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Inspire Me

Emerging food trends for 2018

Food trends can be fleeting (how dusty is that spiralizer in the back of the cupboard?) but other than 80’s products making a comeback, it’s clear that ‘health’ is the term du jour and the top food trends for 2018 are all about looking after ourselves.

From exotic ingredients packed with tasty science, to thinking hard about how we receive our food and how we throw it away, people are starting to wake up to the importance of nutrition.

We’ve got the low-down on what’s going to be hot in 2018.

Mindful food

Mindfulness isn’t just about yoga and meditation, its starts with what we put in our bodies that not only contributes to physical health but mental health as well. It’s said that sitting down and taking the time to focus on a meal is a form meditation in itself, rather than multitasking and forcing food down on the go.

Somebody who eats mindfully also takes the time also to consider where our food has come from, how far it has travelled, how many people have been involved in the process of getting it from farm to plate – these are all considerations that people are becoming more and more aware of. Having a conscience for the environment and sustainable practices is integral to mindful eating.

And while we might not be able to fully immerse in mindful eating day-to-day in the same way you would on a mindfulness course, just taking an extra few minutes to contemplate the reality of a meal and how it has come together can really contribute to one’s own mental health.

Pickling

Preserves, pickles and fermentation are suddenly all the rage again. Typically associated with weird and wonderful concoctions that live in the dark cavities of grandma’s larder, home pickling is seeing a resurgence for the sake of gut health.

While the intense flavours of vinegary veg and salted sauces might not be everyone’s cup of tea, health professionals have deemed that pickled foods have a huge yet gentle benefit on the body. Pickled foods improve digestive health by aiding the gut’s microbiome of bacteria in the intestines that can be responsible for the levels serotonin and dopamine (those happy chemicals in the brain). Nutritious fermented foods reset balance within the body and contribute to overall wellbeing – probiotics such as kimchi and miso are both advantageous and delicious.

To add to this, the prebiotic members of the allium family that are typical pickling ingredients, such as onions, garlic, shallots and leeks are well known to benefit the skin’s radiance, improving health from the inside out.

Turmeric

Ah, the golden element. Its not news that this miracle ingredient is all the rage, it has been for several years, but now its gone beyond being just an ingredient in Asian curries. Known for giving foods a bold pop of sunshine colour (and staining foodies’ fingers!) all the experts and influencers are now adding turmeric to soups, smoothies, lattes and even making tea with the amber-coloured powder. The versatile root can be combined with other superfoods to make pastes, gels, sauces – anything.

Relied for centuries in folk and natural medicine, turmeric’s active ingredient is called curcumin and has powerful antioxidant and strong anti-inflammatory properties. It is also said it contributes to heart health, can fight arthritis pain and aid in weight management by triggering faster metabolism. Furthermore, turmeric can be added to face masks, scrubs and acne gels to clear skin, reduce reddening, and soothe itching (just add a little so as not to take the ‘golden glow’ too literally!)

Have you ever heard of ‘nootropics’? Us neither, but turmeric, along with its close family member ginger, have nootropic compounds that are deemed to aid brain function, and even stunt the development of Alzheimer’s in old age.

With all that goodness from one little ingredient, is it any wonder it’s flying off the shelves…?

“Craft”

Artisan, made by hand, stamped with the producer’s seal. The personal experience is all the rage, and demand for high quality produce, made with traditional methods, and labelled with niche names is well and truly on the rise.

These labels are generally cleaner, which matches the current obsession with clean foods and differentiate from factory-made and mass produced items. Be it fine wines, cheeses, bread, or sweet treats, one thing is for certain: people will pay up for artistic products.

The word ‘natural’ plays a big part here. As people gain more of a conscience about preservatives and artificial elements while food shopping, traditional practices and outright quality trumps bargain prices.

