Planning of Balanced diet for the family

	Food-Stuff	Nutrient Substance
1.	Milk Curd, cheese, powder of toned milk Pulses Beans, peas, dry nuts Meat Fish, eggs, chicken etc.	Protein Calcium Riboflavin (B₂)
2.	Fruit Orange, mango, papaya, lime juice, amla, tomato, guava, malta etc. Green Leafy Vegetables Spinach (Palak), saag, methi, carrot and leaves of radish	Carotene Vitamin C Mineral Salts especially Iron
3.	Other Vegetables Brinjal, Lauki, green beans, pumpkin (kado) and tinde etc.	A limited quantity of vitamins and mineral salts
4.	Cereals Rice, wheat, maize, mullet etc. Starchy Vegetables Kachalu, zimikand, and potato	Carbohydrates, Vitamin B and a limited amount of protein.
5.	Ghee and Oils Butter, ghee, vanaspati ghee and oils Sugar Jaggery(gur), honey	Fats Essential fatty acids Carbohydrates

Methods to Increase the Nutritious Value of Food

1. Sprouting: In this method, the pulses and grains are given adequate heat and moisture for germinating or sprouting. Sprouting doubles the quantity of vitamin B₁, B₂ Niacin and vitamin C present in the food. Moreover sprouted food is digestible as well as easy to cook.

2. Fermentation: With this method food is fermented to make Bhatura, Idli Dosa, Baras from milk it increases the amount of vitamin C giving our body the required amount of iron.

3. Parching: This is an old method whereby rice, gram, wheat and maize are first cooked in water and then parched. On parching the starch present in the food gets evaporated. These foods are easily digested and are very tasted.

4. Supplementation: Supplementing soyabean in flour, rice, daal increases the nutritional value of the food because the essential amino acids are not present in grains.

5. While Serving Meals

(I) Food should be served in a neat, clean and airy place.

(ii) Food should be served in proper utensils e.g. curried vegetables should be served in bowls or curry plates and dry vegetables in flat dishes.

(iii) Larger amount of food should not be served in one serving.

(iv) Salad and fruit lend taste and colour to the meals.

(v) Colour and variety is important in food. In order to provide flavour - green leaves, onions, lime and tomato should be used for garnishing.

(vi) The utensils should be neat and clean.

(vii) The person who serves the food should clean his hand every time and his clothes should be well washed.

(viii) When serving food, the dish should be filled up only to the brim.

If all the above mentioned points are kept in mind, people will relish their food according to their requirement and the objective of balanced diet would be fulfilled. Keeping in mind these important points, we can plan a balanced diet.

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