Green food and drinks
Green food and drinks are healthy choices because they are excellent sources of important nutrients, are low in saturated fat and/or added sugar and/or salt, and help avoid an excess energy (kilojoules) intake.
At least 50% of foods and drinks available should be Green.
Examples of Green food
Snacks:
- reduced-fat cheese with crackers
- plain or fruit yoghurt
- custard (reduced fat)
- plain or fruit scones or pikelets
- plain, un-iced fruit, nut and/or vegetable based breads, buns, or loaves (i.e. raisin, date, banana bread).
- air popped popcorn
- all types of fruit – fresh or canned in natural juice
- crunchy vegetable sticks served with dips like hommus, guacamole, salsa or tzatziki
- plain unsalted nuts
Meals:
- sandwiches on a variety of breads like pita, wraps, Turkish, bagels – choose wholemeal or wholegrain varieties where available. Use a variety of fillings like egg, lean chicken, tuna, baked beans or reduced-fat cheese, and always include some fresh vegetables like lettuce, tomato, cucumber or capsicum
- jaffles with the same fillings or even sweet jaffles with canned apples in natural juice and cinnamon.
- burritos made on site with lean meat and/or beans, reduced-fat cheese and salad
- lean meat burgers made on site served on wholemeal or wholegrain buns with plenty of salad
- baked potatoes with baked beans, reduced-fat cheese, natural yoghurt, tuna or salad
- sushi
- high fibre breakfast cereal served with low-fat milk
Drinks:
- plain water
- reduced-fat plain milk
Displaying food
It is important to make sure Green food and drinks:
- are clearly displayed i.e. at the front of the counter
- are always available
- make up at least 50% of your separate display areas.
This diagram shows how you might set up a 2-door 5-shelf drinks fridge.
Tips
Remember extensive menus are not expected in club canteens. Simpler menus with fewer items require less work and less stock.
You may already provide Green options, you just might need to promote these further or display them more prominently.