Factors to consider: -Nutritional Needs
-Appeal
-Time Constraints
-Budget
-Cooking Skills
-Occasion
-Guests
-Availability of Ingredients
>Nutritional Needs
Today, an increasing number of people suffer from diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Theses diseases are related to the type and amount of food that we consume. Hence, a balanced diet is more important today than ever before. When planning a meal, ensure that the meal contains food from all the food groups.
Different people have different nutritional requirements. Nutritional needs vary with:
-age
-gender
-size
-health
-lifestyle habits
-occupation
>Appeal
Appetising food not only tastes nice; it also looks good and smells great. When planning a meal, it is good to include a variety of colours, shapes, flavours and textures. Using a range of cooking methods will make the food more appealing.
>Time Constraints
There are many delicious dishes that can be prepared in a short time. Some examples include pasta, omelettes and stir-fried dishes such as kung bo chicken. When planning what dishes to cook, we should consider how much time we can afford to spend in preparing and cooking dishes.
>Budget
We don't need to spend a fortune to have a tasty and nutritious meal. When preparing a fruit salad, try using oranges instead of strawberries. Oranges are equally satisfying but are much more affordable.
>Cooking Skills
We should cook dishes that we can easily manage on our own. If we try to cook a dish that is too difficult, we may become fustrated when we are unable to follow the receipe. As such, the dish may not turn right.
>Occasion
Choosing dishes to suit an occasion is important. A special event, such as a birthday, would need more elaborate dishes than an ordinary meal.
There are also pratical reasons for considering the occasion. Preparing food that cannot stay fresh is not ideal for a picnic. Choosing the wrong food can even be dangerous to health if it is not packed properly. It may turn bad and can cause stomach upsets.
>Guests
Factors such as age and occupation influence the types of food that a person needs. If our guests are elderly people, for example, it would be appropriate to serve food that can be easily chewed and digested.
It is also important to take note of any special diet that our guests may have. Serving meat to a vergetarian, for example, will be in apporpriate. We should also know that Muslims do not eat pork, and that Hindus and many Buddhists do not eat beef.
>Availability of Ingredients
Some ingredients are difficult to obtain in certain countries. For example, some types of cheese are more easily found in Europe than in Asia.
When planning meals, choose dishes with ingredients that are easily obtainable. In addition, ensure that the ingredients are in season. Not only will they be easier to find, they will also be cheaper and tastier.
If a particular receipe uses ingredients that are rare or unavailable, we can subsitute these ingredients with more commonly available ones. For instance, cheddar cheese or cheese slices which are easily which are easily available can be used to replace gouda cheese which is not easily available.
