Back-to-School Menus 🍗 5 Ways to Add Meats and Meat Alternates

1. Put Local Meats and Meat Alternates on the Menu

Include local meat in special events, such as back-to-school barbecues. Don’t forget to include local beans, peas, and lentils as vegetarian options. You can enhance the flavor of meats and meat alternates without added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium using spices! For example, try a smoky and savory barbeque blend. Learn more about Local Meat in Schools and get tips on incorporating new spices from the Institute of Child Nutrition’s iBite videos.

2. Use Meats and Meat Alternates from USDA Foods 

Try offering the top-rated Stir-Fry Fajita Chicken, Squash, and Corn recipe made with the USDA Foods in Schools Program frozen chicken fajita strips. If you’re looking for more variety, try USDA foods pulled pork and chickpeas to make Savory Street Tacos with Fiesta Corn Salad similar to the ones shown in the photo from East Hampton Public Schools in Connecticut. See the full list of USDA Foods Available for School Year 2021-2022. 

3. Go Big with Beans

4. Get Trendy with Meal Bowls

Colorado’s Greeley-Evans Weld County School District purchased an industrial packaging machine so they could offer scratch-made meal bowls. The district’s central production kitchen team does the cooking, portioning, sealing, and freezing before shipping them to the sites for reheating and final service. The bowls fit well into insulated totes for delivery to the classrooms. The district says that high school students have been choosing the bowls over pizza! Give USDA’s Bean Burrito Bowl recipe a try! 

5. Offer Meats and Meat Alternates at Breakfast

Try different fruit and yogurt combinations to make colorful smoothies that are perfect for grab n’ go meal service. Learn more in Team Nutrition’s Offering Smoothies as Part of Reimbursable School Meals guide. Find more meats and meat alternates breakfast menu ideas in the Offering Meats and Meat Alternates at School Breakfast guide.