Penn State Researchers Help Create Cookbook For Families On Limited Incomes

June 7, 2000
University Park, Pa -- Two Penn State researchers have helped create a cookbook with recipes designed to provide a family of four with tasty and nutritious meals for less than $100 a week.

Dr. Peter Bordi and Dr. Carolyn Lambert of Penn State's School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Recreation Management developed the recipe book, "Recipes and Tips for Healthy, Thrifty Meals," with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The book is designed for anyone who wants to eat a healthy diet that meets federal dietary guidance at minimal cost.

"In developing this recipe book, we had three goals in mind: the meals had to taste good and were easy to prepare, the recipes met the nutritional recommendations in the RDAs, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and the Food Guide Pyramid; and that a family can purchase the foods at minimal cost," explains Bordi, assistant professor of hotel, restaurant and institutional management in Penn State's College of Health and Human Development.

The recipes were developed and tested in the Food Service Research Kitchen in Penn State's School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Recreation Management in cooperation with the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP). Four-person families with limited incomes prepared and evaluated the menus and recipes for taste and quality.

"The meals had to be fairly simple and easy to make. Most of the meals have a total preparation and cooking time of under one hour," says Lambert, associate professor of food systems management in Penn State's College of Health and Human Development.

The menu and recipe book, which has over 40 recipes, also contains information on shopping, cooking healthy meals, and food safety. Copies of the book are available for $4.25 a copy through the Government Printing Office by calling (202) 512-1800 and asking for stock number 001-000-04680-2. It will also be available on the CNPP website at www.usda.gov/cnpp This colorful, 5 * by 8 *, 76 page book provides information to assist families in purchasing and preparing healthy, thrifty meals that meet the Recommended Dietary Allowances, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and the Food Guide Pyramid. Electronic Copies: The book may be downloaded in pdf format from the website of the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion at: www.usda.gov/cnpp.

Products developed in the Food Service Research Kitchen are used to feed an estimated 55-65 million people a day. Bordi and Lambert helped develop the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) school lunch program, "Child Care" recipes and the Thrifty Food Plan, a market basket of foods that are relatively low cost and comprise a nutritious diet.