2023-09-18 11:40:19
School canteen menus must never lack foods known and appreciated by children, in the colors they like best, such as the red of the tomato and the green of the pesto. Yes to pizza once a week and fried food is also allowed, strictly in olive oil. But above all, dishes must be prepared that are less present in the family in this moment of economic crisis. These are the indications for school catering suggested by the pediatrician Italo Farnetani, full professor at the Ludes University-United Campus of Malta.
“The first guideline to follow – he explains to time.news Salute – is to choose foods that children like, those used by families, to encourage greater continuity with the family routine. It would be a good idea for teachers to propose a questionnaire to children at the beginning of the school year, to be filled out together with their parents – she suggests – to identify which foods they like most and which are consumed in the family. Based on this data we can be on the safe side.” For the pediatrician, “this would have two very important advantages because it creates the now consolidated indication, on the part of both paediatricians, psychologists and above all pedagogists, that there is continuity between school and family”. Not only. “This also avoids waste”, he adds.
The second “fundamental” point is to organize the menus “so that there can be a certain rotation and integration with the food choices made by the family. The rule is not to eat meat every day, but three times a week, fish three times, cheese, eggs and cured meats two or three times a week.” The pediatrician recommends “pizza once a week, which children like enormously: it is a unifying dish and nutritionally perfect”. The suggestion is then “to favor cheeses even at lunch, because they are the ones that are rarely eaten. The same goes for fish, because unfortunately in Italy it is eaten very little, especially among children. If cheese and fish were introduced into school canteens it would already be a compensation and integration of the family diet”.
To detect children’s food preferences, for about 20 years Farnetani has been conducting a survey among pediatricians from all Italian regions, teachers, parents, pupils themselves, hotel chefs and other school canteen operators. He must dispel, he explains, “the myth that fried foods should not be given to children. Breaded and fried dishes are what they like most and if olive oil is used there is no harm or danger.”
“Rice and short pasta should be preferred because children have a small oral cavity, with milk teeth, which do not have a great chewing capacity until the sixth grade. The dental arch is completed with the canines, in fact, between the ages of 11 and 13. For the little ones, therefore, green or red rice or short pasta should be prepared, that is, seasoned with pesto, the most popular, or with tomato, which is almost as popular as pesto. They would be preferable to a first course seasoned with oil or butter, because they like them better.”
Among the most loved foods are “meatballs, which are chewed well and can be made from meat or fish, as long as tender raw materials are used and absolutely bone-free. The most popular side dish is undoubtedly the fried potatoes: frozen are also fine, but they must be cooked in olive oil. Alternatively, you can offer tomatoes: red at the table attracts children a lot.” Among other foods, “the most popular cheese is parmesan, almost everyone likes it from Trentino to Sicily. It certainly won’t stay on the plate, therefore, and then it is very rich in calcium, which children don’t take in much. If canteens want to save money, Grana Padano is fine too, but one of the two must be given – he comments – because with the problem of reducing food consumption by families there is a risk that they will cut back on these products”.
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