Our top five dishes:
- Wilted spinach & mushrooms baked eggs
- Creamy mushrooms on sourdough toast
- Rocket & cherry tomato quiche
- Peruvian roasted chicken and Mediterranean cous cous
- Silky chocolate mousse
To celebrate the launch, we have selected just five of the recipes and, within this blog, we will take a deep dive into the inspiration behind them and learn a few top tips from Wayne Wright, our Culinary Development Chef.
Wayne was keen to build a menu cycle that would really help customers with support, value and ideas. He was excited to take on the challenge of creating recipes that particularly focused on type 2 diabetes. When asking him about the inspiration behind the recipes, it was clear he wanted to innovate recipes that you would not typically associate with a diabetic offering.
In fact, one of his top priorities was to create a chocolate dessert that tastes just the same if not better than a normal chocolate dessert!
To help undertake the challenge, he recruited the help of Hallmark Care Homes! They even travelled to Bidfood HQ to cook up all the dishes and of course I was there for some taste testing …
1) Wilted spinach & mushrooms baked eggs
The first recipe in the spotlight has to be the wilted spinach and mushroom baked eggs … a great option to elevate your breakfast serving. Full of colour, flavour and fresh ingredients, it is certainly one to add to your offering.
With only 15 minutes cook time and a simple construction, this is also a great option for a quick, easy yet delicious meal. Sitting on a bed of bread, the eggs, spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes are then carefully layered on top – just so you can see each and every colour popping through as you take it out the oven.
Top tip: Serve with some lightly toasted bread, the perfect soldier for those dippy eggs…
2) Creamy mushrooms on sourdough toast
Up next has to be the creamy mushrooms on toasted sourdough… In a rich creamy sauce, this breakfast option offers something different for your residents and really gives the ‘wow’ factor for the first dish of the day. Wayne created the creamy sauce by infusing cream with garlic and thyme.
Top tip: Add a zest of lemon into your sauce as it simmers, this will further add some depth to your flavours.
3) Rocket & cherry tomato quiche
When you think of a recipe that would work within a type 2 diabetic diet, your first thought might not be a quiche. However, this is not your conventional quiche…
On a bread mix base, you still get the exact same look and feel of a quiche. Popping with bright red cherry tomatoes, it will look great on a lunchtime spread.
Top tip: Serve with rocket, roasted vegetables and potatoes. This will elevate your whole offering and make a great accompaniment to your quiche.
4) Peruvian roasted chicken and Mediterranean cous cous
A taste of fresh air! This lunch option is the perfect combination of Mediterranean flavours and tasty chicken breast. Drizzle the homemade pesto over the chicken and the bed of fluffy cous cous…
Top tip: Why not serve this dish outside if it’s a nice day. You could even add some Mediterranean music to offer something a little different for your residents.
5) Silky chocolate mousse
Last but not least… The silky chocolate mousse! A firm favourite by Wayne & myself, this mousse is delicious. Crafted from tofu, it has a real rich yet smooth taste. You can decide to create individual pots or one large bowl to serve separately.
Top tip: Serve with a bowl of raspberries, blueberries or strawberries so your residents can choose their topping.
To view all of our diabetes recipes in full, plus learn more about the full weekly menu cycle, check out our brochure or Bidfood Direct, our online shop!
There is also a module live on our e-learning platform Caterers Campus to help your staff cater for diabetes with confidence.
