HintsandTips-NewcastleCityCouncil.docVIP

This booklet accompanies the Heart of Newcastle Award Information and Menu Assessment Checklist and provides additional information to assist you in your application. The Assessment criteria for the Award are based on the ‘Balance of Good Health’ and have been designed to assess the extent to which you are using healthier catering practices and offering healthier food and drink options. Why Offer Healthier Food and Drink Choices? Eating out is now an increasingly important part of people’s lives, whether during the working day or out socially in the evening. As a food business, you are in a strong position to influence what people eat, increase awareness and enable those who already choose healthier options to continue to do so. What is a healthier choice of foods? Many people are confused by information about healthy eating and feel that messages are always changing. The basics of healthy eating however have remained the same for some time and are fairly straightforward. Once you understand the basic principles it becomes much easier to decide what makes a balanced diet. A healthy diet is based on breads, potatoes, and other cereals and it is rich in fruits and vegetables. It also includes moderate amounts of milk and dairy products, meat, fish or meat/milk alternatives, and limited amounts of foods containing fat or sugar. No single food can provide all the essential nutrients that the body needs, therefore it is important to eat a wide variety of foods over the week to provide sufficient intakes of vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre. Offering healthier choices on your menu When planning changes to offer healthier choices there are 3 main areas to consider: 1. Which foods are offered directly to the customer? Can the customer choose between low fat and full fat options e.g. spreads? Is wholemeal bread on offer as well as white bread? Are fruit and vegetables/salads available? Does the menu encourage customers to ask for variations or choice? 2. How ar