Download Meal Planning for All Occasions

Meal Planning for All Occasions
Introduction
Meal planning for a Scout Troop can cover different scenarios. The cooking scenarios
include backpack cooking where light weight is essential, preparation of hike lunches,
Patrol cooking, and the more elaborate cooking that might occur when cooking as a
Troop, as might be the case at a Camporee. These involve variations not only in cooking
equipment, but also variations in what type of food is appropriate, and food storage
requirements. For example, although you might carry a cooler for food storage if the
camp out was at a fixed location reachable by automobile, this is untenable for a
backpacking activity. We will look at the various scenarios and how to plan for the food
and equipment for them.
An announcement for new requirements for Cooking merit badge appeared in the
Nov/Dec 2013 issue of Scouting magazine. As said within it, Steve Bowen, a member of
the national advancement committee and the innovation committee indicates that the
growing concern with obesity was one factor behind the decision to make the Cooking
merit badge Eagle-required again. Although the requirement of Cooking merit badge for
Eagle was effective as of Jan 1, 2014, the new requirements only become mandatory as
of Jan 1, 2015.
This permits Scouts already working on the Cooking badge before Jan 1, 2014 to fulfill
the requirement for Eagle with the old requirements before Jan 1,2015. However, as
indicated in the Scouting magazine article, the new requirements, as written, are also
intended to serve as learning a lifetime skill. Steve Bowen says, “Scouting has always
been interested in kids being physically fit and having life skills. By that we mean things
a boy or young man will use throughout life, such as financial skills and responsibility,
and knowledge about health.” Therefore, it will be advantageous for the boys to
implement the new requirements as early as possible. As also said by Bowen, “If they
don't learn how to feed themselves and cook properly, it might lead to a life time of poor
eating habits and poor health”
Consistent with the concern with obesity, the new requirements introduce the concept of
caloric need based upon activity level, and a knowledge of calorie content to establish
proper portion control and to determine the amount of food needed. Establishing the
proper amount of food needed to meet caloric need is not only relevant to portion
control, but also to calculate the amount and weight of actual food needed to avoid waste,
especially for backpacking events where it is desirable to avoid excess weight. To
calculate caloric need we will employ the Harris Benedict Equation. In addition to the
concept caloric need, the new requirements introduce the concept of the USDA My
Plate which replaces the USDA food pyramid. The brings the new requirements up to
date with the latest information provided by the US Department of Agriculture food
guides. Food guides by the USDA were first started in 1894. In 1941 USDA initiated the
concept of recommended dietary allowances for calories, protein, iron, calcium and
vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, and D. From 1956 to 1992 they introduced the concept of the
four food groups of, Veges & Fruits, Milk, Meat, and Cereals& Breads. The food guide
pyramid was introduced in 1992, the My Pyramid in 2005, and the My Plate in 2011. It
is apparent that BSA tries to keep up with the latest thinking at USDA.
Meal planning for scout units can be broad in scope. The key subjects are: Calorie
requirements and how to plan for the proper amount of food to buy, cooking equipment,
food storage, type of food, and typical menus.
Calorie Requirements
The typical calorie requirement in the literature for the average person seems be 2000
calories per day. However the age, size, weight, gender and the intensity of physical
activity of an individual all are relevant. As found on the internet, a useful method of
calculating a calorie requirement is the Harris Benedict Equation. This accounts for all
the parameters mentioned except for lean body mass and thus the ratio of muscle-to-fat
that a body has.
The first step is to calculate ones Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) according to gender:
Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
Men:
BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)
As examples, we get the following:
An average Scout age 14, weight 150, height 70
BMR = 1794 calories
A young adult age 25, weight 190, height 6 ft (72 in)
BMR = 1994 calories
A senior citizen age 72, weight 170, height 70
BMR = 1525 calories
This shows that weight and age result in significant differences. Thus the senior citizen
although 20 pounds heavier has a BMR that almost 300 calories lower!
The next step is to account for physical activity. This is done by multiplying using the
following activity factors:
Sedentary (Little or no exercise)
1.2
Light activity (Light exercise/sports 3 x a week
1.375
Moderate activity (Moderate exercise/sports 5 x a week)
1.55
Very active ( Hard exercise/sports 6-7 x a week)
1.725
Extra active (Very hard exercise & physical job)
1.9
These activity factors seem to apply to persistent activity. It is difficult to assess how it
should apply a sudden change in activity such as a weekend camp out. As a compromise
my recommendation is to assume that most boys engage in light activity, and that an
active weekend activity justifies an activity factor of 1.4.
Using this the calorie requirement for the average Scout would be about 2500 calories.
This is the calorie count per person that I would use for planning purposes rather than
the common 2000 count.
Calorie Content of Food
In the USDA My Plate guidelines, the intent is to promote the following:
Increase vegetable and fruit intake.
