25.2 Meal Planning for the Family, Food Budgeting, and Recipe Development

Meal planning for the family and for quantity production carries 5% of Foods and Food Service Systems, and recipe development another 1%. Institutional menu planning and recipe standardization for food services are covered in the menu planning section.

Factors in Family Meal Planning

Steps in Planning

1. Assess the family's needs, budget, and schedule.
2. Plan menus for a week or more, starting with the main dish, then rice or other staples, vegetables, fruits, and drinks.
3. Check variety and balance against Pinggang Pinoy.
4. Prepare a market list from the menus, checking what is already on hand.
5. Buy, store properly, and prepare food on schedule.
6. Evaluate the menus based on family acceptance, cost, and leftovers.

Meal patterns: most Filipino families eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with merienda in the morning or afternoon. Children and older adults may need more frequent small meals.

Aesthetic Principles of Meal Planning

• Color: combine contrasting colors, such as red tomatoes, green kangkong, and yellow squash.
• Texture: combine crisp, soft, chewy, and smooth foods.
• Shape and size: vary cuts and forms.
• Flavor: balance sweet, sour, salty, and bitter; avoid repeating strong flavors.
• Temperature: combine hot and cold items.
• Preparation method: avoid all fried or all boiled dishes in one meal.

Food Budgeting and Saving Money

Strategies:

• Plan menus and stick to a market list to avoid impulse buying.
• Buy fruits and vegetables in season and from local markets.
• Compare unit prices rather than package prices.
• Use cheaper protein sources: eggs, legumes, tofu, small fish such as dilis and galunggong, and chicken parts.
• Buy whole chicken and portion it at home.
• Use leftovers planned into other dishes, for example leftover adobo flaked into fried rice.
• Grow vegetables such as malunggay, kangkong, and pechay at home.
• Limit sweetened drinks, snack foods, and processed meats, which cost more per nutrient.

Unit price example. A 1-kg pack of rice costs ₱58, and a 5-kg sack costs ₱270. The unit price is ₱58.00 per kg for the small pack and ₱270 ÷ 5 = ₱54.00 per kg for the sack, so the sack is cheaper per kilogram if the family can store and use it before quality declines.

Cost per serving example. A pot of ginisang monggo uses 500 g mongo (₱60), malunggay (₱10), garlic, onion, and tomato (₱25), 200 g pork (₱70), and oil and seasonings (₱15). The total cost is ₱180. If it makes 8 servings, the cost per serving is ₱180 ÷ 8 = ₱22.50.

Recipe Development and Modification

Recipe development creates new products, while recipe modification adapts an existing recipe, such as reducing sodium, sugar, or fat or increasing fiber.

Steps:

1. Set a clear goal (for example, lower the sodium of a pancit recipe by 30%).
2. Choose a base recipe.
3. Modify ingredients and methods.
4. Prepare test batches and record exact amounts and procedures.
5. Evaluate appearance, flavor, texture, and acceptability with tasters.
6. Adjust and retest.
7. Standardize the final recipe with yield and portion size.
8. Compute nutritive value using the Philippine Food Composition Tables, and compute cost per portion.

Healthier substitutions:

Changing an ingredient can change the product's structure. For example, cutting sugar in cakes affects tenderness, browning, and moisture, so tests are needed before standardizing.

Sample Low-Cost One-Day Menu for a Family of Five

The day costs about ₱630, or about ₱126 per person. It uses legumes, eggs, small fish, and chicken for protein, leafy and yellow vegetables for vitamins A and C, and root crops for affordable energy. Actual costs vary with location and season, so families should price their own menus.