Lesson 2: It's All in the Plan

Planning helps the new cook to prepare meals faster and save money. Meals are healthier and preparation will be smoother when the meals are planned ahead. In this lesson, you will learn:

• To plan a week’s menus.
• To plan nutritious meals.
• To develop ideas for planning quick meals.
• To prepare a stir-fry

A variety of materials are included to assist you in planning healthy and satisfying meals. Take a few minutes to look through these materials to see what’s there. The enclosed fact sheets will help you with this lesson. Here are the fact sheets:

Files are in this format

• Plan Meals Before You Shop
• Food Guide Pyramid
• Pyramid Pizzazz
• How Many Servings?
• Dietary Guidelines for Americans
• Meal Planner
• Getting Started with Easy Meals (including recipes)
• “No-Time” Dinner Ideas
• Beat the Clock

Pay close attention to each meal to include a variety of foods. Study the Food Guide Pyramid, Pyramid Pizzazz: Breads, Vegetables, Fruits, Meats, Milk and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to gain more knowledge about nutrition, the most important consideration when planning meals.

Good health is based on sound nutrition, exercise, environmental factors, and heredity. We have no control over heredity and little control over environmental factors. Heredity can make you at risk for certain health problems but does not determine that you will indeed suffer from these problems. Good nutrition and exercise can help prevent many health problems. We have control over what we eat and the amount of exercise we get!
 

“No-Time” Dinner Ideas is an additional resource that will help you save time and yet prepare a nutritious and good-tasting meal. Try at least one of these suggestions each week. 

Use the tips in the Beat the Clock fact sheet. 
 

  Meal du Jour

This week’s Meal du Jour is a Meat and Vegetable Stir-Fry. Stir-frying means cooking food quickly, in small amounts of hot oil, in a large shallow pan called a wok. If you do not own a wok, a large heavy fry pan works just fine. 

Stir-frying is an important cooking method for today’s cook because it is fast and uses very little fat. Stir-frying has been popular in Asia for many years. The food is quickly  stirred and cooked in a few minutes. The short cooking time allows the vegetables to retain excellent color, flavor, texture, and nutrients.

Choose from These Stir-Fry Foods 

You can select from a wide variety of foods when planning a stir-fry meal. Here are some possibilities:

Vegetables to Stir-Fry
 

Meats to Stir-Fry

beef
pork
chicken
turkey
shrimp

Try mixing several meats with your vegetables. It’s delicious! Cut into 1/4” strips. 

Tip: Meat is easier to cut if partially frozen. Remember to scrub the cutting board in hot, soapy water after using it with raw meat.

Take a close look at this well-planned menu. Note that it includes all of the food groups shown in the Food Guide Pyramid  It also contains a variety of colors, flavors, temperatures, and textures to make for a pleasing meal. 

Basic Instructions for Stir-Frying

Here are the basic detailed instructions for preparing any stir-fry. See the Meal du Jour Recipes included in this lesson for the instructions on how to prepare your Meat and Vegetable Stir-Fry. 

• Wash your hands before beginning to cook. 

• Cut all the vegetables first. Slice the vegetables thinly or cut in small pieces about the same size. Place the sliced vegetables in a bowl. Keep the vegetables refrigerated until you are ready to stir fry.

• Cut meats, poultry, and fish into bite-sized pieces after cutting the vegetables. Wash your hands before and after touching the meat. Do not use the same knife used on the meat to cut other ingredients; this is a food-safety precaution. Put the meat in a separate bowl; do not put it with the vegetables. This is another food-safety precaution to prevent cross-contamination, a food-safety hazard.

• Measure and prepare all other ingredients and sauces because cooking will go very fast, and you will not have time once the cooking process starts.

• Turn the range top burner on to medium-high to high heat and heat the pan without the oil. The pan is hot enough when a couple of drops of water, dropped into the pan, dance around in the bottom of the pan. 

