Every year, food writers scour restaurant menus, grocery sales, street food offerings, and even Pinterest boards to identify the hottest trends. Being trendy is not a top goal for our team, but preferences our students develop, both at home and when dining out, inspire our menus.

Recently, I reviewed top food predictions for 2017, and found that our menus are right on trend. Here are just a few of the “hot choices” that regularly appear in our cafeterias:

Hearty biscuits.  Our sausage, chicken, and country-style steak biscuits are breakfast favorites.

Healthier fried chicken.  Traditional Southern fare with a healthy twist was a big inspiration this year. We serve an oven-fried chicken with cornbread.

Bowls.  Bowls packed with vegetables, sauces, starches and a little meat have become a lunchtime favorite all over the country. Our students enjoy a variety of bowls featuring chicken, meatballs, mashed potatoes, and pasta.

Flavored applesauce.  Mixing new flavors and spices into applesauce has proven a hit with people of all ages, including our students. If you have not yet sampled new flavors, look for strawberry, cinnamon, maple and mixed berry varieties.

Mexican food – especially tacos.  From fine dining restaurants to food trucks, people are lining up for “modern Mexican” dishes. Students love our beef tacos and chicken and cheese burritos.

Stir fry.  An overall trend is using meat more as a condiment than a main course. A stir-fry is the perfect vegetable/meat combo but veggies alone can star in a stir-fry. Our stir-fry broccoli is a popular example.

Yogurt.  You have probably noticed the yogurt section at your grocery is now a yogurt aisle …It is not just for breakfast anymore. Our students enjoy yogurt parfaits with fruit and granola.

Comfort foods. By popular demand, we serve a chicken and rice casserole (a la grandma), country fried steak, shepherd’s pie, and hearty chili (with either beef or chicken).

Tasty food is always in fashion.

Happy holidays

– Kelly Schlein