All about Dinner For most people dinner is the main meal of the day and is eaten in the evening Fast Food Supermarkets and restaurants sell a wide variety of ready-prepared meals This fast food may be high in sugar and fat It also often contains artificial colorings and flavorings as well as preservatives Meat Fish Chicken Eggs and Beans These foods contain protein Meat fish and eggs are often the basis of dinner Beans also contain protein and they can replace meat or fish for vegetarians 44 Starchy Foods You should eat starchy foods every day they should make up about a third of what you eat in a day A portion of potatoes pasta or rice is a good idea as part of dinner Choose whole grain or whole wheat varieties Try not to eat this type of processed food too often If you are in a hurry cooking a bowl of pasta with a delicious sauce can be just as fast as heating up a ready prepared meal It will taste great and is healthy too The recipes in this book are quick and easy Knowing that you have prepared and cooked them yourself is really satisfying
Why We Eat The human body is like a machine that needs energy to work Energy is released from the food you eat and used up by your body A Healthy Balance To be healthy you must eat enough food to produce the energy needed by your body But if you eat more food than your body actually requires it is turned into fat If you do this all the time you keep getting fatter When you exercise you use up energy from the food you have eaten Exercise burns up energy and can be a lot of fun Fruit and Vegetables You should eat at least five vegetables to your dinner portions of fruit and vegetables every day 5-a-day A portion of fruit or vegetables is about 1 2 cup 80 g or roughly one handful Fruit and vegetables should make up about a third of what you eat in a day Frozen canned and dried fruits and vegetables all count Try to eat lots of different types Add a portion or two of your favorite 5 5
sugar so it is a good idea to read the information on the package carefully Choose whole grain or whole wheat pasta and rice They have lots of vitamins minerals and fiber They also taste great Milk Cheese and Yogurt Cheese is made from milk It contains protein These cheeses have a creamy texture cream cheese ricotta mozzarella Soft cheese has a soft sticky texture Brie Camembert Hard cheese can be grated Cheddar Parmesan Beware some cheeses contain a lot of fat Food Labels Some foods are better for you than others Foods that are high in salt sugar or fat are not healthy if you eat them too often Foods that are labeled low-fat can sometimes contain a lot of Look at the labels on food to find out which are high in salt sugar and fat 66
Shopping and Planning Planning preparing and cooking food for yourself friends and family is fun and you get to eat well too Think of something you would like to make for dinner Write a shopping list of the things you need Check with the people you are cooking for to find out if there are any foods they dislike Some people do not eat meat or fish They are called vegetarians Before you start cooking read through the recipe and collect all the ingredients and equipment together Cooking Read the instructions carefully before you start Ask an adult to explain anything that you do not understand A tidy kitchen is much easier to work in than a messy one Clean up and put things away as you work Wash the dishes and wipe down work surfaces as you prepare and cook the food 7