• Add a small amount of oil, 1 Tablespoon to 2 Tablespoons, in the bottom of the pan and start to cook the food immediately. Peanut oil works well because it can be heated to a high temperature without “smoking.” (Or to reduce fat, use a nonstick vegetable spray such as PAM®.) 

• Add the chopped ingredients. Cook the vegetables that are harder in feel first as they will take longer to cook. Tender vegetables or those already cooked can be added last so they do not overcook.

• Stir the food continuously until the meat is cooked through and the vegetables are cooked, yet are still crisp. Cut a piece of the meat; the interior should look like the exterior. 

• Add sauce to the pan, if desired. Don’t overcook!

• Season your stir-fry creation according to your own taste. Some new or different seasonings, such as garlic, soy sauce, or Worcestershire sauce, can create different tastes. Try it! You may like it! 

• Serve immediately. Depending on the amount of food, the whole stir fry process will take just a few minutes, so have your rice ready to go. 

Tips for Stir-Frying

• Partially freeze the meat to make cutting into strips or pieces easier. 
• Boost nutrition by using brown rice instead of white rice.
• Try a variety of fresh or frozen vegetables in the stir-fry. Use whatever is plentiful. Stir-fry two to five vegetables at one time.
• Stir-fry vegetables with more density first (carrots are an example) and those of lighter density last (mushrooms, for example). This insures that veggies with lighter density are not overcooked.
• Add garlic to your stir-fry. Garlic is a popular seasoning for stir-frying. Chop or mince the garlic into very tiny pieces. Or you can purchase pre-chopped or pre-minced garlic in jars.
• For added flavor, marinate the meat in a marinade. A marinade is a liquid used to either tenderize or add flavor to a meat. It usually consists of several ingredients. See the recipe in the Meal du Jour section for an example of a marinade

Preparing Garlic Garlic is usually sold by the “bulb.” A bulb contains many “cloves” of garlic. A recipe usually specifies the number of cloves to use. Notice that the outside of the garlic bulb is covered with a thin paper-like skin called a scale. To remove a garlic clove from the bulb, peel back a portion of the scale and lift out one of the cloves. Then peel the skin or scale off the clove with a sharp paring knife until you see the white flesh of the garlic. Now you are ready to chop or mince the garlic.

Meal du Jour Recipes

Stir-frying means cooking food quickly, in small amounts of hot oil, using very little water. Before beginning to prepare your stir-fry meal, review the instructions for stir-frying above. 

Meat and Vegetable Stir-Fry
Serves 4

Marinade:
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon corn starch
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Meat:
8 ounces of beef, pork, chicken, or turkey

Vegetables: 
1 pound vegetables (mix 2 to 5 different ones from the suggestions made earlier)

For Cooking: 
Up to 2 Tablespoons oil

Sauce: 
1 to 2 Tablespoons soy sauce (optional)
1/3 cup meat or vegetable broth or white wine (mix a bouillon cube and water or use canned)
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

Advance Preparation:

Between 2 and 24 Hours Before You Want to Stir-Fry — Marinate the meat. Here’s how: Stir the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl. Using a sharp knife, cut the meat into small bite-size pieces (approximately 1/4” thick by 1-1/2” long) and add to the marinade. Stir the meat and the marinade together, cover the bowl, and refrigerate.

The Day You Stir-Fry — Cut the vegetables into small, even, bite-sized pieces and put them in a bowl. Refrigerate until you are ready to cook. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook. Make your fruit salad, cover, and store in the refrigerator.

A Half-Hour Before You Will Stir-Fry — Start to prepare the rice. It should be cooked and ready when your stir fry is complete.

Stir Fry:

Heat the pan over high heat without the oil. Drop a couple of drops of water into the pan. The pan is hot enough when the water dances and then evaporates. Add 1 Tablespoon of oil and rotate the pan so that the bottom of the pan is coated with oil. 

