A recent NRN article  highlights some interesting finds about the continued popularity of miniature desserts. Small bite desserts have been successfully making their ways into menus across the globe, from fast food chains to fine dining establishments.

Bite-sized desserts are fun, delicious, and easy to eat. Adding small-bite desserts to your menu can also help create some buzz and traffic to your restaurant. Not sure where to start? We’ve created a list of some mini dessert ideas to help get your creative-cooking juices flowing.

• Cheesecake bites: present your guest with a sampler plate of mini cheesecake bites topped with different sauces and fruit. Alternatively, offer a fried version with house dipping sauce.
• Mini cannoli cups: create a mini cannoli tart-like shell and add cream filling, sprinkling in chocolate chips or other garnishes to finish.
• Berry trifle shooters: layer in traditional trifle ingredients in a small skinny shot glass.
• Pie pops: just like a lollipop, but way more delicious. A small bouquet of pie pops can certainly bring out some smiles! Try offering classics like cherry, apple, and blueberry.
•  Mini vanilla filled beignets with coffee: Warm, fluffy, and sweet: mini vanilla cream filled beignets are fun to eat and pairs well with a side of coffee.

The small dessert menu possibilities are endless. And remember, good things do come in small packages!

Healthy fast food menu items are increasing in demand as more consumers seek healthier meal choices. In the past, consumers looking for a budget-friendly, low fat, low calorie meal were limited to places such as Subway or Blimpies. However, in the past few years, healthier food offerings are becoming more accessible as major fast food chains recognize the need to accommodate the consumer’s changing attitudes.

A variety of fresh salads and sandwiches are among the most popular items on fast food menus across the globe. Just last week, McDonald’s released its EggWhite Delight breakfast sandwich – a healthier alternative to the Egg McMuffin. And also making its debut this month is the McDonald’s Premium McWrap, an upgrade from the original McWrap and is also marketed as a healthier option.

In a recent commercial, McDonald’s advertises its Premium McWrap as “a blend of tender, juicy chicken and tantalizing fresh veggies in three captivating flavors.” However, the nutrition profiles for each of the three flavors vary greatly in fat grams, calories, and sodium. The Premium McWrap Chicken & Ranch (Grilled) contains 16 fat grams and 430 calories whereas the Premium McWrap Chicken & Bacon (Crispy) contains 30 fat grams and 600 calories. Thus, even with a healthier spin on menu options, consumers still must carefully examine nutritional information in order to actually enjoy a healthy lunch.

Real healthy menu development combines deep understanding of consumer taste preferences with expertise in flavor and nutritional profiles of various foods. If you would like to implement truly healthy and delicious menu offerings at your restaurant, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants, the healthy menu experts.

There’s something magical about the aroma of freshly baked bread. The scent and flavor can conjure up comforting feelings and childhood memories. Studies like those conducted by neurologist Dr. Alan Hirsch of the Smell and Taste Research and Science Foundation have actually found that the smell of baked goods (e.g. breads, cakes) make up the largest category of nostalgic memories

It is no wonder, then, that the demand for artisan and specialty breads is on the rise. Although made with minimal ingredients, creating a great artisan bread is an art form in and of itself. Crafting freshly baked bread from scratch on-site is an extremely difficult, and many times impractical, feat for most quick service and casual dining restaurants. So what should a restaurant do when more and more customers’ palates are becoming accustomed to the taste of freshly baked artisanal breads?

The technique of par-baking, short for partial baking, has helped restaurateurs answer this question. The general concept behind par-baking is having 80% of the dough cooked, then flash-frozen, before being shipped off to a restaurant to complete the baking process. Well-known bakery cafes like Panera Bread and Corner Bakery utilize par-baking at their stores. This way, restaurants can finish baking the loaves on-site so they are fresh without having to undergo the complete process of making artisanal bread themselves.

How can your restaurant benefit from par-baking?

• Economies of scale
• Less skill-labor required in preparation
• More opportunities to capitalize on bread trends and experiment with different types
• Create fresh baked bread aromas in your stores
• Increase profit
• Reduce waste

Do you have questions on how to implement par-baking at your bakery or restaurant? For more information, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

Being cheesy is a good thing if you’re talking food! In the world of sandwiches, cheese is the delicious glue that keeps the essential pieces together. Since April is National Grilled Cheese month, all the more reason to celebrate this great food at your restaurant! Get inspired by these great grilled cheese recipes, and don’t forget a great soup to pair it with!

Lobster grilled cheese – Talk about decadent! This recipe layers lobster, brie, mayonnaise, herbs, and other seasonings to give an adult twist to this classic dish.

Vegan grilled cheese with roasted tomatillo salsa – Don’t forget our vegan and vegetarian customers! Vegan cheese offers the same gooey richness as real cheese; paired with this tomatillo salsa, this sandwich is just as gooey and delicious as the real thing.

Grilled cheese with pulled short ribs and pickled red onions – You can have the best of both worlds, pairing slow-cooked ribs and Bel Paese cheese; elevation to the next level of comfort foods!

