Eating Well

Portion Sizes

                       Families come in all different sizes. Each recipe in this guide makes enough for four adult portions, but you can make half the amount, or twice the amount, depending on the size of your family. For example:

• If there is one adult and two children under 5 in your family, each recipe will make enough for two meals. Or you can halve the recipe to makes just one meal for you all.
• If there are two adults and two teenagers, each recipe will make enough for one meal for you all.
• If there are four adults, two teenagers and there primary school aged children in a family, the recipe can be doubled to feed everyone at one meal.

The photos with each recipe indicate what an appropriate portion size looks like for children of different ages, so you can judge how to make sure everyone gets what they need. These portion sizes are just estimates and children will have different sized appetites depending on how active they are, and how much they are growing. Boys need to eat a bit more than girls as they are generally heavier and have more muscle generally heavier and have more muscle mass, and teenage boys will frequently need to eat bigger portions than adult men as they are growing rapidly. Pregnant women don't need to eat more than usual, except in the last three months of their pregnancy. Breastfeeding women may need to eat a bit more energy if they are exclusively breastfeeding and feeling more hungry. A detailed summary of how energy needs vary by age an gender, and during pregnancy, can be found on page 90.

We have used different sized and coloured plates to indicate what appropriate portions look like for different family members. See the next page for scale photos of the plates used. We have four different examples per recipe.

Plates used in the photos

Next to each recipe are photos of four plates:

Yellow Plate25cm
Average portion for an adult, or teenager aged 12-18 years

Green Plate25cm
Average portion for a 5-11 year old

Blue Plate20cm
Average portion for a 1-4 year old

Red bowl13cm
Average portion for a 7-12 month old

Equipment

  

       The recipes in this guide do not require a lot of equipment. Many of them are one-pot meals that simply require a knife and chopping board, a spoon and a medium saucepan. It is worth can cook your own food rather than relying on ready-prepared foods.

Tips for keeping food shopping costs down

• Cook from scratch. Making meals from scratch is cheaper and healthier than buying ready-made meals, which also often have a lot of unnecessary sugar, salt and preservatives added. Remember that food manufacturers and retailers are making a profit on even the cheapest ready meals ready meals.
• Buy own-brand goods. The quality is generally the same as popular brands. The only real difference is the price.
• Buy saver versions of some food items. Saver canned vegetables like canned tomatoes or beans, saver frozen vegetables, dried pasta and rice, saver cheese or yoghurt are often good choices. Avoid saver versions of meat products like sausages or burgers, as these are likely to be low in meat content and high in fat and salt.
• Keep food fresh. Store fresh vegetables in the fridge if possible. They will last longer and you will throw less away.
• Cut down the amount of meat bought Use less meat in dishes by adding more vegetables, as well as peas and beans (such as chickpeas, lentils or red kidney beans) to add extra protein.
• Get the best deals on fruit and veg. Find out if there is a food co-op or a fruit and veg scheme in your area. These types of projects often sell quality fruit and vegetables at a lower price to help to help people in their communities access affordable fresh food. 
• Stick to the list! If you plan your meals across the week, you won't buy food that gets wasted.
• Beware of offers. Only buy offers such as 'buy one get free' if you are certain you will eat both are able to share the extra one with a friend. 
• Choose your fruit and vegetables carefully. Don't but fruit and vegetables that are overly ripe unless you are sure that you will use them quickly.
• Buy frozen fruits and vegetables if you have a freezer or will use them on the day you buy the. It's often cheaper to buy frozen fruits and vegetables. They contain the same nutrients as fresh ones, need no preparation and, if you can store them, they are often the cheapest way of adding vegetables to dishes.
• Avoid pre-cut, pre-peeled and packaged vegetables and fruits. They more expensive than buying loose fruits and vegetables and lose nutrients as soon as they are opened.