2019 Food Trends Worth Your Time

Every year around this time my newsfeed is inundated with articles on what is trendy and “in”. I write about food, so of course, I read about food all the time – I also think, breathe and eat food but that’s a topic for another post.

Big 6 2019 Food Trends

It’s a brand new year and the latest foods are piquing interest around the world. From crickets to cheese tea to “motherless” meat, there’s a long list of food that people are trying out. The question though is – will your kids actually eat any of the stuff that is on all the big lists?

How do you decide which food trend is worth your time? Fortunately for you, I’m obsessed with food, right?! The food in my kitchen is at the intersection of healthy, delicious and of late, trendy! That along with a heavy dose of “what will my kids eat” makes up my list of big food trends of 2019 that are worth spending your time on!

Spoiler Alert: crickets do not make the cut. NOT the Top 10, not even the top 100!

Rise of the Brown food

Not just food cooked by brown people though that would totally work. It’s the ugly, goopy, imperfect brown food that does not get the Instagram likes it deserves. This is comfort food at it’s best, made using real ingredients. It brings home the flavour with not a thought paid to how the dish will look. I’m a blogger so pictures are important in how I tell my story but if you see a brown, lumpy mess on my Instagram feed you know it will taste FABULOUS and will be oh so good for you. Flavour will reign in 2019. Personality over looks, every time!

Fall of Misinformation

This is a big one for me so much so that I have written a whole separate article about the truth and trust dilemma. I’m genuinely concerned about the sheer quantity of fake information out there. People, reasonable people even, have no qualms about making stuff up or at best guess their way around important issues. In the food industry, this is of huge concern. We all want to lead lives to the best of our ability and the decisions we make to that end must be based on facts and sound advice. In this world of “let’s Google it,” it’s the facts that are getting increasingly difficult to pin down. Finding and following what’s trustworthy AND true, that’s what I’m rooting for in 2019!

Rise of the Vegan diet

This is a tough one for me especially after all the vegan trolling I received recently here and here. My friends (bloggers and otherwise) tell me it’s a sign that I am changing minds and reaching ALL different points of view. Trolling aside, following a vegan diet research tells us – if only for a couple of days a week like I do – is a healthy habit that is good for our bodies AND the planet. The rest of the time balance is key. Fruits, veggies, lentils, fish, turkey, chicken, eggs and dairy is the way to go in 2019. Yes, vegan choices are on the rise but our relationship with it – that isn’t exclusive.

Zero Waste Trend

Ever hear something that people tell you is all trendy and hip and you say, “But I’ve always done it this way.” That’s what the zero waste trend is. Root to fruit, nose to tail, there are a ton of new ways to refer to this not-so-new trend. My mom always cooks with minimal waste in mind. I have learned from her to use the stem of cauliflower in a ton of different ways. Broccoli stems make delicious chips, beet tops make for a yummy side and coriander stems and carrot tops are delicious in marinades. The list is long and I’m glad to see this way of looking at food is gaining popularity amongst the trendsetter crowd. There is a lot of effort that goes into growing and raising our food and at the very least we can make sure we are wasting as little as possible.

Rise of Cross-Cultural Cuisine

Turmeric with mashed potatoes, garam masala on brussel sprouts, turkey with hara masala, street-food style masala fried eggs, roasted parsnips with tahini, butter chicken lasagna, all flavour combinations that work so well in the belly and on the plate. Food is the most portable form of history there is and as immigrants there is very little else we bring with us when we move homes across continents. What we do carry is our memories, knowledge and our kitchen experience that we share in what we cook and eat in our new home. 2019 will see more mashups and cross-cultural influences in food. After all, immigration is the topic du jour.

Rise of the Home Cook

The biggest 2019 food trend that’s good for us and those around us will be simple homestyle cooking. More and more parents are working. They also have less time to spend in the kitchen. That’s why cooking dinner at home often falls to the bottom of the “to do list.” The thing is though, a homecooked dinner on the table is healthy for us and brings families together. And it doesn’t need to be complicated or Instagram-worthy. Simple techniques, wholesome ingredients can bring flavour and warmth to the dinner table in less time than it takes to order and wait for pizza.

2019 is a year of simplicity and change and our kitchen habits will follow the same trend.

Were you expecting a list of ingredients – top foods of 2019 that taste good and are good for you? Keep reading then! And in the meanwhile, Happy New Year!

xoxo

Puneeta