DLE Café in Montego Bay is a haven for health-conscious diners, offering a diverse menu that caters to various dietary needs, including options suitable for individuals managing diabetes. The day’s main quest was to explore the diabetic menu but the establishment’s commitment to fresh, plant-based ingredients, ensuring both nutritious and flavourful options had us doing a side quest with some of these options.

The diabetic menu is designed for wellness as it offers thoughtful selections for meal options and smoothies tailored to support balanced blood sugar levels. From wraps to nutrient-rich salads, every dish is designed with health in mind. The smoothies, made with natural ingredients and with natural sweeteners such as dates, provide a refreshing yet mindful indulgence.

Thursday Food checked out a few diabetic options that included the strawberry cream smoothie, jerk mushroom, ackee and plantain waffles, crunchy string bean salad, and roasted veggie flatbread pizza. Kitchen lead Racquel McLean highlighted some important notes in maintaining the health aspect of the menu options.

“For our strawberry cream smoothie, we get sweetness only from the fruits and the dates are added for just a little more kick. It also contains lemon and lime juice, and this will not spike your insulin or compromise the health or taste aspect. The waffles are vegan and made without eggs, the sweetener is maple syrup, and this is served on the side giving the customer control. The waffles are made with ripe plantains and organic flour. The mushrooms are cooked in jerk sauce for the kick and the ackee is cooked and made into a purée and topped with pineapples grilled with maple syrup, lime juice and cinnamon,” McLean explained.

“The flatbread is one of my favourites. The base is made from cauliflower with herbs and spices that are really good for the immune system. It has different vegetables as well as mushrooms, cucumbers, tomatoes, and is topped with vegan cashew and parmesan cheese. It is also not overly spicy or salty and this makes it a very health-conscious option. The string bean salad incorporates freshly cut string beans not overly done, thus giving you a crunch, and caramelised nuts. The nuts are done in organic coconut milk and maple syrup, all in moderation to reduce the sweetness and finally topped with feta cheese,” McLean outlined.

The diabetic menu features other options like buckwheat oat chia pancakes, green banana strawberry compote pancakes, chickpea tuna sandwich, chickpea samosa burger, spiced pumpkin lentil meatballs and brown rice, roasted sweet potato and quinoa salad and curried black lentil salad.

“You can come in and try the options even if you’re not diabetic, as the items are very interesting and extraordinary and explore all our menu options as everything is done with love,” added McLean.