But only you can plan menus that are exactly right for you. Your menus should fit your food likes and dislikes, and match your own eating pattern.

Your menus should also provide for any special diet needs you have. Your own menus can include your favorite recipes, and they can match your time, energy, and interest in cooking.

Planning menus is the first step to eating well on a budget. There are some big advantages to making a plan:. For variety, the meal pattern below can serve as a guide.

But other patterns are okay, too. A meal pattern helps you get the vitamins and minerals you need. The grains group includes breads, cereals, rice, and pasta that are either whole-grain or enriched. These are important sources of B vitamins, which help you make energy from the foods you eat.

Try to get half of your grain intake from whole grains—or at least 3 ounces of whole grains per day. Whole grains include brown rice, buckwheat, oatmeal, popcorn, millet, quinoa, whole wheat, barley, whole rye, and whole-grain cornmeal. Products made from whole grains include whole-wheat breakfast cereal flakes as well as whole-grain bread, crackers, pasta, and tortillas.

Other important nutrients found in this food group include iron and protein. The fiber you get from whole grains prevents constipation and may help prevent cancer. To stretch your food dollar, you can use grain products as side dishes, and you can combine them with small servings of meat, poultry, or fish in main dishes.

Choose the low-fat items in this group. Limit the amount of high-fat pastries and sweets you consume from this food group. Dark green and deep yellow vegetables are especially high in nutrients and are good choices.

The high levels of vitamin C and vitamin A in vegetables help your body stay healthy. These nutrients also function as antioxidants to help ward off major chronic diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. All vegetables are important to your diet and will provide nutrients, including fiber, for health, so aim to vary the variety of vegetable you eat.

Fresh vegetables are less expensive when purchased in season. But if not in season, frozen or canned vegetables can be good buys. Some canned vegetables contain high amounts of sodium. Check nutrition labeling to make the best choices. A variety of fruits are high in antioxidants, vitamin A, and vitamin C.

The brighter in color, the higher level of antioxidant the fruit contains. Vitamin A is needed for healthy skin and vitamin C keeps gums and tissue healthy. Buy fruits in season to get the best buys without added sugar, fat, or salt. If not in season, choose dried, frozen or canned fruits, but go easy on fruit juices as they lack the fiber found in whole fruits.

This group contains foods made from milk such as cheese and yogurt that are considered the best natural sources of calcium. There are also foods made from milk that have little to no calcium, such as cream cheese, cream, and butter—they are not part of this food group.

Calcium is needed to keep bones and teeth healthy. Many people get less calcium than they need. If you are lactose-intolerant, choose lactose-free products. Or if you cannot drink milk, choose foods from other food groups that are fortified with calcium to meet your nutrient needs.

Check labels on cereals and juices to choose those with high amounts of calcium. To make your food dollars count, choose less expensive forms of milk, yogurt and cheese. The healthier versions are the low or nonfat types. Drink fat-free milk at meals; put it on cereal and use in cooking.

Some products, such as ice milk, may have little fat but will add calories to your diet because of the sugar that they contain. Enjoy these foods, but in smaller portions. Foods included in this group are meats, poultry, fish, dry beans, dry peas, soybeans, lentils, eggs, nuts, and peanut butter.

These foods not only provide protein, but are also sources of vitamins and minerals. Iron is an important nutrient found in this food group. Your meat and poultry choices should be low-fat or lean.

Choose cooking methods such as broiling, baking, or grilling to reducing adding fat to your meal. Plant sources such as nuts, seeds, and beans contain healthy sources of fats and are less expensive than other choices from this food group. Eggs have very good quality protein and are low in cost.

Have most of the fat in your diet come from fish, nuts, and vegetable oils such as canola, olive, soybean, corn, safflower, and sunflower oil.

Examples of food items that contain oils include mayonnaise, certain salad dressings, and soft tub or squeeze margarine with no trans fat. Solid fats include butter, shortening, stick margarine, lard, and meat fats and are not part of the oils category. Sugar has many names: syrup, molasses, and honey are some of them.

Candy, jam, jelly, and many soft drinks are mostly sugar, too. Sugars are high in calories and low in nutrients. Limit them in your menu plan. Much of the salt in our diets is added to foods during cooking and at the table.

Try using less table salt and eating fewer salty foods. Many of these foods have salt in them:. Not everyone loves to cook. Even those who enjoy cooking do not always have the time or the energy. Buying convenience foods or eating out can be costly.

But there are ways to eat well at low cost without spending hours in the kitchen. Again, planning ahead will help you. Consider these ideas:. This menu is planned for two people. If your family is larger or smaller, adjust it to suit your needs. Create profiles to personalise content.

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