Those who work in healthcare food service are aware of dietary restrictions and the importance of following the guidelines. For kitchen staff, catering to specific nutritional needs is a constant practice. The culinary creativity needed to craft delicious and healthy meals can translate to patients and diners who practice vegetarianism as well.
Starting with the ingredients
The first step when catering to vegetarians is increasing the supply of fruits and vegetables. If your kitchen already uses foodservice management software, it’s simple to monitor the numbers. Otherwise, you may want to consider taking advantage of this wonderful technology, which will allow you to track the number of ingredients daily, the amount used in meal preparation and waste volume. It’s a wonderful resource that food service managers and cooks alike will appreciate .
Once the produce inventory has been boosted, allow kitchen staff to experiment with various vegetarian meals. Test out recipes and put a unique spin on dishes to create meals that will help your hospital stand out. Remember to try out ethnic recipes as well and learn about and explore different spices. After several great recipes have been crafted, advertise the offerings in the menu, both in the cafeteria and in the patient menus.
Food service software will allow you to monitor how many vegetarian dishes are being ordered daily. Additionally, the program will take the data and project the amount of ingredients that should be ordered to adjust for the increased use of produce. This is essential to help cut down on food waste, since fruits and vegetables won’t keep for very long.
You can also take this chance to explore some great freshly made shakes and smoothies that pack plenty of nutrients. As a worker in the culinary industry, you’re likely aware of the popularity of these drinks. There are plenty of recipes available that feature a variety of fruits and vegetables that result in a variety of colors. Take advantage of visitors and hospital staff on the go and craft your own vegetarian-friendly shakes.
It’s important to cater to all audiences when you’re working in hospital foodservice. The culinary expertise that’s used to create tasty diet-friendly dishes paired with the many benefits of nutrition software will enable your hospital kitchen to produce plenty of great and original vegetarian-friendly offerings.