Guidelines On Planning Balanced Meals

Different foods contain different nutrients.  No single food can supply
all the nutrients you need.  Let the Healthy Diet Pyramid guide your
food choices and help you choose what and how much to eat each day.


The Healthy Diet Pyramid translates nutrient needs into actual foods.
It categorises commonly eaten foods into four food groups - rice and
alternatives, fruit and vegetables, as well as meat and alternatives -
which form the foundation of a healthy diet.  It serves as a guide that
helps you plan a healthy diet that fits your lifestyle.

The Healthy Diet Pyramid conveys three main messages:• Eat a variety of food.  This means eating different foods from thefour food groups as well as within each food group.  Each foodgroup offers a variety of choices and each one has a uniquenutritional value. No one food supplies all the nutrients your bodyrequires to stay healthy.• Eat a balanced diet.  This means eating the recommended numberof servings of food from the four food groups daily. Include someplant-based foods every day.• Eat in moderation.  It means eating the right amount of food, neithertoo much nor too little. Foods high in fat, sugar and salt shouldonly be consumed in small amounts at all times.

Equipment Used To Pack The Meal

-Two small non-stick frying pans
-One large (28cm diameter or about 11 inches) non-stick frying pan
-One or two small to mid-size saucepans
-An electric water kettle
-A cast iron grill pan-Salad spinner
-Rice cooker with timer function
-Pressure cooker
-Plastic zip bags
-Bowls and plates
-Sharp knives
-Microwave safe plastic wrap
-Sealable, freezer safe glass or plastic containers
-Toaster oven
-Long chopsticks
-Vegetable peeler
-Vegetable slicer or mandolin
-Vegetarian, Halal, Buddhist, Eden, hallelujah , Hindi and Jain 

Types Of Food That Can Be Packed For A Picnic

Biscuits

Fruits

Fried chicken
Salads

Baked food

Sandwiches 

Nutrient contents in the food:

Magnesium

Copper

Fats

Calcium

Iodine

Iron

Protein 

Carbohydrate

Zinc

Vitamin D,A,E,B1,B2,B3,B6,C

Food safety to observe when packing meal food handling

-Safe steps in food handling, cooking, and storage are essential. You can't see, smell, or taste harmful bacteria that may cause illness. In every step of food preparation, follow the four guidelines to keep food safe:

• Clean — Wash hands and surfaces often.
• Separate — Don't cross-contaminate.
• Cook — Cook to proper temperatures.
• Chill — Refrigerate promptly.

Shopping

• Purchase refrigerated or frozen items after selecting your non-perishables.
• Never choose meat or poultry in packaging that is torn or leaking.
• Do not buy food past "Sell-By," "Use-By," or other expiration dates.

Storage

• Always refrigerate perishable food within 2 hours (1 hour when the temperature is above 90 °F).
• Check the temperature of your refrigerator and freezer with an appliance thermometer. The refrigerator should be at 40 °F or below and the freezer at 0 °F or below.
• Cook or freeze fresh poultry, fish, ground meats, and variety meats within 2 days; other beef, veal, lamb, or pork, within 3 to 5 days.
• Perishable food such as meat and poultry should be wrapped securely to maintain quality and to prevent meat juices from getting onto other food.
• To maintain quality when freezing meat and poultry in its original package, wrap the package again with foil or plastic wrap that is recommended for the freezer.
• In general, high-acid canned food such as tomatoes, grapefruit, and pineapple can be stored on the shelf for 12 to 18 months. Low-acid canned food such as meat, poultry, fish, and most vegetables will keep 2 to 5 years — if the can remains in good condition and has been stored in a cool, clean, and dry place. Discard cans that are dented, leaking, bulging, or rusted.

Preparation

• Always wash hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds before and after handling food.
• Don't cross-contaminate. Keep raw meat, poultry, fish, and their juices away from other food. After cutting raw meats, wash cutting board, utensils, and countertops with hot, soapy water.
• Cutting boards, utensils, and countertops can be sanitized by using a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach in 1 gallon of water.
• Marinate meat and poultry in a covered dish in the refrigerator.

Thawing

• Refrigerator: The refrigerator allows slow, safe thawing. Make sure thawing meat and poultry juices do not drip onto other food.
• Cold Water: For faster thawing, place food in a leak-proof plastic bag. Submerge in cold tap water. Change the water every 30 minutes. Cook immediately after thawing.
• Microwave: Cook meat and poultry immediately after microwave thawing.

