New weekly menu planner for school caterers

15th May 2008, 11:42am

A new menu weekly planner ‘Spuds Rule Ok!’ has recently been launched to act as a useful training aid for local authorities and school caterers.

As well as being full of nutritional advice, plus hints and tips on getting the most out of potatoes, the menu planner, developed by the British Nutrition Foundation, suggests a main course dish, a dessert and a drink for lunch times from Monday to Friday for a two week period.

Potatoes are featured either as a side dish or as part of a main course meal almost every day of the week. Nutritional breakdown charts are also provided for each week.

The booklet, which is available free of charge to caterers, local authorities and school meal providers, also contains advice on the different potato varieties available, and how to choose the best variety for different cooking methods.

In addition, it also includes tips on how to store and handle potatoes plus tried and tested methods to get the best out of them when mashing, boiling, baking, chipping or roasting.

An advisor for childcare and education services for 0-5 year olds in the Wirral authority, commented on the booklet's progress so far: "Spuds Rule Ok! Is well produced and full of useful information. We've already passed it onto our day care providers, children centres and nurseries, and we'll continue to use it as part of our training days. With health and nutrition such a crucial factor for the under fives the menu planner is a really valuable resource."

Potato Council marketing executive, Heike Boelk, added: "The need for healthy and nutritionally balanced meals in schools is still very much a hot topic for caterers and school meal providers, who are under increasing pressure to meet the government's nutritional guidelines."

Weblink:  www.potatoesforcaterers.co.uk  

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