed about things that
didn’t work well and what
did.
D O I T A G A I N N E X T
W E E K
Put your Master List for
Week One away. Now,
go through Steps 1-5 for
Week Two, taking just
as much care to create
a Master List and
adding notes about your
trials and successes.
R O T A T E T H E M
Once you have two Master
Lists of meals and
ingredients, rotate them!
Back to step 1, so that you
have different list of your
trusted recipes.
5 6 7 8

15. Pros of Meal Planning
You are more likely to stick with your weight loss goals.
All the grocery shopping is done in one day, so you are
prepped for the rest of the week.
You don’t have to scramble for dinner (or breakfast or
lunch) ideas.
You always know what you will be cooking for dinner,
taking out the “What’s for dinner?” question.
You can save money since you won’t have to go to the
grocery store each day (or every couple of days).
Meal planning can save you time. Time spent driving to
the store and shopping add up if you don’t go shopping
all in one day.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Cons of Meal Planning
You might not actually cook all the food you
bought at the grocery store.
You might not want to cook dinner after work.
The recipes you thought would be great, could
end up tasting terrible.
It takes planning and discipline to meal plan,
that you might not have.
It means setting a schedule and plan and
sticking as close to it as possible.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

16. Grocery Shopping
Grocery Store
Grocery or Groceries
Shopping
-is a store primarily engaged in retailing a general range of food
products, which may be fresh or packaged.
- refers to food and other everyday products that people are used to
buying when they shop for food.
- refers to the action or activity of purchasing available goods from
stores.

17. Having a well-planned grocery list gets you in and out of the store quickly and helps you stick to your healthy eating plan.
2. MEAT AND SEAFOOD
3. PASTA AND RICE
4. OILS, SAUCE, HERBS,
SPICES AND CONDIMENTS
5. CEREALS AND
BREAKFAST FOODS
1.BAKERY AND BREAD
6. SOUPS AND CANNED
GOODS

18. Having a well-planned grocery list gets you in and out of the store quickly and helps you stick to your healthy eating plan.
8. DAIRY, CHEESE AND EGGS
9. SNACKS AND CRACKERS
10. PRODUCE
11. DRINKS
7. FROZEN FOODS

20. Importance of having Family Meals

21. Family meals offer an incredible array of potential to create
healthy eating environments. When family members dine together,
there is an excellent opportunity to connect and learn over a shared
experience. Eating together provides a time where family members
can talk and connect about their days, share interesting thoughts
and ideas, and create positive memories associated with time spent
together enjoying food. Eating and creating meals together can help
to provide an opportunity to learn about family customs and
traditions, new foods and flavor combinations, methods of food
preparation, and mindful eating principles. Over the past year,
households have been creative in maintaining social connections
around mealtimes while still adhering to provincial guidelines.
Families and friends have hosted virtual dinner parties, virtual
cooking lessons and have shared favourite recipes to create
common connecting experiences.
Many families protect their established meal times
together by designating the time as “technology free”, without
distraction from cell phones, computers, or television. This choice
can help to ensure that family members are fully present to
participate in conversation or activities together during the meal.
During the past year; however, many families have adjusted their
usual rules to allow for virtual eating experiences to occur with other
households.

22. F a m i l y m e a l s a r e m o r e n u t r i t i o u s .
A H a r v a r d s t u d y f o u n d t h a t
f a m i l i e s w h o e a t t o g e t h e r a r e
t w i c e a s l i k e l y t o e a t t h e i r f i v e
s e r v i n g s o f f r u i t s a n d v e g e t a b l e s
a s f a m i l i e s w h o d o n ’ t e a t
t o g e t h e r .
For many, family mealtime has been lost in our overscheduled lives. For many families, school, work schedules and
extracurricular activities can make it difficult to find time to eat together and some go days or weeks without sitting down
as a family to share a meal. However, family meals are important and should be considered part of our daily requirements.
Researchers have found that families who share meals together on a regular basis, whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner
reap many benefits.
K i d s w h o e a t f a m i l y m e a l s
t e n d t o e a t a w i d e r v a r i e t y
o f f o o d s a n d b e c o m e l e s s
p i c k y e a t e r s .
F a m i l y m e a l s p r o v i d e a n
o p p o r t u n i t y f o r f a m i l y m e m b e r s
t o c o m e t o g e t h e r , s t r e n g t h e n
t i e s a n d b u i l d b e t t e r
r e l a t i o n s h i p s . T h e y b u i l d a s e n s e
o f b e l o n g i n g w h i c h l e a d s t o
b e t t e r s e l f - e s t e e m .
R e s e a r c h s h o w s t h a t k i d s w h o
e a t f a m i l y m e a l s h a v e a l o w e r
c h a n c e o f e n g a g i n g i n h i g h r i s k
b e h a v i o r s s u c h a s s u b s t a n c e u s e
a n d v i o l e n c e , a n d f e w e r
p s y c h o l o g i c a l p r o b l e m s .
F a m i l y m e a l s h e l p p r e v e n t
o b e s i t y . R e s e a r c h s h o w s t h a t
p e o p l e t e n d t o e a t l e s s d u r i n g
f a m i l y m e a l s b e c a u s e t h e y e a t
m o r e s l o w l y , a n d t a l k m o r e .
F a m i l y m e a l s o f f e r p a r e n t s
a c h a n c e t o b e r o l e
m o d e l s . T h e y c a n s e t a n
e x a m p l e o f h e a l t h y e a t i n g
a n d p o l i t e t a b l e m a n n e r s .