Cooking
Cook all raw beef, pork, lamb and veal steaks, chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook meat to higher temperatures.

Ground meats: Cook all raw ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal to an internal temperature of 160 °F as measured with a food thermometer.

Poultry: Cook all poultry to an internal temperature of 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer.

Serving:

• Hot food should be held at 140 °F or warmer.
• Cold food should be held at 40 °F or colder.
• When serving food at a buffet, keep food hot with chafing dishes, slow cookers, and warming trays. Keep food cold by nesting dishes in bowls of ice or use small serving trays and replace them often.
• Perishable food should not be left out more than 2 hours at room temperature (1 hour when the temperature is above 90 °F).

Leftovers

• Discard any food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (1 hour if the temperature was above 90 °F).
• Place food into shallow containers and immediately put in the refrigerator or freezer for rapid cooling.
• Use cooked leftovers within 4 days.
• Reheat leftovers to 165 °F.

Refreezing
Meat and poultry defrosted in the refrigerator may be refrozen before or after cooking. If thawed by other methods, cook before refreezing.

Cold Storage Chart

These short, but safe, time limits will help keep refrigerated food from spoiling or becoming dangerous to eat. Because freezing keeps food safe indefinitely, recommended storage times are for quality only.

ABCs of Healthy Eating

Aim to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight  
Base  your daily diet on the Healthy Diet Pyramid recommendation

Choose wisely for good health.


Introduction To The Dietary Guidelines :

Eating does not merely satisfy our hunger - it is also a pleasant social

activity.  Friendships and family ties are often forged over the dining

table.  With more varieties of food available, it is easy to lose sight of

the principles that guide healthy eating.  As the food you eat affects

your health and well-being, it is important to consciously choose a

healthy diet.

What Is Healthy Eating ?

Healthy eating is selecting a balanced diet that is high in dietary fibre
and low in fat, cholesterol, sugar and salt. It also means having different
types of food in the right amounts and not overeating any one type of
food.

If you are between 18 to 65 years of age, these Dietary Guidelines are
for you. Use them to help you and your family plan and choose nutritious
meals.

Start eating healthily today.  Remember - you are never too young nor
too old to start!



The ABCs of Good Nutrition:
The Dietary Guidelines are built around the ABCs of good nutrition -
Aim, Base and Choose your way to good health!

Japanese Lunchboxes

Chopper ( One Piece ) Kyaraben

Sanji ( One Piece ) Kyaraben

Hatsune Miku Kyaraben

Bento can be very elaborately arranged in a style called kyaraben or "character bento". Kyaraben is typically decorated to look like popular Japanese cartoon (anime) characters , characters from comic books ( managa ) or video game characters .

What is a packed lunch ?

Bento Box

A packed lunch is a lunch prepared at home and carried to be eaten somewhere else, such as school, a workplace , or at an outing . The food is usually wrapped in plastic, aluminium foil , or paper and can be carried  in a lunchbox , paper bag  or plastic bag.

In Japan , a packed lunch is called a Bento . Bento  is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese Cuisine . A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. Containers range from disposable mass  to hand crafted lacquerware . Although bento are readily available in many places throughout Japan, including convenience stores , bento shops ,train stations , and departments , it is still common for Japanese homemakers to spend time and energy for their spouse, child, or themselves producing a carefully prepared lunch box .

Other Types of Packed Lunch :There are similar forms of boxed lunches in the Philippines (Baon), Korea (Dosirak), Taiwan (Biandang), and India (Tiffin). Also, Hawaiian culture has adopted localized versions of bento featuring local tastes after over a century of Japanese influence in the islands.

Apple Rabbits ( Draft 1 )

Apple Rabbits

Apple Rabbits :

These rabbit-shaped like apples are called usagi ringo and are often placed into kids' lunch / bento boxes as a decorative dessert. Fruits are suitable for picnic as they have vitamins and nutrients .

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Ingredients:

Some apples (Depends on how many you want)


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Equipment needed :

Knives
Bento/Lunch Boxes

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Directions :

1)   Cut each apple into 6 or 8 wedges  

2)  Cut the core out of each apple wedge

3)  Carefully score the apple skin with a knife in an inverted V shape

4)  Insert the knife under the apple skin and carefully move the blade to a little over the edge of the inverted V shape

5)  Remove the triangle section of apple skin

6)  Soak apple rabbits in salt water for a few minutes to prevent them browning

7)  Serve apple rabbits for dessert or pack them in bento / lunch boxes