Emphasize dark green, red, and orange vegetables.
Eat one half carbs as whole grains.
Increase intake of fat free or low fat milk.
Emphasize intake of protein foods such as:
Seafood, lean meat, poultry and eggs.
Beans and peas
Nuts and seeds
Replace foods proteins foods that are high in solid fat.
Choose foods that provide more potassium, fiber, calcium, and vitamin D.
These are all valid objectives for a long time healthy diet, and life time objective as
described by Steve Bowen in our introduction. However over the short period of a
weekend Scouting weekend the objectives change, especially where the weight of the
food is important as in a backpacking event.
This is especially so with regard to fresh fruits and vegetables due to the weight of their
water content. From the standpoint of meeting a calorie content objective, especially for
a short time period and where weight is a concern foods that have a calorie content in
the area of 100 calories/ounce is an objective. With their water content, the calorie
content of most fruits and vegetables is less than 10 calories/ounce and so they are
almost irrelevant to a calorie count. Therefore, although they are valuable foods they are
not included in our tabulation of foods for counting calories.
Whereas the fat content in milk and fatty meats is considered undesirable in the My
Plate guidelines, is is useful in meeting short term calorie requirements. The fat content
of nuts and seeds inherently raises their calorie content, and makes them very valuable
in planning the food for a backpacking trip. They are also valuable due to their high
protein content.
Table I provides a summary of the calorie content of foods that may be used for a calorie
count. For the reason of low calorie count, the fruits and vegetable elements of the My
Plate guideline are not listed, and the table is limited to grains, proteins, and dairy. An
exception that should be noted is the effect of dehydration. For example, for the case of
green string beans, the calorie count is 8 calories/ounce. From my own experience, I
know that dehydration causes a 10:1 reduction in weight. Therefore the calorie content
of the dehydrated string beans is 80 calories/gram, and thus is a very useful food for
backpacking. Similar results should be attainable via dehydration for all fruits and
vegetables. Therefore, in the case of commercially dehydrated fruits such as raisins,
craisins, apricots, prunes, and figs their calorie content is listed in table I. Their calorie
content is relatively high and they are therefore useful as snack foods or as part of a gorp
mix. As is noted in internet articles, dehydration does damage the nutritional value, and
the commercial processing frequently adds other content which may or not be desirable.
Table I provides key foods with their calorie count as listed converted to calories per
ounce rather in terms of grams as usually listed. This makes it convenient when
converting the weight of a food item selected into the caloric value that it will provide.
Table I, Calorie Content of Food In Calories/oz
Dried Fruits and vegetables
Candy & Snacks
Green beans
Raisins
Craisins
Apricots
Figs
Prunes
Dried potato powder
Dark chocolate
Good sense spicy pub mix
Ferris cherries/berries/nuts
M&M candy
Dove almond chocolate bar
Hershey candy kiss dark
80
92
100
40
20
70
110
155
150
140
140
150
125
Protein Foods
Nuts/Seeds
Meat
Walnuts
Smoke House almonds
Peanuts
Pistachios (No shell)
Sunflower seeds
185
170
180
150
186
Fish
Bacon
Bologna
Pork chop
Ham
Chicken breast
Turkey breast
Steak
140
80
65
45
30
40
50
Lentils
100
Black eyed peas
100
Dehydrated Stng beans 80
Chick peas
70
Split peas
30
Ground beef lean
Ground beef reg
Canned Chicken
Liverwurst
Spam
Beef kielbasa
Frankfurters
66
80
30
95
90
85
90
Dairy Foods
Grain Foods
Beans
Milk 1%
Milk 2%
Milk whole
Half & Half
Butter
Cheese
Ice Cream
Eggs
14
16
20
40
200
100
60 to 80
40
Canned tuna
in oil
Canned tuna
in water
Atlantic salmon
Smoked salmon
Halibut
Most dry cereals (Cheerios)
Sugar
Stove top stuffing
Instant rice
Brown rice
Couscous/pasta
Corn syrup
Oats
100
110
150
100
100
100
120
100
60
30
50
35
31
From the data shown in Table I, it may be seen that the food items that provide the
highest calories content are the grain foods, nuts, and the dehydrated items. A useful
application of this is to combine these to form a gorp mix of cheerios, almonds, walnuts,
and either raisins or craisins. For example a combination 1 oz raisens, 1 oz walnuts, and
2 oz of cheerios forms a gorp mix of 477 calories.
Peanut butter at 180 and dark chocolate at 155 are clearly high energy foods.
It is interesting to note the high calorie count in the dairy group. If the objective is to
minimize calories as is apparent in the USDA guidelines, then 1% milk is a favored
choice. If high energy content, then half and half is useful choice. Ice cream on a trip
coming home from a weekend trip where there might have been a calorie deficit is a
good high calorie choice. Dark chocolate at a calorie count of 155 calories/oz is a key
ingredient to snacks.
