menu planning

A menu should have a variety of foods from all food groups.

I use these 4 food groups: proteins, dairy, starches, and fruits&veggies.
There is some overlap - some veggies like beans have starch and protein so just keep this in mind.

meat
Usually meat is the center of the meal and the rest is built around it.The recommended serving sizes for different kinds of meat not very big - a serving is about the size of a pack of cards.
Servings for beef are abut 1/4 lb.
For chicken about 1/2 cup boned meat.
For fish about 1/3 lb.
Go easy on sausage, bacon, lunchmeats and ham. Use them for seasoning.
If you don't want meat - beans, eggs and cheese can be used instead.
I am not a vegetarian and my body likes protein.If you want to be one you must find ways to combine all the different plant proteins to add up to animal proteins to stay healthy.

(beans are part protein, part veggie and part starch. Cook them with small amounts of meat or a bone to upgrade the flavor and protein value. There is no substitute for ham or bacon for seasoning beans. Smoked turkey is not as good as pork, so just go easy on the pig. Beans are usually mixed with rice or some other grain that has complimentary proteins.)

starch
Choose the starch to compliment the meat.
Don't just think - meat and potatos.
Think about rice, dressings, pasta, barley or other grains. Bread can be used in sandwiches or casseroles, or the dough in pizza and wrappings for meat pies. And don't forget corn and cornmeal and masa in chips, cornbread toppings, tortillas and tamales.
Try to use whole grains and to vary the starches with every meal to get a wide variety of nutrients.

dairy
dairy is an iffy thing. Some people use dairy instead of meat and some people are allergic to milk and eggs. If you can tolerate them, dairy is good cheap concentrated protein. But there is a lot of fat in dairy so be moderate.

butter - 1 lb should last a month if you are not extravagant with it. Other 'butter' products are not a good buy they have added water and are not good for baking.
margarine - and spreads have added water and are not a good buy. They also have hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is as bad for your arteries but doesn't tast as good as butter. Avoid canned shortenings, squirt and spray stuff, I'm not sure they are food.
So just use butter. And get a butter dish so you can keep some out soft.
Cheese as an ingredient or topping is a good way to add protein and calcium.
It is best hand grated fresh. Pre-grated cheese is a bad buy. A cheese slicer is a good one especially if you like grilled cheese sandwiches. Cheese spreads and other cheese 'foods' are not really food either but a mixture of oils and milk solids.
Cheese is good as a snack with fruit.
adding egg to dishes like fried rice and breads adds protein.
Use yogurt as a topping or substitute for sourcream.
Use milk in soups and casseroles and deserts to up their protein value.

fruits&veggies
Choose a veggie (or two) to go with the meat and starch. This can be as a side dish or ingredients added to maindish meals like casseroles, soups, spaghetti sauce or chili. Find ways to sneak in a lot of veggies. Seasoning vegetables like garlic, onions, peppers, celery and mushrooms are a good way to sneak in extra vitamins. Add carrots to spaghetti sauce or zuchinni to meatloaf.
Think fruit. Often times meat can be cooked with fruit. Ham and pineapple or porkchops and apple. There are other combinations that are a ways to use fruit in your meals instead of veggies.
Try to sneak fruits and veggies into desserts and snacks as well.

read about seasoning food
find out how to plan meals for a month
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