News

New recipes deliver nutrition and flavour on a large scale

January 30, 2013 (Winnipeg, MB) Pulse Canada has just put the finishing touches on a new collection of large-scale recipes targeting the food service industry.  The Pulse Potential: Large Scale Recipes for the Foodservice Industry, which includes 14 healthy recipes ready for scale-up, will be distributed to the foodservice industry including institutional food service providers, long-term care facilities, food distributors and health care professionals across North America.

“Pulse Canada was happy to partner with Saskatoon Health Region on this project” said Christine Farkas, Manager of Food Product & Culinary Innovation at Pulse Canada. “These healthy, pulse-based recipes were developed with long-term care facilities in mind, but we are reaching out to all food service suppliers to showcase the diversity that pulses offer in creating tasty and nutritious menu selections. This scale up resource is suitable for use in almost any institutional or commercial foodservice establishment.  What school cafeteria couldn’t benefit from nutrient-dense menu items that are delicious as well?”

The project was initiated in 2010 at the suggestion of Vicki Dutton, a farmer and member of the Pulse Canada board of directors.  “Lentils, peas and beans are a natural base for healthy meals as they are low in fat, high in fibre and protein, and research has shown that consumption has a positive impact in addressing chronic conditions such diabetes, heart disease and weight control” said Dutton. 

At the outset, an on-line survey of 60 dietitians working in Canadian health care foodservice institutions was conducted. The information gathered was used to establish targets for nutrition, ease of preparation and cost effectiveness.  Prospective recipes were tested for flavour by residents and staff from acute care, long-term care, and rural and urban health care facilities throughout Saskatchewan. 

All the recipes chosen can be prepared in 50, 100, 250 and 500 batch sizes, and all contain pulses.

“As the foodservice industry becomes increasingly interested in offering healthy menu options, Pulse Canada is here to offer support by developing pulse-based recipes that meet their needs for nutrition, diversity and cost effectiveness” says Farkas.

The 14 large-scale recipes chosen for inclusion in “The Pulse Potential” can be found online at www.pulsecanada.com/scale-up-recipes . Along with the recipe cards, a Scale-up Manual was also developed. The manual includes cooking tips and methods, an overview of available pulses and pulse ingredients, as well information on pulse nutrition and environmental sustainability.

Pulse Canada is the national association representing growers, traders and processors of Canadian pulse crops (peas, beans, lentils & chickpeas). Canada is the world’s largest supplier of pulses, exporting to more than 150 countries.

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For more details: Shelley Jesseau, Mgr of Marketing & Communications, Pulse Canada, (204) 925-4451, sjesseau@pulsecanada.com