The perfect school menu, the recommendations of the Ministry
The school menu It is a very important point in the day to day of the little ones. At noon the classes stop and the students have lunch in the dining room of the educational center. A minimum of five meals a week that make 20 a month. Good reasons to worry about what those responsible for these services put on the table.
While there is no menu standard for all schools, yes we found some recommendations from the Ministry of Health with which to guide schools. A good idea for parents to ask if these requirements are being met in the dining rooms and to be able to demand the pertinent changes to ensure good nutrition.
Nutritional requirements for the perfect school menu
From the Ministry of Health it is indicated that the first point to consider When defining the perfect menu of the school canteen are the nutritional requirements:
- Energy contribution to daily caloric needs. The midday meal should provide around 35% of the total energy of daily needs.
- The caloric profile should be calculated taking into account the intake of the whole day, so that small deviations can be allowed in the school menu, since this represents only one meal.
- Lipidic profile. Regarding the contribution of different fatty acids (saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) to total energy, saturated fats should not contribute more than 10% of the total energy of the menu.
- Adequacy according to age and sex. The menus will try to be designed taking into account the amount of nutrient per unit of energy, so that what they contribute is sufficient to meet the needs of minerals and vitamins of the stratum of age and sex with less energy need. It is essential to ensure the supply of protein, calcium, iron and vitamin A.
Structure of the perfect menu for children
Once you know what should make up the menu of the smallest, we must take into account the structure of it:
- First course: vegetables, potatoes, pasta, rice, legumes or corn.
- Second course: meat, fish or eggs.
- Garrison: potatoes, pasta, rice, legumes, vegetables.
- Dessert: fruit.
- Complement: dairy.
Other ideas that must be taken into account are the following:
- Fruit juices or fruits in syrup should not replace whole fruits, which will be the usual dessert.
- The menu served in the teaching centers must be unique, with no possibility of choosing, except in cases that are justified.
- The size of the servings served it will contemplate the age and sex of the population to which it is addressed.
Damián Montero
