Meal planning can seem daunting, especially if you get psyched out by the thought of having to organize it around The Basic Seven. However, our mentor Betty Crocker tells us in the first edition of The Picture Cookbook (first published in 1950):
“The basic seven is easy if you follow this pattern…”
For Adequate Meals:
Breakfast: Fruit, Cereal and Milk, Bread and Butter
Lunch: Main Dish, Vegetables, Bread and Butter, Fruit
Dinner: Meat and Potatoes, Green or Yellow Vegetables, Salad (raw vegetable), Bread and Butter, Fruit
Milk for children at every meal
For Complete or Abundant Meals
Breakfast: Fruit, Cereal and Milk, Egg or Meat, Bread and Butter
Lunch: Main Dish, Vegetables, Bread and Butter, Fruit, Cake or Cookies or Pudding
Dinner: Appetizer or Soup, Meat and Potatoes, Green or Yellow Vegetables, Salad (raw vegetable), Fruit, Bread and Butter, Dessert (Pie or Cake)
The same basic pattern should be used for all members of the family. Simply adjust it to meet invidiual needs of age, work, activity, and special diets.
Growing Children (1-16 years): Need more food for size than grownups; serve according to size and age of child
Adolescents (14-20 years): Need more food than at any time in their lives. A few pounds overweight at this period is an asset for health; Double and triple servings.
Adults (20-100 years): Need food according to size and activity. Women during pregnancy and lactation require additional food for certain elements; Small servings for inactive, Medium for moderately active; Large for very active.
So, what does this look like in “real life?” I’ll give you an example from last night’s dinner:
- Appetizer or Soup: None
- Meat and Potatoes: Braised chicken and mashed potatoes
- Green or Yellow Vegetables: Green beans
- Salad (raw vegetable): Radishes and sliced cucumbers
- Fruit: In the strawberry pie
- Bread and Butter: Not served–butter was in the potatoes and pie crust provided the “bread”
- Dessert (Pie or Cake): Strawberry pie (served with a glass of milk, not ice cream)
We’re still having trouble with our portion sizes, though. We were stuffed after dinner instead of pleasantly full and I’m wondering if we really need the potatoes. We already share one medium potato between us. I also think we can cut the meat portions by half once again. I’ve finally convinced My Honey that we don’t need huge pieces of dessert. I purposely made an 8″ pie–instead of a 9″ pie– that was divided into 8 servings.
Braised chicken (kind of a cross between fried and steamed) is very easy to make in the oven. I got it going in the oven and went back to writing my Grandma’s Sewing Cabinet blog post.
Key Recipe for Frying:
Cut chicken in halves, quarters, or pieces. Wash, dry well, and flour pieces by shaking several at a time in a paper bag containing…
- 1 cup Gold Medal Flour
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. celery salt
- 1 tsp. paprika (if desired)
Place halves or quarters (in heavy deep skillet) in 1/2″ hot fat (part butter) skin side down. Brown on both sides and cover tightly. Cook over very low heat until tender (35-40 min.*). To crisp the crust…remove the cover and cook 5 to 10 min. longer. Use the levtover flour to make cream gravy.
Key recipe for Braised Chicken
“The fried chicken of the Middle West.”
Prepare as for Fried Chicken–except use a Larger Fryer and cut in serving pieces. After browning, add 3 tbs. water. Cover; cook over low heat on top of stove, or bake in a preheated oven…325º (slow mod.) until tender (45 to 60 min.*). In either case, remove cover the last 10 minutes to crisp crust.
* Dr. Julie-Ann’s comment: This recipe was written before giant-sized chicken pieces. I ended up having to cook the chicken for a lot longer –almost 30 minutes more–to get it to 170º on the meat thermometer. Be safe and use the thermometer to make sure it is done.
I think the key thing to keep in mind when meal planning with The Basic Seven is that it relies heavily on fruits and vegetables. The “main dish” can really be an afterthought. If you are able to get your produce from the local farmstand or farmers’ market, you will be inundated with tasty delights that aren’t usually available from the grocery store because the store has to think in terms of surviving shipping whereas the farmstand can focus on flavor. I didn’t have to add any dressing to the “salad” we had last night. The radishes and cucumber were delicious on their own. I think our grandparents were healthier and thinner than us because they ate their fruits and vegetables.
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