Comprehensive Guide to Caribbean Food Groups and Meal Planning

Overview of Caribbean Food Groups and Cartographic Information

  • Primary Document Title: Caribbean Food Groups: A Guide to Meal Planning for Healthy Eating.
  • Geographic Context: Regional focus on States including The Bahamas.
  • Cartographic Specifications:
    • Scale: 1:12,500,0001:12,500,000
    • Projection: Lambert Conformal Conic Projection
    • Standard Parallels: Referred to as 'N and 17′N17'N (noting specific geographic alignment).
    • Distance Scale: Measurement provided for 200200 and 300300 miles.
    • Key Locations Mentioned: Caracas is identified on the regional map base.

Staples

  • Definition and Composition: The staples group is comprised of cereals and starchy items including fruits, roots, tubers, and ground provisions.
  • Cereals List:
    • Bread: Specifically bread made from whole grain or enriched flour.
    • Wheat flour.
    • Corn (also referred to as maize).
    • Cornmeal.
    • Dried cereals.
    • Macaroni.
    • Spaghetti.
    • Rice.
    • Cereal porridges.
    • Oats.
  • Starchy Fruits, Roots, Tubers, and Ground Provisions:
    • Banana.
    • Plantain.
    • Breadfruit.
    • Yam.
    • Potato.
    • Dasheen (tuber/root vegetable).
    • Coco/eddoe.
    • Cassava.

Legumes

  • Composition: This group consists of various dried beans, peas, nuts, and seeds known for providing protein and fiber.
  • Detailed Varieties:
    • Kidney beans (red kidney beans).
    • Gungo peas (also known as pigeon peas).
    • Black-eye peas.
    • Cow peas.
    • Other miscellaneous dried peas and beans.
    • Lentils (appearing in visual labels).
    • Split peas.
  • Nuts and Seeds:
    • Peanuts.
    • Cashew nuts.
    • Sesame seeds.
    • Pumpkin seeds.

Foods From Animals

  • Composition: This exhaustive list includes muscle meats, poultry, seafood, dairy products, and offal (organ meats).
  • Meat and Seafood Categories:
    • Meat (general types like Beef, as noted in labels).
    • Poultry (chicken, turkey, etc.).
    • Fish: includes fresh, canned, pickled, and dried fish.
  • Dairy and Eggs:
    • Milk.
    • Cheese.
    • Yoghurt.
    • Egg.
  • Offal and Specialized Parts:
    • Liver.
    • Heart.
    • Kidney.
    • Tripe (offal).
    • Trotters.
    • Feet.
    • Tail.
    • Head (used in traditional Caribbean cooking).

Vegetables

  • Categorization: Vegetables are divided into "Dark green leafy and yellow vegetables" and "Other vegetables."
  • Dark Green Leafy and Yellow Vegetables:
    • Callaloo/spinach.
    • Dasheen leaves.
    • Cabbage bush.
    • Pak choy.
    • String beans.
    • Pumpkin.
    • Carrot.
  • Other Vegetables:
    • Squash.
    • Cho-cho: Also known as christophene or chayote.
    • Cucumber.
    • Tomato.
    • Garden egg (also known as aubergine or eggplant).

Fruits

  • Variety of Caribbean Fruits:
    • Mango.
    • Guava.
    • Citrus: Specifically oranges, grapefruit, limes, and tangerine.
    • Pineapple.
    • West Indian cherry.
    • Pawpaw (also known as papaya).
    • Golden apple: Alternatively known as Jew plum or June plum.
    • Sugar apple: Alternatively known as sweet sop.

Fats & Oils

  • Composition: This group includes processed fats, natural oils, and specific fatty fruits/plants.
  • Processed and Extracted Fats:
    • Cooking and salad oils (including pure vegetable oil).
    • Butter.
    • Margarine.
    • Shortening.
    • Ghee.
    • Mayonnaise (implied by visual labels).
  • Natural Plant and Animal Sources:
    • Coconut cream and coconut milk.
    • Meat fat.
    • Nuts.
    • Avocado pear.
    • Jamaican ackee (categorized under fats/oils due to high lipid content).