Includes lean meat, poultry, fish, cheese, egg, cooked dry beans, peas and lentils, nuts and seeds, and their butters, tofu, alternate protein products, and yogurt - creditable at lunch, supper,and snack. An m/ma may replace the grain component at breakfast a maximum of 3 times per week.
Specifics:
- Cooked dry beans, peas, and lentils may credit as either a vegetable or as a meat alternate, but not as both in the same meal. Immature beans and peas, such as green peas, green beans and wax beans cannot credit as a meat alternate, only as a vegetable.
- Required at lunch and supper – must be served as the main dish or in a main dish and one other menu item.
- Nuts, seeds, and their butters may be used to meet full m/ma requirements at all meals and snacks.
- Tofu, yogurt, and soy yogurt (yogurt must contain no more than 12 grams (g) of added sugars per 6 oz., maintain documentation on file) may be used to meet the m/ma alternate component.
- Yogurt credits as 4 oz. = 1 ounce equivalent m/ma.
- For a food to contribute to the M/MA component, it must contain a minimum of 0.25 oz. eq. of a M/MA.
- A combination of food served as a main dish may be credited as the m/ma plus up to 2 other meal components (3 total), provided each component meets the minimum meal pattern requirement.
- Limiting serving processed meats (lunch meat, cold cuts, hot dogs and sausage products) to no more than one serving per week is recommended.
- Commercially processed food must have processed food documentation (CN label, product formulation statement) to be creditable.
- May be served in place of the entire grain component at breakfast, a maximum of 3 times per week. One ounce equivalent of m/ma can be substituted for 1 ounce equivalent of grain (*see above regarding yogurt serving size to credit as 1 oz. of m/ma).