Cooking Scenarios
Let us now consider the cooking scenarios with regard to cooking equipment, food
storage, type of food , calorie requirements, and menu. The scenarios to be considered
are backpack cooking, the hike lunch, and Patrol cooking.
Backpack Cooking
For backpack cooking weight to be carried is a key consideration. In addition, due to
“Leave no trace” considerations the use of lightweight backpacking stoves as opposed to
a cooking fire is essential. If the use of big patrol size pots is to be avoided, the optimum
group size is two, or buddy cooking. This may not be possible due the availability of
personal ownership of the requisite stoves and pots. It is desirable to limit group size to
four.
Where there is a bear threat, food storage into bear canisters may be mandatory as is the
case now in the Adirondacks and out West. From my own experience, the amount of
food storage into a canister has a limit of about ten pounds. However, to accomplish this,
it is virtually mandatory to package the food into plastic storage bags so as to virtually
eliminate any air pockets. Prepackaged food, especially freeze dried foods are make it
virtually impossible to get ten pounds into a bear can such as the common Garcia
canister.
From my own experience ten pounds of food was sufficient for ten days on the trail
when I traveled on the John Muir Trail in California. This was the basis for what appears
in the writeup, “Supplementary Notes for Menu Planning for Backpacking”. A copy of
this which appeared on the 2011 University of Scouting resource CD will be attached to
the 2014 CD for reference purposes. Getting by with ten pounds of food for ten days is
an extreme example, and was possible due to the emphasis placed upon suppers using
beans and dehydrated foods as presented on the 2011 resource CD. A pound of food is
good for at most 2000 calories, and a more reasonable objective is 2500 to 3000 calories
per person. Therefore is should be an objective to carry about 1.5 pounds or more a day
for each person.
With a buddy system and one shared canister for a two day weekend trip should be more
than sufficient to carry the requisite six pounds of food. For a three day trip it should be
able to carry the requisite nine pounds of food. It should be noted that where there is a
serious bear threat, it is also necessary to put toilet articles into the bear canister and
therefore these should be minimized!
For a 4-person group, one canister might work for the group for a two day trip if some of
the lunch or snack food is carried outside of the canister, and toilet articles are protected
by hanging a bear bag.
Due to the need to minimize weight for backpacking trips, it is clear it is essential that
food choices need to minimize the water content of the food. Therefore, fresh foods are
generally inconvenient and the emphasis in menu selection need to emphasize
dehydration and dried foods such as the lentils.
Food preparation in a backpacking in a backpacking scenario should emphasize the one
pot meal so as to minimize the pots required, and to simplify cleanup and the water
required for both cooking and cleanup. In mountainous terrain, water supply is often
remote from camping areas. Where there is a bear threat, it is often convenient to
consider stealth cooking. What this means is that the evening meal is prepared just off
the trail before reaching the destination for the overnight campground. When this is done,
cooking odors are separated from the campground!
The one pot meal also serves to minimize fuel requirements since if done properly, the
stove is only turned on until the water starts boiling.
In general two pots are needed. One is used for cooking, and one is used strictly for hot
water used for beverage preparation and cleanup.
For breakfast, no cooking pot is necessary if instant cereal is used, and the cereal is
prepared by poring hot water over the cereal within a bowl. A useful cereal is oatmeal.
To amplify its calorie content, I like to prepare a mix of rolled oats that consists of 2 oz
oatmeal, 1 oz walnuts, 1 oz smokehouse almonds, and 1 oz craisens. This provides a
cereal mix that provides 655 calories. Adding a little brown sugar increases this to about
700 calories, more than sufficient for breakfast! I use the smokehouse almonds since
they add a little salt content. Some salt is always needed to replace the salt lost in a
strenuous hiking environment! When rolled oats are mixed with the nuts and craisins,
although they may not be fully cooked, the crunch of the nuts and the sweetness of the
sugar amplified craisins make this unnoticeable!
Lunch is usually a number of rest stops on the trail. A combination of eating the walnut
based gorp mix, some cheese and some peperoni, kielbasa, or summer sausage will
usually add up to 1000 calories, leaving an 800 calories requirement to meet a 2500
calorie daily requirement.
For supper I recommend a simple one pot cooking approach. Two simple recipes
involving the use of beans or chicken to provide protein are written up in the 2011
University of Scouting resource CD. In each case a soupy mix is brought to a boil, and
then the pot is removed from the stove and a filler is added to absorb the water and the
amplify the calorie content. Depending upon the meal, these are dried potato powder,
instant rice, couscous, stove top stuffing, or instant rice. For the bean option, they are
soaked during the day in a jar of water while hiking to minimize the required cooking
time. Lentils require the least cooking time. All the ingedients have a calorie content of
about 100 calories per ounce. Therefore to meet the 800 calorie objective 8 ounces per
person is the required amount.