Grilled Goat Cheese, Asparagus and Prosciutto Sandwiches – Using goat milk cheese instead cow’s milk cheese lowers both fat and calories in the sandwich without skimping on taste. This Whole Foods recipe features whole grain bread, asparagus, goat cheese spread, and prosciutto. Each servings clocks in just 300 calories and 12 total grams of fat.

Grilled ham and gouda sandwiches with frisée and caramelized onions – Ham is to cheese as peanut butter is to jelly — a perfect duo! This simple recipe is a definite keeper if you’re a fan of smoked ham and gouda!

Every month we like to shed some insight into the newest menu offerings from your favorite quick-service and casual dining restaurants. There are lots to choose from this April and we did notice an emphasis on pizza (one of our favorite foods, admittedly!) Read about these debuting menu items to see whether they might be worth a taste.

Pizzaburger from Boston Pizza: No, this is not a late April Fool’s joke. Yes, pizzaburger – as in a food which is the combination of pizza and a burger. The Canadian pizza chain, Boston Pizza, describes this unusual dish as, “100% Canadian beef. Our half-pound prime rib beef burger wrapped in a cheese pizza. Stuffed with pizza mozzarella, cheddar, feta, Asiago, fresh Parmesan and our signature pizza sauce. Baked to perfection and topped with lettuce, tomato and pickle.”

Deep! Deep! Dish Pizza from Little Caesar’s: This very excitable name describes Little Caesar’s latest creation: “Our Detroit-style deep dish pizza with a unique, crisp-on-the-bottom, soft-and-chewy-on-the-inside crust. Topped from coast-to-coast with fresh, premium mozzarella and Muenster, baked to a crispy, crunchy, caramelized cheese edge. Four corners of perfection weren’t enough – so we gave you eight!” Deep! Deep! Dish Pizza will be available for Hot-N-Ready pickup.

Crazy Cheese Crust Pizza from Pizza Hut: It looks like the battle of the pizza chains is going strong this month! Pizza Hut unveiled an extremely cheesier cousin to its class Stuffed Crust Pizza this month. At just $12.99, you get a large pepperoni pizza that’s surrounded by 16 pockets of Italian 5 cheese blend. We never thought pizza could any cheesier until now!

Egg White Delight from McDonald’s: We recently mentioned this new healthier offering in our previous blog post. This egg white sandwich will be on sale starting April 22.

St. Louis Style BBQ Ribs from Boston Market: Move over ham, it’s time to share the spotlight with a new menu item– ribs! For a limited time, Boston Market is offering customers slow-smoked, seasoned BBQ ribs. It’s certainly is a nice twist to Boston Market’s traditional menu.

Video Little Caesars:

Restaurants all across New York City were preparing for March 12, the day that would have banned selling large, sugary drinks.  But just one day before the law would be enacted, a state judge struck down the impending ban, calling it “arbitrary and capricious,” according to this Fox News article. Although thousands of restaurant owners breathed a sigh of relief on the lift, the battle for healthier food offerings continues to rage on.

While some restaurant owners may argue that it is ultimately the consumer’s responsibility to ensure they make wise food choices, it is becoming more evident that people are actively seeking healthier menu offerings. In fact, the 2013 Technomic Healthy Eating Consumer Trend Report discovered that 64 percent of consumers believe it is important to pay attention to nutrition and eat healthy. And of those surveyed, 38 percent stated they would more likely dine at a restaurant that had more healthy options even if they did not purchase those items.

Earlier this year, Restaurant.com explained what they thought would be some of the food trends to emerge in 2013, one of which included healthy food. With similar findings to the Technomic study, Restaurant.com’s survey shows:

“Sixty-four percent of restaurants surveyed noted a customer demand for healthy menu options and they’re responding accordingly: 80 percent of restaurants say they will add healthier menu items in 2013. Fifty-two percent of restaurants surveyed selected healthy options as the most influential factor in planning their 2013 menus, followed by vegetarian options (39 percent) and gluten-free options (38 percent)”

(Source: QSRWeb.com)

What happens if your restaurant isn’t serving food that people want? This certainly gives more credence to the saying “give them what they want.” And in this case, it’s actually healthy food.

Making smarter food choices while dining out is becoming more common these days, and restaurants haven taken notice. Even quick-serve restaurants have become accommodating to health-conscious consumers, offering healthier menu items such as garden salads and grilled chicken sandwiches in addition to letting diners swap sides like French fries for fresh fruit.

Some of the most popular menu items at fast food restaurants are the breakfast offerings, but these tend to also be some of the unhealthiest. Classic options such as hash browns, egg and sausage sandwiches, bacon, and hotcakes with butter and syrup are all items high in fat, calories, and cholesterol. McDonald’s famous Egg McMuffin with Egg contains 300 calories and 12 grams of fat and equally popular Sausage McMuffin with Egg packs in a whopping 450 calories and 27 grams of fat. At its rival Burger King, the Sausage, Egg & Cheese Croissan’wich also contains 450 calories but with 30 grams of fat.

