Meal Pattern Minute: Tempeh

In the Child and Adult Care Food Program, there are cultural foods that are creditable such as soybeans. Soybeans are prepared and packaged in different forms such as edamame, tofu, soy milk, and soy yogurt. However, you may have seen in the grocery store or on your food service provider’s website a soy product known as tempeh. Is this fermented soybean creditable in the CACFP? 

Take a minute to find out the answer by listening to Isabel Ramos-Lebron, MS, RDN, LD, as she discusses in further detail what tempeh is and how it may or may not be creditable in the CACFP. 

Learn more about tempeh by reviewing the USDA’s memo and resource listed below. 

• Crediting Tempeh in the Child Nutrition Programs  
  • Tempeh is creditable when tempeh is made with ingredients limited to soybeans (or other legumes), water, tempeh culture 2 and for some varieties, vinegar, seasonings, and herbs. 
  • Varieties of tempeh that include other creditable foods as ingredients, such as brown rice, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seed, and/or vegetables, may also credit as meat alternates, grains, and/or vegetables. Since foods must be present in the minimum creditable quantities (⅛ cup or ¼ ounce equivalents) to credit in the CNPs, documentation must show how much tempeh and other creditable foods these products contain. Thus, to credit these varieties, program operators must obtain a Child Nutrition (CN) Label or a Product Formulation Statement (PFS) from the manufacturer. These varieties may credit based on the ingredient quantities identified in the CN Label or PFS.    
• The Crediting Handbook for the CACFP
• Tempeh, Commercial : A 1 oz serving of commercially prepared tempeh provides 1 oz eq meat alternate. Document meal pattern contribution of tempeh that contains other creditable ingredients (grains, seeds, etc.) with a Product Formulation Statement or a CN label.

Try adding a tempeh recipe to your menu. Here is an easy one to try! 

• Sticky BBQ Tempeh

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