The Humble Portion
How
many slices are in that pound loaf of bread? Volumes
and weights can be confusing. Nutrient analysis has become quite complex as schools are asked to pay very close attention to nutrients such as fat and salt, as well as provide the School Meals Initiative (SMI) reviewers with standardized recipes. We want the recipe for nacho bars and everything concerning the beef patties, except maybe the cow’s name. Taking portion sizes for granted is easy; however, the SMI reviews show that many schools are out of compliance when it comes to portion sizes. Do you know how many slices are in that pound loaf of bread? End pieces do count as slices, even if you don’t use them. If you have 20 slices to a pound, then each slice is 0.8 ounces and therefore not a full bread serving. Does your 12 pack of buns contain 22 ounces? Then each bun half is 0.9 ounces, and this would be sufficient to meet the 0.9 ounce requirement that counts as one bread serving. While the label of your usual product may state that four pieces will make a two-ounce meat serving, are you sure that’s true for your new product? There can be a tremendous difference between similar items. Are you getting 125 servings of meat sauce from a recipe that yields 100 servings? Under-serving will cause reimbursable meals to be out of compliance. There is a major difference between volume measurements and weight measurements. A two-ounce scoop refers to the volume and is accurate for measuring liquids; however, puffed wheat measured in the same scoop will not equal two ounces. If you are serving two ounces of ground beef and want to use this scoop, the ground beef should be weighed to make sure it is two ounces of meat. As a result of weighing, the scoop may need to be slightly rounded to make a two-ounce serving, or you may need to use another serving utensil. Another example of confusing volume and weight measures is shredded cheese. A cup is an eight-ounce measure, but a cup of shredded cheese only weighs four ounces. Similarly, a two-ounce paper cup that many schools use holds only one ounce of shredded cheese. The Child Nutrition (CN) Labels, Food Buying Guide and the Menu Planner for Healthy Schools Meals are very valuable tools available for your reference. Reprinted
from
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