The most difficult meal to plan when traveling in a trailer is the big meal of the day. Breakfast and lunch are simple, but when it comes to dinner or supper, whichever is the main meal, the trailer homemaker is apt to be a bit perplexed.

Because there is so little room to work in; because there is a minimum amount of equipment; because it is impossible to store foods in large quantities, and, most important of all, because there is a justifiable apathy toward spending much time in food preparation - trailer cooking must be simple. Far simpler than cooking at home!

The following menus and recipes have been worked out with these facts in mind. The menus might be classified as suitable for luncheons or suppers, but by adding an appetizer or soup, and another vegetable, they may be turned into large dinners, if the trailer homemaker is ambitious.

The most difficult part of meal planning at home, or in a trailer, is the proper combination of entree or main dish, salad and dessert. The variety of foodstuffs is apt to be limited while en route, and this is where the canned goods on the emergency shelf may be most useful. But, whenever possible, use fresh fruits and vegetables.

A large assortment of recipes are presented here in an effort to take the monotony out of trailer meals. It is all too easy to drift into preparing dull and uninteresting meals, because it is often impossible to buy any but the commonest fruits and vegetables while traveling - sometimes not even these. It depends, of course, on what section of the country you are going through.

The menus are arranged in two sections: For warm and cool weather.

While en route, exercise is likely to be very mild and, if the weather is warm, the result is muscular relaxation. This decreases the energy requirement. Hence the so-called warm weather suggestions. The meals are lighter, and easier to digest.

Energy requirements are correspondingly higher in cool weather, and after muscular activity appetites are better. Therefore, the cool weather suggestions make use of heavier foods.

The warm and cool weather menus have, in turn, been divided into two groups.

The first group in each division is simpler, and can be prepared more quickly than the second group. The trailer traveler who is vacationing for several months will enjoy these menus.

The second group of menus in each division is a little more elaborate, although still easy to prepare. The half million homemakers who live in trailers all year round will welcome these suggestions, we are sure, and the temporary traveler will enjoy them, too.

Whether a meal is prepared in a trailer or in your own kitchen at home, it must be a good meal - good to look at, good to eat and good for its food value. A few basic rules that will smooth out major trailer difficulties are:

1. In trailer meal planning try to keep one meal ahead while en route. Even if the schedule is not rigidly followed, and you find yourselves eating at a wayside inn instead of as planned, nothing is lost. It is even better to plan meals ahead for a whole day or for several days. This is easily done when you are camped for a while. It may sound like work, but persevere - better meals with more variety will result.

2. As you travel along, buy fresh fruits and vegetables from roadside stands or farmers. They'll be cheaper and the food will be fresher.

3. Avoid serving the same food twice in one day. Staples are not included, of course. With limited storage space in a trailer, an exception to this rule is permissible sometimes. For example, you might run into a peach or strawberry section en route and buy a large quantity. Do the best you can with disguises, in this case, and hope there will be no complaints.

4. Avoid flavor repetition. For instance, do not serve celery soup and stewed celery or tomatoes and sliced tomato salad in the same meal.

5. Have contrasts in flavor within the course, or in the meal, as asparagus which is mild flavored with roast beef.

6. Have contrasts in texture, as crackers with soup or crisp cookies with chocolate pudding. It's the old story of lamb with mint jelly, apples with pork - applied throughout the meal.

7. Oppose foods difficult to digest with easily digestible ones. Not more than a single food that is a problem to the digestive tract should be included in a meal.

Trailer cooking is full of temptations that lead to badly balanced meals. It is easy to drift into concocting meals with too many fried foods, starches and foods out of cans. Always keep in mind that every day's meals must be well balanced. You must include plenty of fresh milk, either to drink or in food; plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, cooked and uncooked, and proteins as in meat or eggs. It is not necessary to have meat every day, if you use substitutes such as eggs and cheese dishes. A safe guide is color: if a meal has plenty of diversified natural color, it is usually well balanced.

The menu suggestions that follow will help the trailer cook work out simple combinations of her own and her family's favorites. The recipes immediately follow the menu.

When cakes, cookies, gelatin desserts or salads are used, it is advisable to prepare them either the night before, just before the dinner dishes are washed, or the same day before the breakfast dishes are washed - this, so that all soiled equipment may be cleaned at the same time. This method is only practicable if you camp in one spot for several days.

The recipes given serve four people.

Standard measuring cups and spoons have been used.

It is assumed the trailer cook has a two-burner stove with an oven connected to it, or that there is a portable oven.