Healthy Food Trends For 2016

It’s a new year, and that means people are making New Year’s resolutions. Those resolutions typically fall under the categories of “lose weight” or “eat healthier foods.” That also means that people aren’t just looking for healthy foods; they’re looking for people to tell them what healthy foods they should eat. They’re looking for what’s trendy. With this in mind, the following are five health food trends that are sure to make a stamp on 2016.

BOWLS

Bowls are no longer limited to just soups, cereals and ice cream. The bowl is becoming the primary serving vehicle for lunch and dinner meals as well. By combining a healthy grain, a nutritious vegetable and a protein source, the consumer has everything he or she needs in a single bowl. People are experimenting with a variety of "bowl types": protein bowls, macro bowls, broth bowls and veggie bowls, just to name a few. Additionally, restaurants are popping up in California and New York City that have more “bowl-intensive” menus.

VEGETABLE NOODLES

With the help of a spiralizing machine or a julienne peeler, health-conscious eaters are turning their favorite vegetables into pastas. Some of the top candidates for this vegetable-to-noodle transformation include squashes, spinach, carrots, beets and zucchini. This method kills two birds with one stone by allowing people to get the nutrients from they need from vegetables while reducing the amount of calories they’d normally get from refined grains. Now that cookbooks and blogs are starting to concentrate on vegetable noodles, more people will be looking for this option when they go out to eat.

SEAWEED

Fiona Houston, co-founder and CEO of Mara Seaweed, claims that, “Seaweeds are amongst the most nutrient-dense plants on the planet, and as they have access to all the nutrients in the sea, they are an extremely rich source of minerals.1” Michelin-starred chefs are already jumping on board and buying Houston’s products. According to nutritionist Jane McKenzie of Queen Margaret University, manufacturers are following this new trend as well, using seaweed to replace the salt used in processed foods.” It's just a matter of time before consumers and restaurant-goers hop on the seaweed bandwagon as quickly they hopped on kale bandwagon.

ANCIENT GRAINS

Quinoa is probably the most well-known and popular of the ancient grains, but there’s every reason to believe that other ancient grains will be in high demand in 2016. Vegetarian and vegan eaters are constantly on the look-out for non-meat foods with high protein and B vitamins; ancient grains such as amaranth, sorghum, teff and millet definitely fit the bill.

NUT AND SEED MILKS

Nut and seed milks are arguably as popular now as cold-pressed juices were seven years ago. Because of lactose intolerance, the rise of veganism and bad publicity surrounding soy, consumers are turning toward nut and seed milks for their cereals, smoothies and baking needs. Supermarket brands such as OMilk are coming up with creative milk alternatives such as pistachio, walnut, cashew and macadamia nut. There are even Los Angeles cafes, such as Sqirl and Go Get Em Tiger, that are making their own nut milk concoctions. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it provides a strong sampling of what restaurant-goers and consumers are on the lookout for this year in terms of healthy foods.

FOOTNOTES:

1. 5 Healthy Food Trends That Will Rule 2016. (2015, December 1). Retrieved January 4, 2016, from  http://www.womenshealthmag.com/food/healthy-food-trends-2016

REFERENCES:

Helm, J. (2015, December 27). 6 Food Trends To Help You Eat Better In 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016, from  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/best-new- health-foods-2016_567adc0be4b0b958f658f4ef