An alternative to mixing individual ingredients including separately dehydrated
vegetables such as string beans into the pot, an alternative is to dehydrate complete
meals and then rehydrate them on the trail. To see the recipes for this, see the writeup
provided by Larry Blumberg and which is on the UofS resource CD. This procedure
requires more home preparation, but offers the possibilities of more variety and
potentially more tasty options!
The Hike Lunch
A hike lunch is required in both a backpacking situation and for simple day trips. For
day trips, it is no longer necessary to be concerned about weight and food storage
considerations. This opens up the options of fresh fruit, sandwich meat, and makes
possible closer adherence to the USDA My Plate food guidelines. For guidance you may
find it useful to refer to USDA internet data.
Patrol Cooking
Patrol cooking generally applies to a nominal group of eight Scouts.
The primary equipment requirement is a patrol sized pot set where the largest pot size is
8 quarts, and includes two smaller pots, a beverage pot, frying pan and a set of 8 plates
and cups. If the patrol is to operate at a Patrol cooking camp, or at a camporee it is very
useful to construct a patrol box that will package the cooking gear for transport.
For cooking an open fire may sometimes be feasible. This opens up the possibility of
kabob cooking over the fire, or other forms of grilling. In this case in addition to kabob
spears, some form of grilling device or cooking grid may be useful. Alternatively, in the
interest of conservation, the use of a two burner or three burner gas or propane stove
may be mandatory
For cleanup set of three wash basins (washing, rinsing, and sterilization ) should be
available. To keep the washing operation clear of a table, if available, it is desirable it it
desirable to construct a wash stand that can retain the wash and rinse basins, and keep
them clear of the table. If there is no table, a wash stand is very useful to keep the
washing operation off the ground.
For patrol cooking it will generally be possible to have a cooler that can store perishable
foods. This opens up the menu options to include fresh fruit, vegetable, and meat
options, and a diet more consistent with the USDA My Plate guidelines will be possible.
For breakfast in a Patrol cooking scenario all options are open. Let us assume a 700
calorie goal for breakfast. A pancake, a waffle, a piece of french toast , all add up to
about 100 calories. Therefore if the breakfast starts with three of these, this with syrup
and butter add up as:
Pancakes, waffles, or french toast
Syrup, 1tbsp
Blueberries, 1 cup
Butter, 1 tbsp
300
60
80
100
Total
540
This shows us to be short 160 calories. This is where a nutritious 8 oz glass of whole
milk helps us out by providing 160 calories, to provide a 700 total. When compared to
the backpacking breakfast, it can be seen how useful nuts are in generating a good
calorie count! With this breakfast we have the advantage of a nutritious helping of
blueberries!
Let us assume a dinner menu of a salad, steak, potatoes, and brussels sprouts.
The calorie content per serving of the non meat items are:
Salad with one tomato
Brussels sprouts
Potato
Ranch salad dressing
25
28
162
145
Total
350
If we aim at an 800 calorie supper, how much steak do we need? At 50 calories/oz, the
answer is 9 ounces. If we eliminated the salad dressing, the answer would be 12 ounces!
If we ate only steak, the answer would be a pound. I conclude that ½ pound steak would
be good. When you look at most of the internet steak portions, the answer is 3 oz. At
most restaurants, a one pound portion is common. Take your choice.
To meet our food requirements would require:
Steak
Tomatoes
Potatoes
lettuce
Salad dressing
4 pounds
½ dozen
8
1 head
1 bottle
Now let us look at the needs of a spaghetti dinner with a salad.
The calorie content per serving of the non meat items are:
Salad w/1 tomato & dressing
2 oz pasta
¼ jar of tomato sauce
170
200
100
Total
470
If we aim at a 800 calorie supper, how much regular ground beef do we need? The
answer at 80 cal/oz, the answer is 4 oz.
Troop Cooking
Troop cooking as considered here applies to situations where it may be of interest to
operate differently than the case where each Patrol operates independently. This could be
the case at a Camporee where the Troop wishes to demonstrate its unique capabilities, or
simply where a more elaborate meal is planned where Patrols prepare different parts of a
meal. In this case, the planning would be by the Troop, with segments assigned to each
Patrol.
An example where this might be done would if it was desired cook roast beef, or roast
pork in a dutch oven that would be sufficient to feed the Troop. This could be assigned
to one group, while another group prepares a cobbler or cake in another dutch oven, and
a third group prepares a salad/fruit course, and a fourth prepares the vegetables. With
such a procedure and careful planning, a meal that truly meets USDA My Plate criteria
might be easier to achieve. To achieve this would require detailed planning for the
equipment required, and would be an interesting exercise in cooperative cooking!
Herb Haake
Baden Powell UofS, 2014