Foods and Nutrition · Lesson 2

Meal planning, meal patterns and diets for pregnancy, lactation, infants, the aged, HIV, illness, weight, hypertension and diabetes

WAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

WAEC: Meal Management (meal planning terms, reasons, factors, principles, meal patterns); Special Nutritional Needs (pregnant and lactating mothers, infants and children, adolescents, adults, aged, vegetarians; meals for HIV and AIDS, invalids, convalescents, overweight, underweight, hypertension, diabetes). Builds on he5 and he6.

NECO: Meal Management (meal planning terms, reasons, factors, principles, meal patterns); Special Nutritional Needs (pregnant and lactating mothers, infants and children, adolescents, adults, aged, vegetarians; meals for HIV and AIDS, invalids, convalescents, overweight, underweight, hypertension, diabetes). Builds on he5 and he6.

What you will learn

Define meal planning terms and write menus correctly.
State reasons, factors and principles of meal planning.
Describe Nigerian meal patterns and energy distribution.
Explain the needs of pregnant and lactating women, infants, children, adolescents, adults, aged and vegetarians.
Plan meals for HIV, invalids, convalescents, overweight, underweight, hypertension and diabetes.
Calculate energy distribution, weight change and salt from sodium.

Key points

Menu and meal planning terms.
Reasons and factors in meal planning.
Principles: balance, variety, colour, texture, flavour, temperature, satiety, economy.
Meal patterns and energy spread.
Pregnancy and lactation needs.
Exclusive breastfeeding and enriched complementary foods.
Adolescents, adults, aged and vegetarian diets.
HIV, invalid and convalescent feeding.
Overweight and underweight management.
Hypertension: low salt; diabetes: regular high-fibre low-sugar meals.
Plan, justify and time-plan meals for special groups.

Start here: Meal planning terms

Meal management means planning, buying, preparing and serving meals that meet the needs of the people to be fed within the money, time and energy available. It begins with meal planning: deciding in advance what dishes will be served at each meal.

Terms

Menu: a list of dishes to be served at a meal, in the order of service. Menus are written neatly with the courses in sequence, often centred, and with the accompaniments on the same line as the main item (for example “Jollof rice with fried plantain and coleslaw”).
Course: one stage of a meal. A full formal meal may have: appetiser/starter (pepper soup, small chops, fruit cocktail), soup, main course (fish or meat with accompaniments), dessert (fruit salad, ice cream, cake) and beverage (tea, coffee, zobo).
Table d’hôte: a set menu at a fixed price with a limited choice, served at a set time (as in many hotel buffets or set lunches).
À la carte: a menu in which each dish is priced separately and cooked to order.
Meal pattern: the number, type and timing of meals in a day.
Main dish and accompaniment: the central dish (egusi soup with pounded yam) and foods served with it (salad, fruit).
Garnish (edible decoration of savoury dishes, such as sliced tomato, onion rings, parsley, boiled egg) and decoration (on sweet dishes: icing, cherries, grated coconut).
Balanced meal: a meal containing foods from all the food groups in the right proportions.
Snack: a small amount of food eaten between meals (groundnuts and banana, boiled corn and coconut, chin-chin).
Packed meal: food carried for eating away from home (lunch box, picnic).
Buffet: food displayed for guests to serve themselves.

Writing a menu: example

Lunch menu for a family of five

Pepper soup (fish)
Rice and beans with fried plantain and tomato stew
Vegetable salad
Fresh pawpaw
Chilled zobo

Note the order: starter, main course with accompaniments, vegetable, dessert, beverage.

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Practice questions

1. A balanced diet contains

all nutrients in correct proportions
only protein foods
mainly carbohydrates
no fat

Show answer

A: all nutrients in correct proportions
Includes water and fibre.

2. FAO/WHO 2004 advises extra energy in the third trimester of pregnancy of about

1,000 kcal a day
50 kcal a day
2,000 kcal a day
475 kcal a day

Show answer

D: 475 kcal a day
About 360 kcal in the second trimester.

3. A well-nourished mother exclusively breastfeeding in the first six months needs about

1,500 kcal extra a day
no extra energy
505 kcal extra a day
100 kcal extra a day

Show answer

C: 505 kcal extra a day
FAO/WHO/UNU 2004; about 675 kcal if undernourished.

4. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first

3 weeks
6 months
2 months
12 months

Show answer

B: 6 months
Then complementary feeding with continued breastfeeding.

5. WHO advises adults to eat less than

5 g of salt a day
15 g of salt a day
1 g of salt a day
10 g of salt a day

Show answer

A: 5 g of salt a day
About 2 g sodium.

Key words

Meal management: Planning, buying, preparing and serving meals.
Menu: List of dishes in order of service.
Course: One stage of a meal.
Table d’hôte: Fixed menu at fixed price.
À la carte: Dishes priced and ordered singly.
Meal pattern: Number and timing of meals.
Satiety value: Ability of a meal to satisfy hunger.
Garnish: Edible decoration of savoury food.
Colostrum: First breast milk, rich in antibodies.
Complementary feeding: Adding foods to breast milk from six months.
Vegan: Eats no animal products.
Invalid: Ill person confined to bed or home.

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