Download Cooking Merit Badge Requirements: Safety, Nutrition, and Meal Planning and more Exams Nutrition in PDF only on Docsity!
Cooking merit badge requirements
Note: The meals prepared for Cooking merit badge requirements 4, 5, and 6 will count only toward fulfilling those requirements and will not count toward rank advancement or other merit badges. Meals prepared for rank advancement or other merit badges may not count toward the Cooking merit badge. You must not repeat any menus for meals actually prepared or cooked in requirements 4, 5, and 6.
- Health and safety. Do the following: a. Explain to your counselor the most likely hazards you may encounter while participating in cooking activities and what you should do to anticipate, help prevent, mitigate, and respond to these hazards. **Idea: Provide pictures of different emergencies that can occur while cooking (burn, fire, grease fire, steam, cut) with some pictures that are obviously wrong answers (tornado, wind) b. Show that you know first aid for and how to prevent injuries or illnesses that could occur while preparing meals and eating, including burns and scalds, cuts, choking, and allergic reactions. **Idea: Provide pictures for matching that show emergencies and supplies or actions. Have them match the burn to the cool water picture.
c. Describe how meat, fish, chicken, eggs, dairy products, and fresh vegetables should be stored, transported, and properly prepared for cooking. Explain how to prevent cross- contamination. **Idea: Provide a blank sentence strip, picture choices of beef, chicken, fish and vegetables and pictures of 4 buckets of water with bubbles. Put the sequence of cutting beef, wash, cut chicken, wash, etc. Give the Scout a plastic knife to pretend he is cutting the beef, then washing the knife, then cutting the chicken, then wash, etc.
- Nutrition. Do the following: a. Using the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA nutrition model, a) give five examples for EACH of the following food groups, b) the recommended number of daily servings, c) and the recommended serving size:
- Fruits (red)
- Vegetables (green)
- Grains (orange)
- Proteins (purple)
- Dairy (dark blue) **Idea for a: Using grocery ads, cut out 5 items for each of the food groups. Glue them to the color specific to the food group: apple on red paper, carrot on green paper, etc. Give each Scout a color copy of the MyPlate. Have the Scout sort the pictures into the correct sections of the plate. If the plate is too small, use a piece of construction paper of the 5 colors and sort on the paper. If the Scout is unable to manipulate pictures, you may use plastic food and sort into color bowls or plates. **Idea for b: Make their own strip of the 5 food groups with the color code. For grains have one circle on orange paper representing one serving, vegetables 3 circles on green paper, fruits 2 circles on red paper, dairy 3 circle on dark blue paper, proteins 1 circle on purple paper. **Idea for c: Cut out shape of a person large enough for all of your circles from 2b to fit in the shape with a food picture matching each circle. Cut extra circles with food pictures. Do they fit in the person or is it too much? b. Explain why you should limit your intake of oils and sugars. **Idea: Give the Scout an outline drawing of a person. Take a picture of a small candy bar and a large candy bar. Does the little candy bar fit in a space on the person and not be too much? Does the big candy bar fit? If it does not fit, then it is too much and not good for you. Or give them a small plate and put their meal on in pictures. Give them junk food pictures. Do they fit on the plate? c. Determine your daily level of activity and your caloric need based on your activity level. Then, based on the MyPlate food guide, discuss with your counselor an appropriate meal plan for yourself for one day.
**Idea: (Our model is based on 2000 calories, typical 13-14 year old.) What do you do for exercise? Show pictures of activities: balls, bike, walking, etc. They can point or tell. How long? Put that in your phone app and show how many calories the Scout burned. Then decide how much they can eat. d. Discuss your current eating habits with your counselor and what you can do to eat healthier, based on the MyPlate food guide. **Idea: Show pictures of food again with junk food included. Put in 2 columns of happy face/sad face and decide if they are good foods. e. Discuss the following food label terms: calorie, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, sugar, protein. Explain how to calculate total carbohydrates and nutritional values for two servings, based on the serving size specified on the label. **Idea: Give the Scout a label from 2 snacks: one healthy, one junk. Decide which one is the better choice based on the label. Place on the happy face.
