Recipes from the Second Semester of Food is Elementary©

Recipe	Fat	Protein	CHO
Soul Stew	16%	16%	67%
Couscous & African Stew	6%	12%	82%
Ancient Egyptian Barley & Peas	11%	14%	75%
Brazilian Black Beans	18%	20%	62%
Sushi	6%	19%	75%
Tofu/Veggie Stir Fry	22%	15%	63%
Red Lentil Curry Dhal	17%	9%	74%
Lentil Soup	15%	20%	65%
Lentil Salad	22%	22%	56%
Frijoles, Tortillas & Guacamole	19%	13%	68%
French Bean Salad	11%	16%	73%
Pasta Fagioli	14%	18%	68%
Red Beans & Rice	11%	19%	70%
Three Sisters Casserole	4%	13%	83%
Soy burgers & Soynuts	10%	37%	53%

Recipe Cost Analysis Per Serving

 

All recipes which the children cook in the Food is Elementary© curriculum are economical to prepare. A volunteer MBA, Mei-Ling Wong-Demirors, offered to do a cost analysis for each recipe used in the Miami 1998-99 FIU Food Education Project. At a local Winn-Dixie supermarket, she first priced the specific ingredients for each recipe. The cost per serving for each recipe is presented below in the first column of the cost analysis chart. Because the curricular recipes rely on USDA commodity ingredients, the price per serving is even lower if the free USDA commodity ingredients are supplied. If the schools use the free commodity foods, the price per serving for the Food is Elementary© recipes will be very inexpensive whether prepared in the classroom or the cafeteria. The price per serving for the curricular recipes using commodity foods is presented in the second column of the cost analysis chart below.

Recipes are priced per 1/2 cup serving. Because cost per serving of the soyburger entrée includes the cost of a frozen, packaged soyburger in addition to the cost of a whole wheat roll, tomatoes, lettuce, and condiments, total cost per serving for the soyburger entrée is not really comparable to the total cost per serving for other recipes which use fresh, rather than pre-prepared, ingredients. Because the soynuts are a snack and not an entrée, cost comparison of the soy items with the other recipes is not parallel.

Mei-Ling put together a detailed price list and checked May 1999 prices at the local Winn-Dixie, a chain grocery store in the Miami area. The prices she found are retail. Schools buying from a local wholesale food distributor can obtain lower prices than those presented below. Because three of the items, the nori, bibb lettuce, and red lentils, were not available at Winn-Dixie, Mei-Ling priced them at a local health food store. The shallots and avocado were quite expensive because Spring is not the season for avocados grown in Florida. Expensive California avocados increased the price per serving of guacamole for the Mexican entrée. Seasonal ingredients can make the Food is Elementary© entrees even more economical because the cost is less and the taste is more flavorful.

Excluding the soyburgers and soynuts, prices per serving in the Spring semester of 1999 ranged from 17 cents to 48 cents using ingredients purchased at the local grocery store, and from 8 cents to 45 cents using commodity foods in the recipes. These prices are very economical. School meal programs could save a considerable amount of money by cooking some of these recipes. Families can also save on their personal food budgets if they incorporate these recipes into their menus.

Food is Elementary© 2001
Material may be copied if credit is given to Antonia Demas, Ph.D.

 

Cost Per Serving