Handout 01.14: Meal Planning Grid and Family Cards

Name: ______________________ Date: __________ Team: ______ Family card: ______

Part 1: The six jobs of a family meal

Copy the six jobs from the board. A dinner is a good dinner only when it does all six.

1. ____________________ (the MyPlate groups)
2. ____________________ (what they like and will not eat)
3. ____________________ (allergies and food rules; safety first)
4. ____________________ (how long there is to cook)
5. ____________________ (how much money there is)
6. ____________________ (what is already in the house)

Part 2: The Meal Planning Grid

Directions: Read your family card. Underline every rule. Then plan one dinner for this family. Fill one row per dish. Check the MyPlate box for each dish. Put a check in the pantry column if the family already has it. The cost column is a guess today: write under $10, $10 to $20, or over $20 for the whole dinner at the bottom.

How many MyPlate groups did the dinner cover? ______ (goal: at least 4)

Does any dish break a rule on the card? Circle: yes / no. If yes, which dish and which rule? ____________________

Total cooking time: ______ minutes. Does it fit the card? Circle: yes / no.

My cost guess for the whole dinner: under $10 / $10 to $20 / over $20

Sentence starters:

• This family cannot eat ____________ because ____________.
• Our dinner fits this family because ____________.

Part 3: Compare (after the share)

The other team planned ____________________ for the same family.

The dinner that fits this family better is ______ (ours / theirs) because of job number ______ (____________________). One sentence why:

Page 2: The family cards (cut apart; one per team)

Family A

Two adults, a 13-year-old, and a 6-year-old.

• The 13-year-old plays soccer four nights a week and comes home hungry at 6:30.
• The 6-year-old will not eat foods that are mixed together. Everything has to be in its own spot on the plate.
• No allergies. No food rules.
• Time: 30 minutes to cook on a weeknight.
• Budget: $40 for dinner for four.
• Already in the pantry: rice, cooking oil, salt, pepper, ketchup.

Family B

One parent, a grandmother, an 8-year-old, and a 12-year-old.

• The grandmother's doctor says less salt. No added salt at the table, and watch canned and packaged foods.
• The 8-year-old has a peanut allergy. Nothing with peanuts or made in a place with peanuts. Read every label.
• The 12-year-old will eat almost anything and likes spicy food.
• Time: 45 minutes to cook.
• Budget: $40 for dinner for four.
• Already in the pantry: pasta, canned tomatoes, onions, garlic powder.

Family C

Two adults and 11-year-old twins.

• The family does not eat pork (a religious food rule). Check sausage, pepperoni, and bacon bits.
• One adult works until 6:00. The twins start dinner at 5:45 and the adult finishes it at 6:00. The twins cannot use the stove alone, so the first 15 minutes have to be no-stove prep.
• One twin does not like tomatoes but will eat tomato sauce.
• Time: 25 minutes of cooking after 6:00.
• Budget: $40 for dinner for four.
• Already in the pantry: flour tortillas, canned black beans, shredded cheese, hot sauce.
• * *

Teacher key

The six jobs: 1. nutrition, 2. likes and dislikes, 3. allergies and food rules, 4. time, 5. cost, 6. pantry.

There is no single right dinner. A "got it" grid has: at least four MyPlate boxes checked across the rows, no dish that breaks a bolded rule on the card, a total time that fits the card, and at least one pantry check.

Rule traps to watch for:

• Family A: a casserole, stir fry, or pasta with vegetables mixed in for the 6-year-old. Fix: same foods, served in sections.
• Family B: canned soup, jarred sauce, or deli meat without a "low sodium" note; a peanut sauce or a granola bar with peanuts; anything with a "may contain peanuts" label.
• Family C: pepperoni pizza, sausage pasta, or anything the twins would have to put on a burner before 6:00; a raw tomato salad for the twin who does not like tomatoes (sauce is fine).

The same three cards come back in Lesson 1.18 as the project scenario. Keep them.