23. Make family meals a priority
in your household. Focus on
the importance of being
together as a family more
than on making an elaborate
meal.
Start with small steps.
Increase the number of
family meals by one extra
meal a week.
Turn off the TV.
A s a f a m i l y , p l a n a m e n u f o r
t h e w e e k a n d m a k e a g r o c e r y
l i s t .
L e t t h e k i d s b e i n v o l v e d . Le t
t h e m h e l p p r e p a r e f o o d o r s e t
t h e t a b l e .
W o r k a s a f a m i l y t o c l e a n u p
a f t e r w a r d s .

24. Product Comparison
The process of comparing similar products
before deciding which one to buy. Product
Comparison unlike a Competitor Analysis
provides a simple way to compare product
features or the product’s capabilities across
multiple products. Undertaking a Product
Comparison allows you to determine if your
product is on par or has more or different or
better features than your competitors’.

25. Quality - Probably the worst mistake that can be made is to overlook quality when looking for a bargain. There are
genuinely good bargains out there on quality items; it just might take a little longer to find them. Sure, it’s nice to be
able to sit down with a cup of coffee and browse the net while looking for the best deal, but don’t forget to think about
the materials that a product is made from and who the manufacturer/designer is. Remember the old saying, “You can’t
make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear,” which brings us to craftsmanship.
Craftsmanship - The second thing to consider when looking for the best deal is how and where the product was made.
Something that appears to have gone by the wayside these days is good old-fashioned craftsmanship. There are
knock-offs on every corner, but the real thing always costs more, and in the end, winds up being the best deal. If you
are intent on owning a designer item and are looking for the best bargain, wait for end-of-season sales.
Quantity - Here is another ‘trick’ that manufacturers often use to fool consumers into thinking they are getting the
best deal, and used across the board in everything from electronics to groceries. If you are curious about how this
works, check out coffee creamer the next time you go to the grocery store. It is common to find those huge containers
that look to be double the size, and perhaps go for just less than double the price. But if you were to compare ounce
per ounce, it’s readily apparent that the better deal is to buy two of the smaller sized containers. There really is double
the product at double the price; however, in those misleading huge containers you pay almost double the price for 1.5
times the amount of creamer. Are you really getting the best deal when buying a bigger package – usually not!
What should a consumer consider before
comparison shopping?

26. What should a consumer consider before
comparison shopping?
Performance - Two products may appear to be the same, but quite often one has far superior performance than
the other. While there may be no way to judge when shopping in a local retail store, online shoppers have the
advantage of reading customer testimonials or reviews. Product specs are also listed both on the manufacturer’s
website as well as on the site of the online vendor or affiliate. Take the time to research how the product works,
what is supposed to do, and what others are saying about it. For instance, two products may look the same and even
manufactured by the same company, yet one sells for lower price. It just could be that the backlighting is inferior in
one which would degrade the quality of the picture. Always read the product reviews!
Longevity - And finally, take the time to consider the life expectancy of a product. The next time you go bargain
hunting remember to ask yourself this question, “Here’s a hint when trying to determine a product’s expected
longevity. Look at the length of the manufacturer’s warranty! A manufacturer would not stay in business
guaranteeing a product longer than its expected life span.

29. Farm to Table
Farm to table, also known as farm to fork, can be defined
as a social movement where restaurants source their
ingredients from local farms, usually through direct
acquisition from a farmer. Most traditional restaurants get
their produce from other parts of the country or around the
world. These ingredients need to be shipped long distances,
and as a result, they are usually picked before they are ripe
to lengthen their lifespan, or they are frozen to prevent
spoiling. All of this results in food that is bland and less
nutritious.
On the other hand, farm to fork restaurants get their
food from local farms, so the food is picked at peak
freshness and is bursting with flavors and vitamins. Because
the produce is usually very flavorful, many farm to table
operations don't dress their food up with complex sauces
and overpowering flavors, instead preferring to let the
freshness and flavor of the food speak for itself.

30. Food Origins
The origins of most food products such as bread, milk, meat, fruit, vegetables, sugar,
etc. are in agriculture. They are either produced directly on farms or based on food
coming from farms. Farmers grow food, which they harvest, store and transport to
markets or to processing plants for preservation and transformation into a variety of
food products.
In ancient times, man's food came from the wild. About ten thousand years ago, he
began to select and promote specific plants and animals for domestic cultivation and
husbanding. This was the beginning of farming. Since then, farming has undergone
dramatic changes. In this century alone, new technologies and methods have been
developed which have greatly increased the variety of agricultural inputs available to
farmers and also enhanced the productivity of farming. As a result, today's rapidly
growing world population is being fed by a constantly declining population of
farmers.

