On Wed, 7 Jan 2004, Dean G. wrote:

> Lena B Katz > wrote in message >...
> > Just looking for some tips...
> >
> > 1. How much should i feed someone at supper?
> > 2. What kinds of food should a poor shopper mix together?
> > 3. How do I balance everything?
> >
> > //I'm no longer the big meat eater I was at home... where every meal was
> > chicken and sidedish with salad. I'm just looking for some help on how to
> > come up with appropriate everyday meals.
> >
> > Lena
>
> Congrats on getting into CMU.

I'll take that as well as congratulations on graduating from CMU. Thanks!

> For thrifty meals, think pasta, potatoes, onions, rice, and beans (not
> all at the same time). Buying potatoes and onions in 5 lbs.(or larger)
> bags is very economical, and they last a while even if stored in a
> cabinet. Pasta and rice are also cheap, lend themselves to a large
> variety of meals, and store almost indefinitely. Eggs are also a cheap
> source of complete protein.

Okay... so, I already have all this food. That's not the problem. The
problem is that i'm sharing meal-cooking duties with two other people.
Thus, they expect honest-to-goodness meals. _Not_ mashed potatoes for
supper! (yes, i do mean just mashed potatoes). _Not_ just "bisquick
surprise."

Thus, being the completely ignorant of American culture person that I am,
I've got a riddle on my hands: just _what_ makes a meal. Preferably,
just _what_ makes a complete meal, without non-caloric food, and using
meat as flavoring and not entree?

> Don't leave out fruits and vegetables, they are a good source of
> vitamins and with a hectic academic schedule, you will need plenty to
> stay healthy.

Tomatoes and carrots and spinach. 'bout the only vegetables you need
('sides most of the others have almost no nutritional value). 'course,
spinach is fairly poisonous....

> Balance is the largest problem. Someone already posted a link to the
> USDA which has good references for nutitional info. If you go light on
> meat and dairy, you will have to put more effort into getting a good
> balance, but it is still possible.

I'm not looking so much for "USDA recommended" as "people won't consider
this to be completely unacceptable" (as people apparently consider a meal
of just mashed potatoes).

> How much you feed a person depends on many factors. Are they adults ?

Adults, yes. Three please.

> Do they get a lot of exercise ? For everyday meals, they amount should
> be based on the calories they will burn each day.

Okay... so that's fairly easy to do when you're going off recipes and
packaged stuff. how many calories do you get from meats/vegetables? they
don't seem to put that in the store...

> Many of the ethnic cuisines lend themselves to economical meals.
> Mexican, Chinese, Italian, and Indian meals can often be cheap, and
> act as an example of what goes together.

Am growing sick of pasta and pasta sauce for supper, like my one roommate
serves once _every week._

Lena