All things purple

Purple sprouting broccoli, purple carrots, purple sweet potatoes… the list goes on. But it isn’t just a fad – its science. People with a higher intake of purple fruits and veg typically have reduced blood pressure and cholesterol – according to the National Health and Nutritional Examination – since the anthocyanins, responsible for the mauve tint, soothe inflammation and improve heart health. A wide range of colours means a wide range of nutrients.

Social media has a lot to answer for too: since people have been sharing pictures of what they eat, there has been a growth in shoppers looking to add vibrancy to their dishes. Aside from the great health benefits of purple foods, a pretty plate of cheerful colours can really make eating more pleasurable.

Pandan-monium!

For those less familiar with the term (and who don’t get to sojourn to East Asia on the regular) pandan is a tropical fruit that has brightly coloured bulbs and long broad leaves like a banana plant, that are used for making parcels of food in cooking. The leaves also soothe sunburn and can be used as a natural insect repellent by rubbing on the skin.

Also known as screwpine, the leaves of this spiky-looking fruit have a distinctly vanilla-like flavour with a just hint of coconut. Used frequently in Malaysian and Singaporean cuisine, the pandan can be used in pastes, typically spread over pancakes, in ice cream or you can even steep with coconut milk to make delicious and healthy custard or a distinctly fresh-flavoured pannacotta.

It might have been popular over East for centuries, but the versatile fruit is only just on the cusp of a heyday in the western world, especially since Nigella has coined it as ‘the avocado of 2018’.

We daren’t disagree…

Multi-sensory experiences

Pops, bangs, fizzes, smokes and steam certainly make for a theatrical performance on the stage, but what about on a plate? For a while now restaurateurs have cottoned on to the notion that a dinner is an experience and that the food is only half the package – people are looking for excitement as well as flavour.

But as the coloured vapours and illuminated plates of the first multi-sensory establishments might still delight some, restaurants are now taking it further than a couple of sparklers and some dry-ice.

Also known as ‘experiential’ restaurants, around the globe chefs are offering fully immersive involvement in the dining experience. Be it eating in total darkness, being suspended in the air or dining on ‘meal pills’ with headphones blasting dramatic music, it’s all about creating an event out of just a simple dinner. These types of restaurants have the avant-garde edge that get tongues wagging and insta-stories snapping.

“A gimmick” I hear you say? Well the satisfied customers speak for themselves, having experienced an intensified version of a dinner, which is, in itself, multisensory.

What’s clear is that at these restaurants, the experience alongside what is on the plate is competing for the overall appeal.

Simple short menus

This will be a hit in the cities: the time-strapped diner – aka. city professional – who doesn’t want to make a whole evening of dinner, will rejoice at the growing trend of restaurants reducing the choice, simplifying menus and speeding up service, allowing evenings to be filled with other activities.

The girl on the go needs sustenance that doesn’t just come in the form of a dry little sandwich or a fiddly sushi box – quick quality is what people are after now. After all, there’s no reason a quick fix eat cant be expertly crafted and delicious.

Purists will disapprove of course, but these are the people who have time to judge…

Breakfast, brunch, lunch, linner, dinner… hold on!

Linner? Really??

Ok call it what you like, but incredibly studies are showing that having more (but admittedly smaller) meals throughout the day is a healthier option. As mammals we are naturally supposed to graze over the course of the day, rather than gorge on big portions of food with pauses for hours in between.

More and more we are hearing from health experts, dieticians and particularly personal trainers and athletes that say they eat 5 times a day. First a light breakfast – maybe blended fruits, oats and grains – then a second, more substantial brekkie, a light lunch, the beguiling ‘linner’ (we hope that word doesn’t catch on) and a smallish dinner no later than 8pm adds up to a formidably nutritious day without overdoing it.

Swedish actress Alicia Vikander achieved those astonishing abs and rock hard biceps for her Tomb Raider role by chowing down on 5 portions of fish a day (alongside a rigid gym programme) and while we might not all be aspiring to body build, being told to eat more for a svelte physique is something we can all get on board with!

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