- Cooking basics. Do the following: a. Discuss EACH of the following cooking methods. For each one, describe the equipment needed, how temperature control is maintained, and name at least one food that can be cooked using that method: baking, boiling, broiling, pan frying, simmering, steaming, microwaving, grilling, foil cooking, and use of a Dutch oven. **Idea: go to Google Images and print pictures of the following food items and cooking method. Match the food item to the method of cooking. Baking- biscuits and gravy------------------------------------baking sheet Boiling- pasta------------------------------------------------------pot Broiling- steak or toast-----------------------------------------broiler pan Pan frying- bacon & eggs-------------------------------------skillet Simmering- chili--------------------------------------------------pot/large pan Steaming- vegetables------------------------------------------wok Microwaving- popcorn-----------------------------------------microwave Grilling- hot dogs------------------------------------------------grill Foil cooking- hamburger/potatoes/carrots--------------foil over fire Dutch oven- cobbler--------------------------------------------Dutch oven Show a food temperature gauge or temperature fork and demonstrate. Watch when in the correct color if food is cooked.
**Idea: Use the myplate.gov plate to plan; use the pictures and pictures of the cooking equipment needed to make the food from #3. d. Time your cooking to have each meal ready to serve at the proper time. Have an adult verify the preparation of the meal to your counselor. **Idea: Put in sequential order which one you would start cooking with first, second, third. e. After each meal, ask a person you served to evaluate the meal on presentation and taste, then evaluate your own meal. Discuss what you learned with your counselor, including any adjustments that could have improved or enhanced your meals. Tell how better planning and preparation help ensure a successful meal. **Idea: Make happy/sad faces or thumbs up/thumbs down for each part you ask the Scout on how they did, what they liked, etc.
- Camp cooking. Do the following: a. Using the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA nutrition model, plan a menu for your patrol (or a similar size group of up to eight youth, including you) for a camping trip. Your menu should include enough food for each person, keeping in mind any special needs (such as food allergies) and how you keep your foods safe and free from cross-contamination. These five meals must include at least one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner, AND at least one snack OR one dessert. List the equipment and utensils needed to prepare and serve these meals. Idea: Repeat #4 method b. Create a shopping list for your meals showing the amount of food needed to prepare and serve each meal, and the cost for each meal. c. Share and discuss your meal plan and shopping list with your counselor. d. In the outdoors, using your menu plan for this requirement, cook two of the five meals you planned using either a lightweight stove or a low-impact fire. Use a different cooking method from requirement 3 for each meal. You must also cook a third meal using either a Dutch oven OR a foil pack OR kabobs. Serve all of these meals to your patrol or a group of youth. ** e. In the outdoors, prepare a dessert OR a snack and serve it to your patrol or a group of youth. f. After each meal, have those you served evaluate the meal on presentation and taste, and then evaluate your own meal. Discuss what you learned with your counselor, including any adjustments that could have improved or enhanced your meals. Tell how planning and preparation help ensure successful outdoor cooking. g. Explain to your counselor how you cleaned the equipment, utensils, and the cooking site thoroughly after each meal. Explain how you properly disposed of dishwater and of all garbage.
**Idea: Show the 3 pot method of cleaning. h. Discuss how you followed the Outdoor Code and no-trace principles when preparing your meals. **Idea: Put the pictures in order for the Outdoor Code.
- Trail and backpacking meals. Do the following: a. Using the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA nutrition model, plan a menu for trail hiking or backpacking that includes one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner, and one snack. These meals must not require refrigeration and are to be consumed by three to five people (including you). Be sure to keep in mind any special needs (such as food allergies) and how you will keep your foods safe and free from cross-contamination. List the equipment and utensils needed to prepare and serve these meals. b. Create a shopping list for your meals, showing the amount of food needed to prepare and serve each meal, and the cost for each meal. c. Share and discuss your meal plan and shopping list with your counselor. Your plan must include how to repackage foods for your hike or backpacking trip to eliminate as much bulk, weight, and garbage as possible. d. While on a trail hike or backpacking trip, prepare and serve two meals and a snack from the menu planned for this requirement. At least one of those meals must be cooked over a fire, or an approved trail stove (with proper supervision).** e. After each meal, have those you served evaluate the meal on presentation and taste, then evaluate your own meal. Discuss what you learned with your counselor, including any adjustments that could have improved or enhanced your meals. Tell how planning and preparation help ensure successful trail hiking or backpacking meals. f. Discuss how you followed the Outdoor Code and no-trace principles during your outing. Explain to your counselor how you cleaned any equipment, utensils, and the cooking site after each meal.
