11.5: Menu Planning

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you should be able to:

• Outline the meal patterns for infants and children.
• Create nutritious menus that follow the meal patterns.
• Describe factors to consider when menu planning.
• Identify a variety of sources of food for each food group.
• Examine individual and cultural food preferences.

Introduction

Knowledge of menu planning is essential to providing appropriate nutrition to young children. Early care and education programs must have staff who plan and prepare food and are aware of individual preferences, including vegetarianism, and cultural and religious differences in food choice, preparation, and service. To protect children’s health, proper hygiene and sanitation processes must be followed closely. Only safe food should be purchased. And how that food is stored, prepared, and served must follow proper protocol to prevent foodborne illness.

Menu Planning

Let’s examine several factors that are important for menu planning, including the meal patterns, licensed programs must follow, the importance of variety and balance, and aesthetics.

Meal Patterns

Meal patterns should incorporate recommended components and servings for each component as outlined by CACFP. While this text does not articulate specific serving sizes, if referenced information may be found here for Infants, Breakfast, Lunch/Supper, and Snacks.

According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), licensing for preschool and child care centers requires the following components for snacks and meals (2024):

Breakfast

Breakfast shall include

• Fruit, vegetable, or full-strength fruit or vegetable juice
• Bread, a bread product or cereal
• Milk

Here is what breakfasts that follow the meal pattern might look like:

Figure 15.1 – A healthy breakfast for 1- to 2-year-olds⁶⁸⁸

Figure 15.2 – A healthy breakfast for 3- to 5-year-olds⁶⁸⁹

Lunch/Dinner

Noon or evening meals should include one item from each of the following:

• Meat, poultry, fish, egg, cheese, peas or beans, or peanut butter
• Two vegetables, two fruits, or one vegetable and one fruit
• Bread, bread product, or cereal
• Milk

Here is what a noon or evening meal that follow the meal pattern might look like:

Figure 15.4 – A healthy lunch for 1- to 2-year-olds⁶⁹³

Figure 15.5 – A healthy lunch for 3- to 5-year-olds⁶⁹⁴

Snacks

Lastly, the meal pattern for a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack should include at least two of the following:

• Milk, milk product, or food made with milk (pudding or yogurt for example)
• Fruit, vegetable, or full-strength fruit or vegetable juice
• Meat or meat alternative
• Bread, bread product, or cereal

Here are some snacks that follow the meal pattern:

Figure 15.7 – A healthy snack for 1- to 2-year-olds⁶⁹⁹

Figure 15.5 – A healthy snack for 3- to 5-year-olds⁷⁰⁰

Factors to consider

Menu planning principles include aesthetics, and variety, including color, texture, flavors, shapes, and sizes of food, cost, balance, and nutritional quality, The availability of equipment and staff knowledge and skill to prepare the foods on menus are also important considerations in planning the menu. Along with all of these, an effective menu also considers cost.⁷⁰²

Aesthetics and Variety

How our food is presented, along with texture, consistency, color, shape, and the preparation method, influences how we feel and what we think about a menu. It can even influence our appetite and our interest in eating.⁷⁰³

Select nutritious foods that have contrasting colors and textures. This adds to the visual and chewing appeal. Try to vary the colors of the foods being served. Avoid serving foods that are all one color. For example, select a green, soft vegetable (spinach), a red, crunchy fruit (an apple), and colorful, chewy wild rice to go along with a piece of chicken and a glass of milk. This lends visual and chewing appeal as the children can see different colors and feel different textures as they chew.⁷⁰⁴

Cost

While well-balanced nutrition should never be sacrificed to save money, early care and education programs must also consider the costs of the menus they plan. One way to save costs is to use cycle menus. A cycle menu follows a particular pattern and repeats on a regular basis. The length of the cycle can vary, but may be 4-6 weeks long and can be different lengths for different meals/snacks (for instance, with breakfast repeating more often than lunches). And they can be updated as needed to include new foods or make other accommodations.⁷⁰⁵

Cycle menus allow a program to forecast costs, order in bulk, and reduce waste (with tried and tested menus). Cycle menus are often planned seasonally so an operation might have a spring, summer, and fall/winter cycle.⁷⁰⁶ And buying produce seasonally is often more affordable.

Nutrition and Balance

The most important consideration for menu planning is that it meets children’s nutritional needs. The meals and snacks provided by full-day early care and education programs should provide a substantial portion of a child’s daily nutrition. All programs should support children’s well–balanced diet, in which all the nutrients the body needs for proper functioning and energy are taken in. A well-balanced diet contains a variety of foods from all the food groups, as well as all the necessary vitamins and minerals we need. It also means taking in an adequate supply of water for adequate health. A well-balanced diet can be planned by selecting healthy foods from each of the food groups.⁷⁰⁷

Individual and Cultural Preferences

What families eat, how those foods are prepared and served, and the routines surrounding meals and snacks are going to vary in every family. For some children, those will be similar to what they encounter in early care and education programs. And some children will easily adapt to new foods and routines. However, gathering information from families on these is one way to have an understanding of the food experiences and preferences children have. Menus can be planned that include familiar foods.

Cultural and Religious Considerations

Some people do not eat various specific foods and beverages in conformity with various religious, cultural, legal, or other societal prohibitions. Many of these prohibitions constitute taboos. Many food taboos and other prohibitions forbid the meat of a particular animal. Some food prohibitions can be defined as rules, codified by religion or otherwise, about which foods, or combinations of foods, may not be eaten and how animals are to be slaughtered or prepared. Some foods may be prohibited during certain religious periods (e.g., Lent), at certain stages of life (e.g., pregnancy), or to certain classes of people (e.g., priests), even though the food is otherwise permitted.⁷³²

Families and children may choose to exclude, include, or prepare foods in a particular way according to their religious faith and beliefs. There will be individual differences and varying levels of adherence to guidelines which should be discussed for each child with their family. Some people within some of the faith groups identified may not observe the dietary guidelines listed. Prohibitions and restrictions even within a particular faith may change between denominations or branches.⁷³³

Food Allergies, Intolerances, and Medical Issues As discussed in Safety and Health, some allergic reactions can be life-threatening and some foods can cause major health issues for children, it is vitally important that everyone in the early care and education program that prepares or serves food is aware of these and protects children from consuming food that can hurt them.

Summary

When staff in early care and education programs have an understanding of meal patterns and health sources for all of the food groups, they have the foundation to plan menus that consider cost, variety, aesthetics, and balance. They can also support families in providing healthy food to their children. And with a solid grounding in food safety policies and practices they can buy, store, prepare, cook, and serve food to children safely.

Resources for Further Exploration Institute of Child Nutrition California Department of Education CACFP Meal Patterns Resources Virtual Lab School Menu Planning for Success CACFP Menu Planning Guide: healthymeals.fns.usda.gov/hs...u-planning.pdf Crediting Handbook for the Child and Adult Care Food Program Cultural and Ethnic Food and Nutrition Education Materials: A Resource List for Educators Guidance on Foods for Religious Faiths Vegetarianism and Children Virtual Lab School Family-Style Dining in Child Care Settings Federal Food Safety Gateway CDC Food Safety Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs Interactive Web-Based Tool

References

Kansas Department of Health and Environment. (2024, August). Kansas laws and regulations for licensing preschools and child care centers. https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15396

For references according to subscript, please see pages 308-335 of the original Health, Safety and Nutrition book (Paris, 2021) on Google Drive.