Recently, McDonald’s has also decided to expand their breakfast offerings to include a Egg White Delight sandwich. Debuting April 22, this sandwich will feature egg whites, Canadian bacon, and white cheddar on a whole wheat English muffin. This sandwich is only 240 calories,40 calories less than the Egg McMuffin. In addition to the Egg White Delight, customers now also have the option to substitute egg whites when ordering other breakfast items.

While egg white menu options is not a new idea in the quick service space (restaurants such as Einstein Bros, Subway, and Dunkin’ Donuts all serve egg white sandwiches), it is part of a bigger push towards healthy offerings that will be a long lasting one. If you would like to learn how to expand your menu to include healthy choices, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

The cold-hard facts: 25.8 million children and adults in the United States—8.3% of the population—have diabetes (American Diabetes Association). Further, type 2 diabetes comprises 90% of people with diabetes around the world (World Health Organization). Due to the detrimental adverse affects of diabetes, people battling this disease are constantly monitoring their blood sugar levels, and ensuring that they are exercising and eating healthy.

Since diet plays a crucial role in the health of a diabetic, many of them rigorously search for healthy food choices in order to keep their blood sugar levels in check. While grocery stores conveniently offer a variety of diabetic-friendly food options, it is not always the case at restaurants. The diabetic may find it difficult to find a restaurant that can cater to their diabetic diet — one that is low in calories, fat, and carbohydrates but still nutritionally balanced. Ultimately, it is up to the diabetic herself to make the right food choices, but as a savvy restaurant operator you can make her life easier (and millions of others), by creating a diabetic-friendly menu. Here are some practical tips on developing a menu that will cater people living with diabetes.

Creating a diabetic-friendly menu

• Create low-calories dishes by offering smaller portions
• Focus on lean cuts of protein and always offer fish options
• Limit the oil you cook with by utilizing techniques like baking, steaming, braising, and grilling versus deep frying
• Choose low-fat, or non-fat dairy products
• Fresh fruits and vegetables are great side dishes
• Limit the total amount of carbohydrates (this includes sugars) in all dishes
• Instead of only offering water and sodas, look into other low-calorie/zero-calorie and low-sugar drinks like unsweetened tea, coffee, low-fat milk, and even no-sugar added juice drinks
• Incorporate non-meat proteins like beans and lentils in dishes
• Experiment with sugar alcohol such as Xylitol — this is a low-calorie sweetener and can be used to create sugar-free desserts.

Taking the initiative to create a healthy, diabetic-friendly restaurant menu will not only help your patrons make smart eating choices, but can help increase your bottom line as well. If you have questions regarding healthy menu development, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

There are a lot of new restaurant menu items to look forward to in March as well as some returning favorites. Check out our list of March’s hottest new and returning menu items from some of the most well-known brands:

• Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos from Taco Bell: The highly anticipated Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco has finally arrived and debuted nationwide on March 7 to drooling fans.
• Hazelnut Macchiato from Starbucks: Inspired by one of their best sellers, the Caramel Macchiato, Starbuck’s newest beverage features a hazelnut twist.
• McCafé Shamrock Shake from McDonald’s: This festively green and minty seasonal favorite is made with reduced fat ice cream, “Shamrock Shake syrup,” whipped cream and topped with a Maraschino cherry.
• Skinny Sorbettos from Red Mango:  The frozen yogurt  retailer has introduced a new line of dairy free, sugar free, probiotic softly-frozen treats called “Skinny Sorbettos” and is offering in raspberry and chocolate flavors.
• Brussels and Bacon Pizza from California Pizza Kitchen: Creating a tasty marriage of veggies and meats, this unique pizza truly highlights the Brussels sprouts. This LTO if offered through the end of March.
• Shrimp Burger from The Habit Burger: This promotional burger features char-grilled, ginger-teriyaki glazed 100% whole shimp shrimp with lettuce, tomatoes, grilled pineapple and homemade tartar sauces on a whole wheat bun.

We’ve written a lot in the past about how more consumers are being conscious about what they eat — they are looking healthy options like organic and all natural. Many are interested in green and sustainable practices and businesses have been taking notice, too.

Let’s get a refresher on what sustainability really is when it comes to food production. According to 1990 “Farm Bill,”

“the term sustainable agriculture means an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term:

• satisfy human food and fiber needs
• enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends
• make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls
• sustain the economic viability of farm operations
• enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.”

source: http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/agnic/susag.shtml

And just recently, McDonald’s has proudly announced that are serving MSC -certified sustainable fish — the first USA chain to do so. According to their press release,

“McDonald’s collaboration with the Marine Stewardship Council is a critical part of our company’s journey to advance positive environmental and economic practices in our supply chain,” said Dan Gorsky, senior vice president of U.S. supply chain and sustainability. “We’re extremely proud of the fact that this decision ensures our customers will continue to enjoy the same great taste and high quality of our fish with the additional assurance that the fish they are buying can be traced back to a fishery that meets MSC’s strict sustainability standard.”