31. The roots of the farm to fork trend stretch back to the 1960s
and 70s when Americans became increasingly dissatisfied
with processed foods that they found bland. One of the first
farm to table restaurants that opened up was Chez Panisse in
Berkeley, California in 1971. Chez Panisse was opened by
Chef Alice Waters, who wanted to use produce from local
organic farms because it was more flavorful and fresh than
produce used by other restaurants.
Chez Panisse became very successful, and the farm to table
movement began to grow steadily during the late decades of
the 20th century. But, the movement didn't explode in
popularity until the 2000s when farm to table places started
to open up in cities like Boulder, Colorado and Seattle,
Washington. Nowadays, you can find farm to fork
restaurants in cities all across the country.
History of Farm to Table

32. F O O D S E C U R I T Y
The farm to table movement
increases the scope of food security
to move beyond the food needs of
individuals or families and look at
the needs of both the larger
community, with a focus on low-
income households.
P R O X I M I T Y
The farm to table movement hinges on
the notion that the various components
of a food system (or a restaurant) should
exist in the closest proximity to each
other as possible. The goal is to develop
relationships between the various
stakeholders in a food system such as
“farmers, processors, retailers,
restaurateurs, consumers” and more.

33. S E L F - R E L IA N C E
One of the goals of farm to table is
to generate communities that can
meet their own food needs, again
eliminating the need for outside
resources or long distance
transportation of food.
S U S T A I N A B I L T Y
The core idea here is that farm to
table food systems exist in a way that
doesn’t stifle “the ability of future
generations to meet their food
needs,” meaning that it doesn’t
destroy resources in the process.

35. From farm to fork: Food processing for safer, longer lasting food
Food Preservation
From the time meat was first cooked on a fire or salt was used to preserve what he ate,
man has been processing food. Originally, processing was used simply to preserve food for
consumption beyond a product's normal life cycle or place where it was grown. Until the industrial
revolution, food production remained rudimentary; people generally ate what they or others living
nearby could produce and preserve. In addition, food production employed a very large
proportion of the population.
Why We Process Food
The food processing industry strives to meet consumer expectations for food that is safe,
unspoiled, nutritious, convenient, enjoyable, available in a wide variety and affordable.
Food safety. Consumer confidence in the safety of food is vital to the food processing
industry. Confidence is one of the key elements in building brand loyalty which, in turn,
determines the success and profitability of individual food companies.
The safety of processed food involves eliminating and/or preventing the multiplication of
the microbes that exist in all food and which can cause foodborne diseases.
Preservation. Preserving the taste, smell, look and feel of food and preventing spoilage is
also an important function of food processing. Preservation is accomplished by inactivating basic
natural processes in food

36. Preservation is accomplished by inactivating basic natural
processes in food:
Enzyme action - all food
contains natural enzymes
that break down proteins,
fats and carbohydrates to
facilitate animal and plant
growth. Once an animal has
been killed or a plant
harvested, these enzymes, if
left uncontrolled, continue to
work, breaking down the
food itself and resulting in
spoilage.
ENZYME ACTION
All food can be attacked by
bacteria and fungi that cause
food to rot or become mouldy.
If permitted to multiply, these
microbes can cause spoilage.
MICROBIAL ACTION
Many food components can
be attacked by oxygen in
the air, making them rancid
or resulting in an
unpleasant taste. This, too,
must be controlled.
OXIDATION

37. Harvesting crops, slaughtering livestock or
catching and killing game or fish is the preliminary
step
Cutting, cleaning, packaging and refrigeration of
these raw foods make them practical to use for the
consumer while preserving moisture content, and
preventing (or retarding the growth of) microbes
Secondary processing goes a step further in
creating a whole array of food products from
canned and frozen vegetables to fully prepared
dinners, baked breads, cheeses, milk, chocolate bars,
biscuits, convenience meats and a variety of other
products.
What is Food Processing?
Almost all food must be processed in some way before it
can be eaten. Even fresh vegetables from the garden
must be cleaned and trimmed. There are various levels
of food processing:

38. Ensuring Quality and Safety in Processing
Good Manufacturing Practices. These entail the processing conditions and procedures that have
been proven to deliver consistent quality and safety based on long experience.
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). While traditional quality assurance programmes
focused on the quality of the finished product, HACCP, a recent proactive technique used in the food
industry, focuses on preventing defects in the production process itself, rather than identifying them.
Quality Assurance Standards. Adherence to standards established by the International Standards
Organisation (ISO 9000) and the European Standard (ES 29000) ensures that food processing,
catering and other food-related industries conform to prescribed and well-documented procedures.
The effectiveness of these programmes is regularly assessed by independent experts, in order to
sustain consumer confidence in the producer's quality assurance procedures.
Food processors rely on modern quality management systems to ensure the quality and safety of the
products they produce.
The three key systems in use are:

39. Thank you
for
Listening!

40. “Your health is an
“Your health is an
investment, not an expense.”
investment, not an expense.”