Menu planning is the crucial first step that is advantageous in so many ways. Some of the advantages of menu planning are listed below:
- Saves time: When meals are planned in advance and planned well, time isn't wasted in looking for available ingredients in the cabinets and pantry. Also, the stress of deciding what to cook is avoided. It helps save the unnecessary waste of time. It also makes the whole process of planning and cooking a meal stress-free, enjoyable, and easy. Besides, it leaves more time for the things that are really important, such as studying, hobbies, spending time with the family, etc.
- Helps make healthier, well-thought-out choices: When the meals are planned in advance, healthier options can be consciously selected. The need to quickly eat some junk, processed, or unhealthy foods available in the cabinets or pantry to satiate hunger can be avoided if the meals are already prepared or cooked.
- Saves money: Money saved is money earned. When a meal is planned in advance, it helps save money. As the meals and recipes are already decided, the groceries are purchased well in advance and with careful consideration. Only the ingredients required, and in the quantity required, are purchased. Whatever is purchased, it is immediately used, thus avoiding food waste. This also helps prevent money from going down the drain.
 |
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Menu planning in food service means planning a menu for the restaurant, or a food service establishment. A menu is a detailed list of options offered to the customer when they come to eat or drink at the restaurant or bar. They offer a wide variety of choices, and are priced differently based on the ingredients used, time taken to cook the dishes, or the season and availability of ingredients used. Menu planning at home also helps save money, because only the ingredients that are required to make the food are bought and will definitely be used. It's important to know daily activities and schedule changes, because knowing these will help estimate the time taken to make the food, the best preparation method, and when to serve it. This also helps save time in deciding what food to cook, and the time that is taken to cook it.
Menu planning helps decide in advance what a family will be eating, help procure ingredients, and cook a nutritious and healthy meal. Menu planning also helps keep the family healthy by providing well-thought-out, healthier, and nutritious meal options. The steps in meal planning are writing down days of the week and meal ideas, finding recipes, collecting and saving recipes, adding these recipes to a personal collection to save time in the future, finalizing the menu calendar, and finally creating a grocery list based on the meals and recipes chosen.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Video Transcript
Menu Planning
Meet Melanie. Melanie has just started a new job as a nanny. Some of her duties include taking care of the children and household. In addition to the normal household duties such as cleaning, Melanie is responsible for menu planning. Melanie has never had to plan meals for anyone other then herself and usually just grabs whatever she had in the cabinets or refrigerator, often eating on the go. But Melanie knows that in order to be good at menu planning, she needs to know what it is and why it is important.
Menu planning is the process of deciding what you will eat for each meal, including main dishes, side dishes, and desserts. It also entails knowing how many meals to plan for and when to serve them. Daily activities and scheduling variations may complicate the menu planning process. Knowing what types of foods can be prepared according to the activities and schedules for a particular day is an important part of meal planning.
Basic Considerations
So what are the basics Melanie needs to learn in order to be a good menu planner for her new family? Let's take a look at the kind and quantity of meals, timeframes for preparation and eating, and budget.
Kind and quantity of meals: In order to be good at menu planning, Melanie needs to know which meals she is in charge of, for example, breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Will she be planning all three major meals? She also needs to know how many of those meals she'll be planning. For instance, if she's in charge of dinner, how many will be eaten at home or out?
Melanie will also need to keep in mind the timeframe. This refers to how much time is available to make the meals, especially if you'll have to squeeze them in between activities. Melanie needs to know what her employer's week consists of so she'll know how much time she has to prepare each meal. This knowledge can help her decide if the slow cooker needs to make an appearance during the week or if she will be making meals ahead of time.
Budget: Knowing how much money is available to spend on groceries is important for menu planning. Melanie needs to make sure her employer's budget covers all of the ingredients required for each meal.
Basic Steps
Next, let's go through the steps involved in menu planning. Here, Melanie will learn what to do:
Step 1: Write down dates and ideas. At the beginning of the menu planning process, Melanie will write out the days of the week and the ideas she has for meals each day.
Step 2: Find recipes. Once Melanie has some ideas about meal choices, she can look for recipes.
Step 3: Collect and save recipes. When Melanie finds a good recipe, she can add it to her collection. This will help with future meal planning.
Step 4: Finalize the menu calendar. After tallying the days and number of meals and coordinating them with recipes, Melanie can complete a finalized menu calendar. This gives her something to refer to all week.
Step 5: Create a grocery list. The last step in the menu planning process is to create a list of groceries to purchase based on the meals and recipes chosen.
Importance
So why is menu planning important? Why is this a skill that Melanie should excel at? Well, for starters, menu planning saves time. Due to busy schedules and hectic lives, time is becoming an increasingly valuable commodity. Melanie won't waste her time looking for supplies or stressing out about what to make.
Menu planning also allows Melanie to make healthier choices for herself and her employer. When she's rushed, she often grabs anything to eat, which can result in unhealthy choices with no nutritious content.
Melanie can become a better grocery shopper with menu planning. If she hasn't planned what to make in advance, she might resort to grabbing ingredients that end up forgotten and unused, which will require an additional run to the grocery store.
Saving money is another important quality of menu planning. When Melanie plans and shops for meals, she only picks up what she needs, which ensures that she uses every item she buys and helps her stay on budget.
Finally, menu planning can help Melanie keep meal times fresh. Who wants to eat the same meal over and over every single week? By planning, she can offer her family many different dining options and varieties which can make meal time fun and exciting.
Lesson Summary
Menu planning is the process of deciding what you will eat for each meal. In order to be a good menu planner, you'll need to know the kind and quantity of meals you ll be cooking, your timeframe, and your budget.
The steps involved in menu planning include:
- Writing down dates and ideas
- Finding, collecting, and saving recipes
- Finalizing the menu calendar
- Shopping for groceries
Menu planning is an important task because it saves time and money, promotes healthier choices, improves grocery shopping skills, and keeps meal times fresh with variety.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
