As we wave goodbye (and good f*cking riddance) to 2018, we look forward to the weird, fresh, and sometimes terrible trends to come in the world of food. Will we be inundated by raw everything? Are pomegranates going to be fetch once more? Will avocado toast be de-throned as the reigning basic b*tch breakfast? This year, we predict weed will be more mainstream, sea vegetables will adorn our plates next to motherless meats, and foamy delicious oat milk will grace our lattes. Sounds like it’s gonna be wild, so take a look.
1. Dope Is Dope
Bet on seeing hemp milks and cannabis everything in the grocery store this year. Your stoner neighbor, Bob, will be v pleased since, he’s been telling you about the benefits of this totally sacred herb since he moved into your building two months ago. But seriously, the appeal of all things CBD and hemp is spreading, and food producers are getting in on the action. According to Whole Foods, CBD oil is still technically prohibited from being featured in food items, but that may not last long.
2. Seaweed And Sea Greens
Sushi lovers rejoice, because seaweed is totally going mainstream this year. According to Forbes, “Expect to see seaweed butters, kelp noodles, puffed snacks made from water lily seeds, plant-based tuna alternatives made from algae, crispy salmon skins and kelp jerkies.” I’m going to go ahead and move kelp jerkies to the absolute bottom of my “try” list, but all that other stuff sounds at least kind of fun.
3. Lab-Grown Meat
We probably shouldn’t be calling stuff grown in a lab “meat”, but here we are. According to the New York Times, KFC and several other meat giants are already throwing money at “motherless meat”. I’m really not sure how I feel about this, but theoretically it’s better for the environment, as well as being more ethical. You know that vegan burger that totally “bleeds” when you bite into it? Look into your future.
4. New Lettuces
Romaine cut us deep this year and betrayed our trust one too many times. The big E. coli scares have actually pushed chefs and home-eaters to try new types of lettuces from Bibb to Little Gem. The trendiest, though, will be lettuces grown hydroponically and/or on urban farms. Don’t ask, because I’m not a scientist.
5. Gut-Healthy/Probiotic Heavy Foods
It all started with Activia and Jamie Lee Curtis telling us we needed her yogurt to help us poop more. Sure enough, more and more of us are turning to things like kimchi and kombucha for a healthy crap factory. This year, we’ll see even more pre- and probiotic rich foods, all aimed at keeping our microbiome in healthy working order.
6. Cricket Protein
I’ll let you take a minute to digest the whole insect protein thing. About 80% of the world eats bugs in some form, and Americans have been behind for awhile. Look for cricket flour (really) in your local health food stores this year. Apparently, the roasted, ground, and milled crickets make for a yummy, nutty flavor profile. Still gonna be a no from me, dog.
7. Bee Pollen
Hopefully this trend will help and not hurt the already dwindling bee population (#savethebees fam). Victoria Beckham has claimed for YEARS that bee pollen is what gives her that #glow, and she may be on to something. Bee pollen is an amazing source of anti-inflammatory antioxidants and, according to early studies, may help in reducing cholesterol and healing cuts and bruises.
8. Peganism
What do you get when you combine vegan eating and paleo diets? Peganism, and it’s as stupid as it sounds. This shouldn’t surprise any of us, what with literally all of our coworkers telling us how much better they felt once they cut out bread, pasta, and happiness. Combine that with veganism, which–fun fact–you’re required by law to tell everyone about within four minutes of meeting them. 2019 is gonna be LIT.
9. Oat Milk
Get ready to replace your almond and soy milk with oat milk. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, “Dairy-free, nut-free, possibly gluten-free (depending on where the oats are processed), this milk substitute is drawing fans with its texture that’s creamier than most of its counterparts. It also has more protein than nut milks (but less than soy milk or actual milk) and more fiber than any of them.” So, now you can make your overnight oats with actual oat milk, which is like, so meta.
10. Pacific Rim Flavors
We’ve found a new cuisine to hopelessly exploit! How many fruits can we make go extinct in 2019? Pacific Rim refers to places like western North and South America, Asia, and Oceania, which seems rly broad, but I don’t make the food trend rules. According to Whole Foods, “Ingredients like longganisa (a Filipino pork sausage), dried shrimp, cuttlefish and shrimp paste are on restaurant and home menus that span from breakfast to dinner, while vibrant tropical fruits such as guava, dragon fruit and passionfruit are making their way into colorful smoothie bowls and cocktails.” Let’s take bets on how long it takes for Americans to wipe out dragon fruit while on the quest for delicious smoothies.
Images: Shutterstock; Giphy (4)
The entire world of food changes from year to year, and it’s getting hard to keep up. No one drinks milk anymore. Now we drink “milk” made from nuts (is it just me or did almond milk not exist three years ago?). No one eats regular pasta anymore. Now we eat black bean and lentil spaghetti. What’s going on? And WTF are lentils? As funky as these things sound, nut milk and veggie pastas are totally normal compared to the other weird stuff popping up on the supermarket shelves nowadays. Prepare yourselves, betches. Here are some of the upcoming weird food trends you can look forward to seeing (and trying, if you dare) in 2019.
1. Fake Meat Snacks
Sounds even more nasty when I put it that way… but yeah, vegetarian meats like bacon and pork rinds are going to be hitting supermarkets for all of us herbivores to snack on when we get hungry. Now instead of dehydrated peas and beets, we can enjoy some faux meat (while dreaming of eating a real cut of steak or slab of greasy bacon while we do it)!
2. Fat
Bulletproof coffee, coconut and MCT oil, and chocolate treats, oh my. In honor of the super trendy paleo and keto dieters out there, fatty foods are officially IN. If you’re on a strict diet that allows a higher-than-normal daily fat intake, then you’re in luck, because more brands will be catering to your needs in the coming year.
3. Avocado Ice Cream
Avocado lovers, unite! Everyone loves avocados so much that now it’s becoming a staple ingredient in meals and desserts… including ice cream. Once upon a time, making avocado ice cream was only for extremely bored people who found the recipe on Pinterest and just so happened to have an appetite and an avocado lying around their kitchen. Now, everyday people are actually going to be buying it from the dairy-alternative ice cream section in your grocery store. What a world we live in, huh?
4. Kimchi
What is kimchi? Fermented cabbage… which I only have when I’m at Korean BBQ but some people like it a lot, so much so that it’s expected to trend in 2019. This Korean-oriented veggie is tangy, super healthy, and full of good bacteria. It’s similar in nature to sauerkraut, which is also an acquired taste. If you like cabbage, radishes, spices, fish sauce, and kelp powder, give kimchi a shot. Mix it with seafood, or eat it on its own if you’re feeling crazy.
5. Seaweed
You know when you’re at the beach and you go in the water and that creepy green stuff gets caught around your legs and gives you a heart attack because you think it’s a jellyfish? Well, that’s the cool new thing to eat! Dried, spiced, roasted, and flavored seaweed is gluten-free AND vegan, so I guess you could say it’s pretty healthy too. I sound like I’m hatin,g but seaweed is actually delicious. Shout out to my fellow seaweed salad eaters.
Images: Dose Juice / Unsplash