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The planning and preparation of meals is a very important subject for housewives and other people who work with food. The way in which a food is prepared can determine wether or not it will be eaten.

Depending on how you look at it, menu making may be lots of fun or lots of hard work. The truth is, it is just as easy to serve attractive, tasty meals as it is to fix the same old dreary meal day in and day out. In planning meals, there are several points to consider. They are (1) nutritional value, (2) palatability, (3) economy, (4) sanitary quality, (5) variety, and (6) the individual likes and dislikes of each member of your family.

Nutritive value is an important point to consider in meal planning. We eat mainly for health, not for pleasure alone. Therefore, care should be taken that all of the necessary nutrients are present in our food. In making menus, it would be well to use the “Basic Six” as a guide.

The Basic Six

1. Leafy green and yellow vegetables, and fruits: one or more daily (1 serving - 1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw). Examples - squash, spinach, carrots, and cabbage.
2. Vitamin C-rich foods: one or more servings daily (medium-sized fruit, or one slice of a big fruit). Examples - guava, papaya, orange, pomelo, raw cabbage, tomatoes, strawberries, and pineapple.
3. Succulent fruits and vegetables: - 2 or more daily (1 serving - 1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw). examples - eggplant, cucumber, radish, watermelon, avocadom and banana.
4. Fat-rich foods; - 3 tablespoon daily. Examples - butter, margarine, coconut milk, and chocolate.
5. Protein-rich foods: - 1. gluten, meat, fish and poultry - 3 servings daily (one serving as big as a matchbox); 2. eggs - two to three a week; 3. milk - 3 to 4 cups daily for children, 2 cups daily for adults; 4. legumes - 1/2 cup cooked; 5. nuts - 3 tablespoons daily. Example - gluten, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, mongo, soybeans, milk and garbanzos.
6. Rice and other carbohydrate-rich foods: - four or more daily (1 serving - cup packed, cooked). Example - rice, corn, bread, oatmeal, cake, cookies, and potatoes.