Move over cronuts and rainbow bagels, the insect doughnut is here

The cricket-laced treat is the latest bug-based food available in the UK

Close your eyes and open your taste buds because there’s a new doughnut on the block.

Boasting a milk chocolate glazed ring (do go on…), a “generous” topping of cookie crumbs (tell us more…), shredded wheat, raspberry jam (ok just grabbing the purse), and salt-and-vinegar flavoured crickets.

Wait, what?!

This is the new ‘Bushtucker doughnut’, which swaps sprinkles for insects. (Should that be sprinksects?)

This is the brainchild of a doughnut store in London, which is offering the limited-edition treat honouring the infamous Bushtucker Trial from the TV Show, I’m A Celebrity Get My Out Of Here!

Contestants on the reality series must perform grisly tasks like eating live insects in order to earn meals.

The doughnut namesake of the jungle trial will be available for this week only, until Friday 24 November, offering a culinary experience that’s marketed as “sweet and tangy with a serious crunch".

Lovely.

Customers who complete the challenge of consuming one of the £4.50 cricket-topped confectionery treats while in the store will be given a gold star. The stars can then be exchanged for a free doughnut until Friday.

And in case you were wondering, the free doughnut does not have to be one of the cricket-y options.

This insect-doughnut is just the latest example of the growing popularity in the West of entomophagy – the practice of humans eating insects.

In 2015, the UK’s first insect restaurant opened its doors to the eager public.

Grub Kitchen in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, serves dishes like “sour cream bamboo worm dip” and “bug pie". Its award-winning head chef, Andy Holcroft, is a keen advocate of eating bugs.

Simply mouth-watering.

There are several online suppliers in the UK now offering a range of insect-based nutritional supplements like cricket protein powder and cricket flour.

And last year London got its own pop-up insect bar.

The temporary restaurant was part of London Food Tech Week, external and served up mealworm canapés, bug ice-cream and chocolate brownies made with cricket flour.

But insect-infused treats are not just some hip food fad.

In 2013 the UN urged people to eat more insects in order to combat world hunger. It’s estimated that global food production will need to increase by 70%, external in order to feed a projected global population of 9 billion by 2050.

And in 2015, the UK’s government’s waste agency produced its own report (PDF), external recommending insects as an alternative to meat because of their high nutritional value and low carbon footprint.

“Insects can be a good source of energy, protein, fats, vitamins and minerals,” says Bridget Benelam, Nutrition Communications Manager for the British Nutrition Foundation.

“In many cases their nutrient profile can be similar to meat and fish.”

So bugs are healthy. But if you’re not yet ready to stuff them in your mouth like a packet of pick 'n' mix, here are some ideas to ease you in.

“For those who find the idea of eating whole insects off-putting, a halfway house could be to try flours made from insects in baking or using them chopped so that they are less visible,” says Benelam.

She's not sure about smuggling insects into your diet via a doughnut: “Going for a balanced meal combining the insects with foods like wholegrains, fruits, vegetables and pulses would be the ideal."

So there you have it, eating insects is healthy, good for world hunger and might even save the planet.

Sorry if that bugs you out.