What are the things to consider in decision making with regards to meal planning?

Answer 1

The budget will affect what kinds of foods you can afford. On a small budget you will have to plan for cheap foods and very little help in serving. On a large budget you can afford expensive dishes and lots of help preparing serving the food.

Answer 2

Here are some factors to consider in meal planning:

1. How many people are eating?
2. How much money do you have to spend on the meal?
3. What time will you eat?
4. What menu items would be most palatable to everyone invited (include Allergies and dietary restrictions)?
5. Do you have the proper tools and equipment?

You only asked for five, but I'm sure there are more factors that could be listed.


Once you've decided on the menu, something else to consider is timing. You need to figure in the prep time needed for each item on your menu including how far ahead can these items be prepared without detriment to the eating quality or nutritional value.



For instance, for a large Thanksgiving meal:

• You need to remember to pull the turkey out of the freezer to thaw in the fridge for enough in advance (~one day for each 5#) or plan to purchase a fresh turkey.
  
• You could make pies a day ahead.
  
• Then you need to plan how long it will take to prep and cook the turkey to coordinate that with your desired serving time. While it is resting, you make the gravy from the drippings.
• Any tossed salads or raw veggies can be prepared earlier in the day and refrigerated until serving time.
• Cooked veggies are best when served immediately, so time those to be finished just before serving.
• And the biggie: You must deal with storage space. You need to make sure you have enough space in your cooler/refrigerator to deal with additional food items and leftovers. Clean out the fridge days ahead. You can utilize coolers as temporary refrigerated storage, but make sure you have enough ice or ice packs to maintain the appropriate temperature.
  

Time available, budget, allergies, food dislikes, availability of foods.

Answer 3

Well if you dont have a lot of money then you cant buy a lot of the better and expensive foods

Answer 4

Time available, budget, allergies, food dislikes, availability of foods.