by A full continental breakfast remains a staple; right now, its presence is cushioned by avocado toast, overnight oats, or superfood smoothies. It may seem a bit trivial to those who don’t have a solid understanding of nutrition, but under every new menu publication there is a hidden trail of scientific research that points to a healthier way forward.
One of the latest dietary trends to emerge is an attempt to answer the question, “Before the agricultural revolution, what did our ancestors eat to keep themselves healthy for all four seasons?” Somewhat controversial because of how it rejects veganism and the greater push for plant-based eating, ancestral eating is based on the anthropological evidence that the human species has always been an ‘opportunistic supervirus’ – that we are scavengers flexible as well as crafty fishermen and tough hunters.
Without going too far into what our paleolithic cousins ate (although weeds like purslane were on the menu for our ancestors), this meant that we set traps in the summer and early autumn and made fruit wild, and in winter. tracking down large beasts then found a way to fire roast every last bit of meat. Nothing went wrong. In the early days of animal husbandry, any dairy that was eaten as raw milk or as a heterogeneous microbial fermentation product like kefir was. Similarly, grains and cereals were at the ‘recreational farmer’ stage at this point and were only consumed in slow yeast processed form.
In addition to the overarching lesson of avoiding ultra-processed foods and choosing more organic ingredients, ancestral dietary principles can be applied to any F&B outlet to differentiate the operation from competitors, offering science-backed menu items them to support better health and attractiveness. with the growing subculture willing to pay a little more for paleo-approved options. Here are some considerations that will put you on the right track.
1/ Cultivators of wild berries. What has happened in the last few hundred years is that we have started breeding fruits for greater yields and higher sweetness to increase profits and palatability. The result of this is that our fruit now contains a very high amount of sugar and reduced levels of antioxidants; they are not as ‘nutrient dense’ as wild generated. Don’t forget: eating any fruit (except diabetics) is a step in the right direction. But if you’re going to choose ‘nature’s candy’, why not eat the best version of it?
With berries highlighted for their low fructose content (that’s the type of sugar that can overload the liver) and high amounts of polyphenols, let’s consider blueberries – one of the healthiest foods on the planet planet without a doubt. Whether organic or not, most blueberries that reach the market are of the high-bush cultivar that has been engineered for their large size and high sugar content. So restaurants can wow their patrons by finding the antioxidant-laden lowbush variety (often sold as frozen from Nova Scotia), which is a fraction of the size but mysteriously deep indigo.
2/ Sourdough bread. With F&B outlets now labeling items as gluten-free as well as finding alternatives for celiacs such as chickpea-based pastas, researchers have simultaneously begun to investigate why people in Southern Europe and in the Levant eat grain regularly well into their nonagenarian. years without any chronic issues while we North Americans feel bloated and lethargic after one or two portions of bread. While there are many other factors that contribute to the revered Mediterranean diet, one culprit on this side of the pond is that we don’t let yeast do its thing.
Bread that is mechanically processed over a few hours does not give the microbes enough time to chew the gluten. This process takes days, and the yeast breaks down those gut-irritating proteins with an acid fermentation byproduct for that unfathomable sour taste. While working with sourdough requires patience and, therefore, an additional cost for a commercial kitchen, the word itself is very marketable, and you don’t have to limit yourself to just bread, with both sourdough pizza and pasta in vogue.
3/ Nuts soaked or sprouted. One important aspect of evolution to understand is that while animals avoid being eaten by running away, plants fight back through chemical warfare. Flora do not want you to eat their young, and they coat their seeds with compounds that may be highly toxic (or indigestible) to a potential scavenger in order to thrive the next generation. With this in mind, we often forget that nuts are tree seeds and that the outer layer is laced with antinutrients that can cause problems when consumed in large quantities.
The solution our ancestors came up with was to soak nuts in water for half a day or a full 24 hours so that the tannins and phytic acid would dissolve from the shell. Another step was to cycle the nuts through several wet and then dry periods so that the seeds would leave (this works for beans too). From there, you dehydrate the nuts back to their dry form. Again, this is a slow and more expensive process, but adjectives like ‘soaked’ or ‘sprouted’ come with a justifiable surcharge.
4/ Goat or sheep dairy. Moving into the animal kingdom, we have already mentioned kefir, which works wonders in restoring the gut microbiome. What nutritionists have discovered, however, is that goat and sheep milk are much healthier for us than cow’s milk, and additional anthropological evidence points to an earlier point of domestication for these two species over larger livestock.
Goat and sheep dairy products are naturally higher in medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are keto-friendly and help promote metabolic flexibility for a healthier liver. Furthermore, unlike cows of Northern European pedigree which contain the potentially harmful A1-casein protein, goat and sheep’s milk or cheese will not contain this, making both safer. for those who feel bad after drinking regular cow’s milk.
5/ Nose-to-tail burgers or sausages. One central mantra sought by ancestral dieters was that our ancestors ate every part of an animal; the nose, the excrement, the ox and every other bit of sinew are often boiled down into a collagenous stew. It therefore follows that we should all be eating more organ meats because, gram-for-gram, these are technically the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. North America is an oddity in this regard because we are one of the only places on the planet where you cannot find these cuts regularly on the menu.
The Italians have trippa alla parmigiana (tripe); kokoretsi (spit-roasted pork) is a popular street food in Turkey; and you can easily find barbecued chicken heart at any Thai night market. We’re not asking you to go full Liver King on your menu, but luckily, meat producers are starting to incorporate the healthier organ in a form palatable to Canadians and Americans by grinding the offal into burgers and sausages . It’s just one way to ease your guests into these foods.
6/ Intermittent fasting. We focus not on a specific ingredient but on a popular way of eating. In traditional pursuits, our ancestors likely went for long periods without any food, and study after study has shown the enormous health benefits of regular breaks from meals for the digestive tract.
When thinking realistically about your F&B revenues and how they fit into the larger profitability mix at a hotel, as this trend progresses, what happens when a large number of guests do not eat breakfast anymore and are not inspired by your B&B offers? The obvious answer is to have incredible coffee service, but sadly the idea of fasting is something that every hotelier has to face as it affects food service revenue and hotel packaging.
Larry MogelonskyMBA, P.Eng. – Hotel Strategist, Industry Pundit, Old Irish Marketer, and Public Speaker.
With more than 40 years working in the hospitality sector, Hotel Mogel Consulting helps both hotel owners maximize property performance and technology vendors overcome industry entry barriers to achieve financial success. Visit our contact page to start the conversation.
www.hotelmogel.com
