Many people are on the go these
days. Their hectic schedules often reduce
the time they have available to plan and
prepare foods. Some people say they are
so busy that they just don’t have time to
prepare or eat a healthy diet. These people
don’t realize that it is possible to fit good
nutrition into the busiest schedule.
For a fast, nutritious hot meal for the
whole family, you could serve a homemade
one-dish meal in an hour or less. Speed
scratch cooking and convenience foods
can help you serve a tasty meal in
30 minutes or less. Between meals, you
can whip up many nutritious beverages
and snacks in less than five minutes. If you
know you’re going to be away from home
when it’s mealtime, you can quickly pack a
meal-to-go. For times when you’re too busy
to make food at home, you may decide to
eat out. With all these options, there’s no
reason to let a hectic schedule deprive you
of the food and nutrients you need.
In this chapter, you will discover how to
prepare and store beverages, snacks, one-
dish meals, meals-to-go, and sandwiches.
You’ll also learn about eating meals out.
Knowing about these types of foods and
meals will help you fit good nutrition into a
busy schedule.
Beverages
When you are thirsty, what do you
reach for? On cold days, you may prefer
piping hot cocoa, hot cider, hot tea, or
coffee. On hot days, you might choose
chilled juice, frosty lemonade, iced tea, or
cold water. Other popular beverage choices
are milk, fruit drinks, and soft drinks, 14-1.
Beverages are served along with
meals. Beverages can be snacks, too.
Beverages help provide the water you
need. Some beverages also provide other
nutrients. For instance, beverages made
with milk supply calcium and protein. Many
fruit juices provide vitamin C, 14-2.
Some beverages, such as soft drinks,
have a large amount of sugar added to
them. They are high in calories and provide
almost no vitamins and minerals. Coffee
and tea also supply few nutrients and can
be high in calories if you add lots of sugar.
Cream adds fat and calories to coffee. The
most nutritious beverages provide many
vitamins and minerals and have little fat
and added sugar.
When planning a meal, choose a
beverage that complements the flavors and
colors of the foods in the meal. You can
improve the nutritional value of the meal
by choosing a beverage from a major food
group from MyPlate. This is especially
important if your meal is missing a food
from one of the major food groups. For
example, if your meal doesn’t have a food
from the vegetable group, you could serve
carrot juice. If the dairy group is missing,
14-1
Cool beverages help quench your Cool beverages help quench your
thirst on hot days. thirst on hot days.
262 Adventures in Food and Nutrition
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.