More from the CAI Encyclopedic Cookbook(1964)!

Meal Planning

"The modern homemaker knows that meal planing offers her a chance to use all her artistic ability and food knowledge to keep her family happy and healthy. Modern standards require the following musts to be included in each day's menus:

Milk:(rich in vitamins A, B and D) at least 1 pint for each adult, preferably 1 quart.
Vegetables and fruits:Green leafy or yellow vegetables(rich in vitamins A and C), 1 or more servings. Tomatoes, oranges, grapefruit, and fresh cabbage(rich in vitamin C), 1 or more servings. Potatoes, other vegetables or fruit(rich in vitamins A, B and C), 2 or more servings.
Eggs:(rich in vitamins A, B and D) 3 or 4 a week.
Meat, Fish or Poultry:Lean meat, fish, poultry(rich in vitamin B), 1 or more servings. Liver or kidneys(rich in vitamins A and B), served at least once a week.
Cereals and Bread:Whole-grain cereals and bread (rich in vitamin B), at least 2 servings.
Fats:eaten as butter and cream or cheese (rich in vitamin A).
Sweets:Needed in small amounts.


Besides protecting health a good menu should take into account the contrasts in color, texture and flavor. The color of spinach is attractive with ham. Soft custard is a good texture to follow the crunchiness of raw carrots. A tart relish contrasts in flavor with sweet fritters. Today's homemaker is well aware not only of the need of budgeting money, but also of budgeting her time and energy. Meals planned for a week mean more efficient and economical purchasing, leftovers used to better advantage and simplified food preparation. Monotony is avoided when a record is kept of menus. One way to keep a menu record is in a loose-leaf notebook.

Here are samples of menu's for February:

Meatloaf with tomato sauce
Buttered shoestring carrots
Creamed broccoli
Celery
Cherry cottage pudding


Sausage and corn casserole
Lyonnaise Potatoes
Endive with French dressing
Baked Apples with ginger whipped cream

Chicken fricassee with dumplings
Buttered cauliflower
Pickled beets
Cranberry molded salad
Baked custard