Balanced Meal Preparation
Senior 2 · Home Science
Balanced Meal Preparation
Lesson 4 of 4
22 min
Let's begin
Deciding "what shall we eat today?" at 5 p.m. usually leads to the same cheap, starchy meal. Families who plan ahead eat better and often spend less, because they buy only what they need, use what is in season, and waste less.
Meal planning means deciding in advance what dishes will be served, in what amounts, and how they will be prepared. In this lesson you will learn the principles a good meal planner considers, and you will cost a family meal in Rwandan francs.
A menu is a list of the dishes to be served at a meal, in the order they are served. A one-day menu for a family might be:
Task: The family of five has a budget of 3 000 Frw for supper. Using the example market prices below, cost the balanced supper and find the cost per person. (Prices vary by season and market.)
| Item | Working | Cost (Frw) |
|---|---|---|
| Dry beans, 0.5 kg at 1 200 Frw/kg | 0.5 × 1 200 | 600 |
| Sweet potatoes, 2 kg at 400 Frw/kg | 2 × 400 | 800 |
| Amaranth, 2 bunches at 200 Frw | 2 × 200 | 400 |
| Tomatoes, 0.25 kg at 1 000 Frw/kg | 0.25 × 1 000 | 250 |
| Onions, 0.25 kg at 1 200 Frw/kg | 0.25 × 1 200 | 300 |
| Cooking oil, 50 ml from a 1 L bottle costing 3 000 Frw | 3 000 × 50 ÷ 1 000 | 150 |
| Avocados, 2 at 150 Frw | 2 × 150 | 300 |
| Total | 2 800 |
Cost per person = 2 800 ÷ 5 = 560 Frw. The family is 3 000 − 2 800 = 200 Frw under budget, enough for a cup of milk for the youngest child.
Check the balance: sweet potato (energy), beans (body-building), amaranth, tomato and avocado (protective). All groups are present.
Tip
Memory hook: "N-B-S-V-T-P-S": Needs, Budget, Season, Variety, Time, Preferences, Safety
Exam technique: in a costing question, show the working line by line (quantity × unit price), convert units first (grams to kilograms, millilitres to litres), and give the unit, Frw, in the answer.
List four factors a meal planner must consider.
Solution: Any four of: nutritional needs; budget; season and availability; variety; time, skill, fuel and equipment; family preferences, culture and religion; food safety.
Groundnuts cost 2 000 Frw/kg. What do 250 g cost?
Solution: 250 g = 0.25 kg; 0.25 × 2 000 = 500 Frw.
The supper in the worked example is cooked for a class of 40 instead of 5. How many kilograms of dry beans are needed, and what do they cost?
Solution: Scale factor = 40 ÷ 5 = 8. Beans: 0.5 × 8 = 4 kg; cost 4 × 1 200 = 4 800 Frw.
Why does soaking beans overnight help a family on a tight budget?
Solution: Soaked beans cook faster, so less firewood, charcoal or gas is used, which saves money and time.
Summary
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa.
