Emphasizing the importance of the issues to be considered in preparing the menu, the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics (English) Lecturer Azize Nur Yıldırım said:
‘‘Today, nutrition is not only an activity for a feeling of fullness, but it also aims to protect and improve health conditions. Studies have shown that nutrition is an important factor in the prevention of chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. At this point, it is important what to eat not only at home but also in the institution. The menus should have the appropriate energy and nutritional value for the people who will benefit from this service in institutional food services. Menus should be created in which four food groups namely dairy, meat and legumes, vegetables and fruits, and bread and grains are sufficient and balanced. For this reason, a dietitian should work in the institution and the menus should be prepared by taking into account the general healthy eating principles and the common nutritional diseases in the society.
While creating hospital menus, many factors should be taken into account: Healthy eating principles, cost, selection of seasonal foods, food match on the menu, etc. It is the duty of the dietitian working in the institution to prepare the menu in line with all these factors and to supervise the application of the menu. In addition, the dietitian should also determine the characteristics of the foods to be taken to the institution by preparing technical specifications for food. The points to be considered when preparing a healthy menu can be listed as follows:
-Selection of seasonal vegetables and fruits is advantageous in terms of both cost and nutritional value. For example, vegetables such as green beans, eggplant, and zucchini should be preferred in summer menus. On the other hand, it would be more appropriate to use vegetables such as cabbage, celery, and spinach in winter menus.
-It should be aimed to enrich the content and make it more nutritious in carbohydrate-based meals such as rice, pasta, and pastries. For instance, bulgur pilaf is nutritionally more advantageous than rice pilaf because it has more fiber. As another example, rice with chickpeas can be a more nutritious option instead of plain rice pilaf.
-Prevention of nutrient losses caused by cooking is another important target in institutional food services. Methods such as boiling, baking, and grilling are healthy cooking methods. On the other hand, frying is one of the unhealthy cooking methods because it causes both trans fat formation and high-calorie intake. Especially the repeated use of frying oil should be avoided. It is also recommended that meals that require frying methods be included less in the menus. For example, instead of fried meatballs, juicy meatballs cooked with seasonal vegetables could be a healthier and more nutritious option.
-Menus should be compatible in terms of food content. For instance, it is not appropriate to include dolma (a Turkish dish with rice and green bell pepper) and pasta in the same menu because it results in high carbohydrate intake. It is more appropriate to include options such as soup, yoghurt, and salad in a menu with dolma. Likewise, it is wrong to include pastry and rice-pasta in the same menu. It would be more appropriate to complete a menu with pastry with options such as olive oil dishes, salad, or ayran in accordance with the main dish.
-Due to the increasing rate of obesity in our country, it is recommended not to include desserts more than two days a week in menus. It may be practical to prepare desserts such as “Şekerpare” and “Kemalpaşa” (grain-based desserts commonly consumed by people in Turkey), but health value should also be considered here. Therefore, milk-based desserts such as rice pudding will be more nutritious than grain-based desserts. On other days, seasonal fruits can be included in the menus because they are lower in calories and also rich in vitamins and minerals.
-Finally, the training of kitchen staff on hygiene issues is very important. It is known that food-borne poisoning is caused by reasons such as not paying attention to hygiene and/or proper cooking and storage conditions. The dietitian of the institution can prevent these risks by training the kitchen staff on these issues.’’
