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fruit yoghurt often contains added sugar.” Another easy win for increasing dairy in school children’s diets is by adding a touch of cream to dishes. But don’t fret about crying over spilt milk (or high costs); Pritchitts, the dairybased foodservice provider, believe they have the answer with Millac Gold, a dairy cream alternative. Andrea Collins, school catering manager at Birmingham’s CTC Kingshurst Academy, has been using Millac Gold for over 12 months and reports: “I am really
DAIRY
impressed with the results. It tastes just as good as real dairy cream and is really adaptable – one of the real USPs for me is that once it’s whipped, you can freeze it and when you defrost it, it hasn’t split, and you can use it straight in the piping bag. We use it in so many of our dishes from soups and sauces to favourites like homemade potato dauphinoise, tiramisu and pasta bakes.” With 1,500 pupils to feed, Andrea says her biggest challenge is offering a variety of menu options. One way she does this is by replicating foods that can
“Yoghurt can be made from whole or low fat milk, but be careful, fruit yoghurt often contains added sugar”
be found on the high street in school dining halls, but at much lower cost than high street prices. “Make sure you keep your menus interesting and try to be innovative wherever you can,” she advises. “The versatility of Millac Gold has really helped me to achieve this and keep costs down in the process.” SPECIAL DIETS
Of course, there are fussy eaters and then there are those who cannot have regular dairy products because of dietary conditions such as lactose intolerance. This is a surprisingly common condition affecting up to 15% of the population. However, it is vitally important that children with lactose intolerance do not exclude dairy from their diet without finding an appropriate alternative, otherwise they will be placing themselves at nutritional risk. Jones, of Lactofree, explains further: “There are lots of non-dairy alternatives including soya, rice and almond milk,
Why not run a special theme day to get kids eating more dairy? Visit the EDUcatering Toolkit to create your own posters for free
www.educateringtoolkit.co.uk EC_NOV13_PG088-091.indd 90
23/10/2013 15:21