THE GLOBAL PLATE BRINGING INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS TO SCHOOL MENUS
Before overhauling your entire menu, consider these manageable steps to incorporate global tastes into your offerings: • Start with Side Dishes: Transform staple items like rice into Spanish or Mexican rice, cilantro-lime rice, or Asian-style stir-fried rice using appropriate seasonings. • Utilize Lower-Sodium Con- diments and Sauces: Opt for or create condiments, sauces, and spice blends lower in so- dium. These can complement a variety of cuisines and add flavorful variety to your menu while using many of the same core ingredients. • Create a Flavor Station: A flavor station allows students
to customize their meals with various spices, spice blends, seasonings, condiments, and fresh items. This encourages students to add as little or as much flavor as they desire, promoting autonomy and satisfaction. • Involve Students in Taste Tests and International Food Days: Engage students by organizing events where they can sample new dishes and learn about different cuisines. • Share the Story Behind the Dish: Provide context by sharing the origins and signifi - cance of new menu items on your menu board or school website.
For additional ideas, check out the Mindfully Seasoning Your Menus and Strategies, Tips, and Tricks to Reduce Sodium and Enhance Flavor sodium worksheets on the Shaking It Up! webpage.
Across the country, school nutrition programs are doing more than feeding students—creating opportunities for connection and curiosity.
As schools welcome students from various backgrounds, there’s never been a better time to explore global cuisines and offer meals that reflect the world around us. The Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition’s (CICN) Menus of Flavor trainings are helping school nutri- tion professionals lead the way. Menus of Flavor: Toolkits for Taste and Tradition Menus of Flavor is a four-hour, in- structor-led, hands-on training de- veloped by the CICN. This engaging training introduces school nutri- tion professionals to the vibrant, healthful foods of global regions and emphasizes the benefits of scratch cooking. Each training ses-
sion explores one of three featured cuisines—Mediterranean, Latin Flavors, or East and Southeast Asian Fusion—and emphasizes the value of scratch cooking. Partici- pants learn to: • Identify key regional ingredients and flavor profiles. • Practice essential culinary skills. • Prepare authentic recipes during a hands-on culinary lab. Menus of Flavor reinforces how global flavors can be incorporated into school meals in practical, approachable ways. After com- pleting the training, participants are better equipped to use global ingredients and apply new culinary
techniques in their everyday work. To learn more and register for one, two, or all three of the Menus of Flavor trainings, submit a training request through the CICN Training Request Form.
Enhancing Flavor While Reducing Sodium
By embracing these strategies, school nutrition programs can of- fer meals that are flavorful, health - ful, and reflective of the world around us—one tray at a time.
Introducing international flavors into school menus adds variety and supports healthier eating habits. Many global cuisines rely on herbs, spices, and cooking tech- niques that enhance flavor without the need for excessive salt. By in- corporating these methods, school nutrition professionals can create meals that are delicious and lower in sodium.
ICN Website
Erica Cooper, PhD, MPH, RDN | Institute of Child Nutrition Erica is an Education & Training Specialist at the Institute of Child Nutrition, where she has been since 2020. She primarily develops resources that leverage her nutrition and child nutrition program knowledge and expertise. Passionate about ensuring all children have access to nutritious food, Erica brings over ten years of experience in child nutrition, including several years working with a State agency. An RDN, Erica earned both a Ph.D. and MPH in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Michigan. Outside of work, Erica enjoys spending time outdoors with her Great Dane and family.
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