2. Boosting non-meat protein options
“I feel like salad bars have changed tremendously over the years as the palate of patrons has grown,” says Dewey McMurrey, executive chef at Texas Tech University, which boasts several salad bar concepts on its Lubbock campus. “Alternatively, the science of how we grow food to improve flavor and color has helped this become easier.”
Expanding non-meat proteins like hummus; Greek yogurt; cottage cheeses; beans; blended seeds like sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia, hemp, almonds and pecans; quinoa; and chickpeas have “balanced the bar, so to speak,” McMurrey says. It also caters to the nutritional needs of Texas Tech’s vegetarian and vegan students.