The Food Consumer

1. The Food Consumer Food & Nutrition Unit 2 (Chapters 11 & 12)

2. Four Goals to Planning a Meal: • Provide good nutrition • Plan spending to fit into the budget • Prepare meals that look and taste appealing • Control use of time and energy during meal preparation

3. Typical nutritional needs for each meal: • Breakfast generally supplies 1/4 of the day’s total needs. • Lunch and Dinner each supply 1/3 of the day’s total needs. • Snacks will make up the remaining needs.

4. Tips for Planning Meals or Menus: • Choose the main dish or main course. • Select the grain foods. • Select one or two vegetables. • Choose the salad. • Select a dessert or appetizer (these are good places to work in fruit). • Plan a beverage to go with the meal. Activity: Paper Plate Menu

5. Factors that determine the amount of money spent on food: • Family income • Shopping skills • Amount of time you have to plan and prepare meals. Save time with Convenience foods- foods that have had some amount of service added to them. • Food preferences of family members • Family values

6. A budget is a plan for managing how you spend your income. Follow these steps: • Record your average monthly income. • List your monthly fixed expenses. • List your flexible expenses and their estimated monthly costs. • Figure the total of your fixed and estimated flexible expenses. • Compare this amount with your income. If your income equals your expenses, you will be able to provide for your needs and meet your obligations. • If your expenses are greater than your income you will need to make some adjustments.

7. Ways to Reduce Food Costs: • Limit costly cuts of meat. • Medium size eggs are cheaper. • Dried beans are an inexpensive source of protein. • Choose fruits and vegetables that are in season. During off season choose canned and frozen fruits and vegetables. • Margarine usually cost less than butter. • Store brands and generic foods generally cost less than national brands • Large packages usually are better buys than small packages. • Use coupons and take advantage of store specials. These usually start on Thursday.

8. To Prepare Satisfying Meals You Should Consider Food Preferences: 1) Flavor – the four basic tastes recognized by the taste buds are Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter. Serve foods with different flavors. 2) Make meals colorful but don’t clash the colors. Garnishes can add color to a meal. 3) Choose foods with a variety of shapes and sizes. 4) A contrast in temperatures make meals more appealing. 5) Hot foods should be hot and cold foods cold.

9. Save Time and Energy • Use Semi prepared foods that are convenience foods that still need to have some service performed. • Use work simplification by performing tasks in the simplest way possible to conserve time and energy. • As you develop skills you will reduced preparation time. Work Simplification tips: • Rinse and soak dishes • Reduce your steps by getting all your equipment ready first. • Do pre-preparation steps in advance to save time when you are getting a meal ready.

10. Conserve Resources in the Kitchen • Use the oven to cook more than one food at a time. • Cover pans on the range to keep in heat. • Avoid opening the oven door, refrigerator and freezer when not necessary. • Avoid letting water run while washing dishes. • Run the dishwasher only when full • Recycle – metal, plastic, glass, paper. • Precycle– think about how packaging materials can be reused or recycled before buying a product.

11. Shopping Tips: • Use comparison shopping by comparing different brands, sizes, and forms of a product before making a purchase. • Avoid impulse buying is making an unplanned purchase without much thought. • Use unit pricing a listing of a product’s cost per standard unit, weight, or measure. (Examples – cost per pound, quart, dozen, ounce etc.) Planning can save you money and time: • Keep an ongoing shopping list in your kitchen. • Check staple items before going grocery shopping. • Organize your list according to categories: frozen foods, dairy, meat, canned etc. • List the items in the same order as the store aisles.

12. Factors that affect costs: • Many foods are given a grade. Higher grades mean better quality andusually cost more. • A product’s cost is affected by its brand name. Store brands and house brands are the same and usually cost less than national brands. • Generic products usually cost consumers about 30% less than national brands and 15-19% less than store brands. • Packaging can also affect cost.

13. Organic Foodsare foods produced without the use of : • Fertilizers - used to help plants grow. • Pesticides- agents used to kill insects, weeds, and fungi that attack plants. • Growth stimulants - drugs given to livestock to speed or increase growth.

14. Food additives are substances that are added to food for specific purpose, such as preserving the food. Additives fill four basic purposes: • Add nutrients • Preserve quality • Aid processing or preparation • Enhance flavors or colors The FDA has recognized about 600 additives as safe. They are on the GRAS list.

15. Food Labels Provide: • The common name and form of the food. • The volume or weight of the contents, including any liquid. • The name and address of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor. • A list of ingredients, in descending order according to weight.

16. Nutrition Facts on Labels include: • Serving size • Servings per container • Calories per serving • Calories from fat • Nutrients found in the product are also listed. • % Daily values based on a 2000 calorie diet are recommended nutrient intake levels on labels.

17. Four Types of Dates: Open dating is a system of putting dates on perishable and semi perishable foods. • Pack date – is the day a food was manufactured or processed and packaged (Example - canned foods). • Pull or sell date – last day a store should sell a product. The pull date allows for some storage time in your refrigerator. • Expiration date – is the last day a consumer should use or eat a food. • Freshness date – is often found on bakery products like bread and rolls.

18. Government Agencies that Regulate Food Safety • United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – enforces standards for the quality and wholesomeness of meat, poultry, and eggs. • Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – ensures the safety and wholesomeness of all other foods.