Lift the meat out of the marinade with a slotted spoon. Gently add the meat to the pan, taking care to minimize spattering when the wet meat touches the hot oil. Stir rapidly and continuously until the interior of the meat is the same color and texture as the exterior of the meat (test by cutting into a piece of meat). Lift the meat out of the pan and place into a clean bowl and set aside. 

Immediately add the remaining 1 Tablespoon of oil and rotate the pan so the oil coats the bottom of the pan. Add the vegetables, adding those that are harder in feel first as they will take longer to cook. Stir fry until the vegetables are tender (test with a fork) but still crisp. 

Add the meat back into the pan. Pour the sauce into the pan and stir into the meat and vegetable mixture and heat just until the sauce starts to boil. Remove from the heat and serve immediately with the rice.

Note: It is important that you discard the meat marinade when you finish. Do not re-use it; re-using it creates a food safety hazard.
 

Nutrients per Serving

The nutrients per serving for this recipe vary, depending on the meat, vegetables, and sauce used.

• Try using pork tenderloin in the recipe. One 4-ounce serving of pork tenderloin has about 5.5 grams of fat. Pork tenderloin may be costly for some budgets, but there is little waste. It is delicious and lower in fat than other cuts. Cook until there is no pink color.
• Try this dish with boneless, skinless chicken breast for another option. Four ounces of skinless chicken breast contains 4 grams of fat. 

Source: EFNEP Lessons, University of Missouri, Columbia; Handout 3, page 1, 1994. Used with permission.

No Fail Rice Serves 4

2 cups boiling water
1 cup regular white rice (not instant)
2 teaspoons salt

A half-hour before you are going to stir fry, bring the water to a boil in a deep pot. Add the rice and the salt. Lower the heat to simmer. Cover. Cook 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand 5 to 10 minutes, with the lid on, before serving.

Nutrients per Serving (Based on 4 servings in the recipe.)

Calories 87
Fat — Total 1.97 g
Protein 4.22 g
Saturated Fat .62 g
Carbohydrates 12.94 g
Vitamin A RE 80 
Dietary Fiber .49 g
Vitamin C 3.15mg
% Calories from Fat 21%
%Calories from Carb60%

Golden Fruit Salad

Orange Yogurt Dressing

1 Golden Delicious apple, cored and sliced
6 Tablespoons plain yogurt
1 Red Delicious apple, cored and sliced
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1 banana, peeled and sliced 
dash of nutmeg
1/2 cup red grapes, halved and seeded, if necessary 
lettuce

Combine all fruits in a bowl; mix well; set aside. In another bowl, combine the plain yogurt and orange juice; add a dash of nutmeg; mix well. Serve fruit on lettuce-lined salad plates with orange yogurt dressing. Pour the dressing over the fruit and stir just before serving.

Source: Washington State Apple Commission. Used with permission.

Nutrients per Serving
Calories 84.13
Fat — Total 0.69 g
Protein 1.28 g
Saturated Fat 0.27 g
Carbohydrates20.12 g
Vitamin A RE 8.73 RE
Dietary Fiber 2.59 g
Vitamin C 8.28 mg
% Calories from fat 7
% Calories from carbs 88

What to Buy for Your Next Lesson

Remember to check the list of ingredients so you will be prepared for your next lesson. This list will tell you what you need to buy so you can prepare the recipes in your next lesson. The checklist will also help you be sure you have on hand all of the items that you will need for your next adventure in cooking. 

The Meal du Jour in our next lesson will be a hearty fish chowder. Here is a list of ingredients you will need in addition to the foods you have on hand. 

What to Buy

• 1/2 pound fish fillets or fish steaks 
• Choose a firm, white-fleshed fish such as haddock, halibut, shark, marlin, or cod.
• parsley (fresh or dried)
• 6 slices bacon or 1/4 pound ham
• salad greens
• Dijon-style mustard

• potatoes
• onions
• milk 
• garlic
• cider vinegar
• vegetable oil
• sugar