Below are a couple of the top food trends to be aware of as we enter the new decade in 2020:
We are more health-conscious than ever in this new age, and that’s for the better. As life expectancies increase, so do the incidences of long-term conditions of which many are preventable by living a healthy lifestyle.
It’s not just getting less of the bad stuff in you, but making sure you’re eating more of the good stuff too.
Snacking is a common habit most of us are guilty of – but gone are the days of regret after consuming those sugary bars of goodness! Many food companies are making the shift from sugar to artificial sweeteners such as stevia and manufacturing the same products but with lower levels of sugar and saturated fat. On a national level, governments, such as the UK, have imposed sugar taxes in the hope of reducing the overall intake of sugar and thus reduce childhood obesity. Public education of food nutrition also plays a crucial role in influencing decisions on healthy eating.
It’s not just getting less of the bad stuff in you, but making sure you’re eating more of the good stuff too. There are many foods that are advertised for their beneficial effects on the human body, termed ‘Superfoods’. To name a few: chia seeds, acai berries, nuts, quinoa and many more. Now hold up, don’t go rushing off to eat tons of all these foods alone. It is important to remember to keep everything in moderation. Remember - too much of anything is not always good.
It’s not just about hip vegan cafés that you might find off the corner of a lane in a buzzing city anymore (there always seems to be one). Big Chains are taking on a high with this trend as well, such as: restaurants like Wagamama introducing new vegan menus, supermarkets like M&S offering vegan ranges, even fast food chains like Pizza hut and Domino’s offering vegan pizzas!
Meat-free alternatives are expanding at an incredible speed. Soy is often the main ingredient in vegan or vegetarian food options, however it is also one of the most common food allergens. To all those with soy allergies, fret not! Varieties have expanded to include beans, lentils and all sorts of other weird and wonderful grains that you might have never known to exist.
Being vegan is not what some may view as just a ‘food hype’, but is a culture and an intrinsic way of life that many people live by for a variety of reasons.
This caters to the increasing numbers of people starting to embrace a plant-based lifestyle for various reasons, and this does not only apply to food. The term has come to include not purchasing any items containing animal products - such as leather, fur, wool, silk, down or skins or products that have been tested on animals. Many high street shops adapt by manufacturing vegan friendly clothing and accessory items and avoiding animal testing. These products will carry a Vegan society trademark for validation. Being vegan is not what some may view as just a ‘food hype’, but is a culture and an intrinsic way of life that many people live by for a variety of reasons.
However, it is important to note that being vegan will have an impact on your health. Cutting out meat and animal products from your diet will mean that your body is not receiving sufficient amounts of certain essential vitamins and nutrients. Most of these can be easily topped up by supplements and eating the equivalent amounts of plant alternatives. Jasmijn de Boo, the CEO of Vegan Society says, “One can become vegan in stages – there are no rules and you are only answerable to your own conscience”. If you going to be vegan, do ensure you do it right - you do not want to compromise your own health.