2019 Trending Foods are some that are predicted and others carryover from 2018 trendy foods. From Hot Pots to Poke Bowls stretching all the way to Nostalgia foods returning to popularity this year. We hope you are not hungry now. If you are, wait until you finish the article please.
Poke Bowls – If you don’t know already, these have been trending for a while. Pronounced “po-kay”, this Hawaiian phenomenon has risen in popularity to mainstream. Restaurants are cropping up everywhere. What are they? Poke is a bowl that you choose the size, pick your base from rice, kale, or other base materials. Next you choose your protein to add which can be raw tuna, salmon, spicy tuna, tofu, steamed shrimp or other protein options depending on what restaurant you are at. Then you will add on extras from a great selection of onions, peppers, cucumbers, scallions, sesame seeds, edamame, Seaweed options, avocado, fish roe, ginger, cilantro and more. Finally, you choose your sauce or sauces which might be a special company sauce, eel sauce, ponzu sauce, sesame sauce, spicy mayo, wasabi sauce or many other special sauces. All that will make it happen in your bowl. There will be “Special” Bowl Combinations preset by each restaurant as favorites offered with clever names. Poke Bowls are not cheap. The more you add the more the price goes up. Look for the local Poke restaurant and give it a try. It is like sushi but in a bowl, you build yourself.
Incorporating Veggies into Desserts – Hiding food that is healthy into desserts isn’t a new thing, but it is trending into new places. Tricking kids or even adults into eating their veggies has been a struggle for years. Remember President H.W. Bush single-handedly had broccoli trending downward in the early 1990’s by expressing his distaste? Broccoli farmers still remember. Veggies have been added to ice cream now and it is on the market. If it isn’t near you, ask your grocer to find it. One I know about is called Peekaboo Ice Cream. Peekaboo Ice Cream makers have cleverly hidden veggies into the organic ice cream and no one can taste it. Cauliflower is hidden inside the Chocolate Ice Cream. Strawberry Ice Cream has carrots hidden. Mint Chip Ice Cream has spinach hidden inside. Zucchini is hidden inside Vanilla Ice Cream. Cotton Candy Ice Cream has beets hidden inside. Don’t look for this trend to go away ever. Mothers have needed this to help them feed kids veggies in a sneaky way for ever. Now it is here. Ask for it if you don’t see it at a store near you.
Food Trucks – The Food Truck Revolution is here – hopefully to stay in my opinion. Food trucks are such fun. They are bound by the same regulations as restaurants with licensing and inspections of both the kitchens they prepare before heading out and inspections on the truck itself for cleanliness and quality of foods. You may see advertising for a Food Truck gathering at a local mall, flea market, art fair, church or school carnival. If you do and like variety, set your course over to investigate. You will find restaurant quality foods you would never have expected. Varieties of food combinations priced in small portions easy enough to afford to try for the first time. Varieties of ethnic foods you may have been leery of trying in the past but when you smell the aromas coming right from the kitchen a foot away, you just need to. Look for the truck with the longest line! Ask opinions of passers-by of what they are eating. That is something you can’t do in a restaurant easily. Try new things like that Indian Korma or Butter Chicken you might never have tried before. Tacos that are authentic are served. Flavor combinations like roasted corn on the cob with crema, lime and queso blanco. You will get to try unique foods from Thai donuts to Poke bowls. Ethnic options you might never have tried from Brazil, Peru, Nigeria and so many more places around the world you wouldn’t have been exposed to. You may find a Mac & Cheese Truck with 10 versions of the dish. Dessert trucks that specialize in complex milkshakes, Bundt cakes or brownies. Check it out for a little adventure and weekend fun.
Avocado Toast – This is worth mentioning even though it has been popularized for some time now. Restaurants, coffee shops, café’s, breakfast bars and luncheonettes are offering this open-faced treat as a breakfast, lunch or quick snack to customers. It starts out basic as the name notes – toast with avocado on top then it gets more elaborate. Specialty breads start to build the treat. Different toppings are added like balsamic tomatoes, a fried egg, fresh greens or kale, strawberries and other fruits. Savory items come into play by adding fresh crabmeat and corn. You can try a version that is built with an ethnic theme such as grilled chicken on top of avocado with tomatoes, cheese and cilantro drizzled with hot sauce. Check this trend out if you haven’t yet done so.
Hot Pot Meals – Already a familiar way to cook in the United States however Hot Pot methodology comes from Asian countries. A meal in a single hot pot served in the center of the table with bowls of additional ingredients to add surrounding the hot pot as well as a variety of sauces. The pot is kept hot with a heating source of potted fire like Sterno or an electric version providing consistent heating. Recipe options are literally all over the map. Chinese, Japanese, Sichuan, Indonesian, Thai, Budae Korean, Vietnamese, and more. Options can be spicy, vegetable, noodle, meat, seafood and any combination. Side options to add range from shredded veggies and meat to tofu, dumplings, noodles, rice, eggs and a variety of spices and sauces. This trend isn’t going away ever in my opinion. Try it and in many varieties until you find your favorite!
American One Pot Meals – Often a pressure cooker, crock pot, instant pot, on stove or in the oven considered our American one pot meals. There are new recipe twists out for old favorites and some soon to be new favorites. Find a whole meal of meat, veggies and starch cooked together to serve in a single plate. Made popular years ago for a fast-paced household with multiple family members working with little time to cook. Pots of food can be made for easy reheating for different mealtimes convenient to a busy home. Old favorite options have remained like stews, soups, braised meats, pasta meals and alike. New options have sprung up as trending favorites with the “one-pot” name. You will find so many varieties of mac and cheese your head will spin. Chili varieties too are a popular meal choice to experiment on. Chicken and rice has reached its way to the moon and back for choices. One pot meals come in every ethnic variety from Cajun to Asian. One pot is here to stay but a new name instead of crock pot.
No-Waste Cooking – Often referred to as “nose to tail” cooking and the popularity is on the rise to incorporate vegetables. Finding ways to use almost every part of a food item to eliminate waste is the concept. Creative minds in food think tanks are at work to concoct new ways to utilize every last part of food sources eliminating any kind of waste. Why not. It make sense to us.
Nostalgia Foods– Yes, the old favorites are making a comeback. (Did they ever leave?) Reports have menus adding back prime rib, roast chicken, deviled eggs, macaroni & cheese, meatloaf, chili and more. Watch for the old favorites to be back this year if they already haven’t made an appearance near you.
Years past trends have taken hold and have become mainstream like juicing, quinoa, kale, meat alternatives, gluten free, spaghetti squash, cauliflower in every way, shape and form. Different fruits from other countries now in mainstream markets. Let’s see how many of the new trends are here to stay.