Thu 03 Nov 2011 - Nutrition & Health Foundation Voluntary Guidelines for Restaurants & Café’s:
Provision of Child Sized Portions of Adult Meals
Suggestions for cooking and presenting healthier options on both the adult and children’s menus:
v No longer use salt in the preparation and cooking of foods
v Strive to use fresh fish, meats and ingredients at all times rather than processed
v Use colourful fruit and vegetables to encourage their consumption
v If offering chips, chunky homemade oven chips are the healthier alternative and should be served salt free
v If alternatives such as salads, baked/mashed potatoes are available for the adult menu, these should also be made available for the children’s menu in appropriate portion sizes
v Bake/grill or steam in preference to frying foods
v Use wholemeal pastas/wraps/breads/rolls etc where possible to help increase fibre intakes
Guidelines for providing child sized portions of healthier adult main courses:
v Permit the choosing and sharing of starters from the adult menu
v Choose foods that are easy to provide ½ portions e.g. Lasagne, Stew, Stir Fries, Soups etc.
v Ensure that these ½ portion dishes are also the healthier options on the menu
v Provide additional plates where necessary, especially if the menu choice is difficult for a chef to portion out into halves
v Using salad plates for ½ portions will make the meal look bigger and thus help prevent over eating
Ideal desert options for children:
v Fresh fruit
v Yoghurts
v Yoghurt drinks
v Fruit smoothies
v Milk puddings with/without pureed fruit
v Sugar free jelly and ice cream
Ideal drink options served in small glasses:
v Water
v Milk (full fat only for under the age of 2 and low or full fat only for under the age of 5)
v Pure unsweetened fruit juices
v Flavoured waters using sugar free dilutables
Ideal condiment options:
v Reduced sugar/ sugar free ketchup
v Low fat mayonnaise
These voluntary guidelines were devised by Dr. Muireann Cullen, Dietitian and Manager of the Nutrition and Health Foundation (www.nhfireland.ie) with the aid of the NHF Scientific and Communications Committees in partnership with the Restaurants Association of Ireland. Restaurants and cafe’s that adhere to these guidelines are participants of the joint NHF & RAI ‘Kids Size Me’ initiative. ‘Kids Size Me’ is designed to enhance the range and portion size of nutritious meals available to families by making child size portions of adult meals available as an alternative to the standard children’s menu.
Source: RAI
