Meal Planning and Balanced Diet: Principles, Food Groups and Factors
Meal Planning and Balanced Diet tests whether you can turn nutrition theory into a day's menu - choosing foods from each group, matching energy to needs, and justifying choices on cost, season and culture.
Principles of meal planning
- Adequacy: enough energy and all nutrients.
- Balance: no nutrient in excess; a protective food at every meal.
- Variety, moderation, satiety and economy.
- Hygiene and palatability - a nutritious meal that is refused has no value.
The five food groups (ICMR)
- Cereals, millets, roots and tubers - energy.
- Pulses, legumes, nuts and oilseeds - protein.
- Milk and milk products; meat, fish, egg - protein, calcium, vitamin B12.
- Fruits and vegetables - vitamins, minerals and fibre (protective foods).
- Fats and sugars - concentrated energy, used sparingly.
Factors that change the plan
Age, sex, activity level, physiological state (adolescence, pregnancy, lactation), income and occupation, season and local availability, religion and food habits, and family size.
Worked example
Plan a 2,000 kcal day using the standard split: breakfast 25% (500 kcal), lunch 35% (700), evening snack 10% (200), dinner 30% (600). Check that each meal carries a protein food and a protective food: breakfast - poha with peanuts and a banana; lunch - rice, dal, mixed vegetable, curd; snack - roasted chana and fruit; dinner - roti, paneer or soy curry, green vegetable. Reasoning: the percentage split fixes energy per meal, and the group check prevents a cereal-only plan.
Traps
- Calling any vegetarian thali balanced without a pulse, milk or curd.
- Forgetting that cooking oil adds hidden energy.
- Planning costly foods when the question states a low income.