8 Healthy Food Trends For 2018

Whether you’re a follower of trends or not, food trends seem to be something we all come across throughout the year. From new products on the grocery store shelves or new found uses for items that have been around for years, healthy food trends usually make their way into our lives at some point.

Never in my life did I think I would be drinking something called Kombucha or sipping Turmeric tea at night to ease sore joints, but here I am… and enjoying every bit of it.

Food Trends Can Be Good or Bad For Your Health

Did you ever have that one family member that was a ‘Negative Nancy‘? You know, the one that when something new came out they would say it was junk or it was going to taste horrible.

They may have actually been right with some trends though. Things like the ‘cronuts‘ and the ‘unicorn‘ everything, may have tasted amazing at first, but sooner we all learned how bad they were for us.. or at least I hope we did.

Healthy food trends on the other hand, although good for you, can just be too far out there to try. Things like eating bugs for more protein is just beyond my scope of healthy eating.

All in all, food trends are just something that’s going to happen. It’s up to us, the consumer, to figure out which ones we want to try and which ones we want to stay away from.

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Why 8?

Truthfully, I’m not sure. This post came together in my head the other day and as I started doing research and reading about some of the new healthy food trends popping up, and these are the ones that peaked my interest the most.

You’ve probably heard of most of these, but for one reason or another, they are estimated to be the most popular healthy food trends for 2018.

Healthy Food Trends

1. Non-Dairy Milks

Research has shown that non-dairy milk purchases has grown 61% over the past five years. Whether it’s due to dairy allergies or preferences, people are making a more plant-based choice these days when it comes to their milk purchases.

Plant-Based Milks To Try

Oat Milk - cholesterol free, contains 15 vitamins and 10 minerals,and has over 36% of your daily calcium needed

Hemp Milk - no sugar, cholesterol, or gluten, rich in omega 3’s and has vital nutrients

Nut Milks - almond, coconut, cashew, and hazelnut - each is packed with vitamins and minerals, plenty of Vitamin D, and protein

Tigernut Milk (not a nut) -also called Horchata - helps with digetstion, high in fiber, calcium, healthy amino acids, and helps reduce LDL’s -“bad” cholesterol

2. Plant-Based Protein

According to a recent Nielsen study, purchases of plant-based nutrition is on the rise. It looks as if Americans are looking to lessen the role of meat being their main source of protein.

Big business has picked up on this healthy food trend too. Not only are we seeing more plant-based protein powders and snacks on our shelves, but you can even order a plant-based burger at large chain restaurants.

Companies like Beyond Meat, maker of plant-based burger patties, are finding themselves being served in restaurants like Burger-Fi, Twin Peaks, and making more.

They are even drawing attention and investments from meat based companies like Tyson Foods. Crazy? Yes, but they are seeing the trend to and riding with it.

3. Mushrooms

Yup, the fungi that grows in the woods looks to be one of 2018’s healthy food trends.

But it may not be how you think. Although Mushrooms are awesome in and of themselves, it looks like Mushroom Coffee is what is going to be the next healthy food trend.

As you can see from the above graphic, coffee mushrooms seems to give you the benefits and joys of regular coffee with healthy benefits of mushrooms too.

I have yet to try this yet, but after reading all the health benefits, I’m looking forward to checking this out.

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4. Healing Spices

For thousands of years people have been using herbs for their healing property, but it looks like they will be making a bigger appearance in 2018.

Some of these spices you may have already heard about in 2017, but I’m thinking we will see a lot more of them this year.

Here are just a few:

Cinnamon - helps to lower blood sugar, helps with heart disease, hypertension, stroke, and so much more.

Turmeric - very popular for it’s anti-inflammatory properties, Turmeric is a wonderful herb to help prevent and heal Alzheimers, arthritis, colitis, and so much more.

Fennel Seeds - OK ladies, you’ll like this one. Fennel seeds is said to help with menstrual cramps. Who wouldn’t love that. It’s also great for high blood pressure, heart issues, and colitis.

5. Superfoods

I was excited to see this on a lot of the healthy food trends lists out there. Superfoods are a lot of fun because they pack so much in what is usually quite delicious.

Jackfruit

Oh my. If you could see me right now you would see me smiling ear to ear. I am a HUGE fan of jackfruit. One of my favorite recipes, Jackfruit Enchilada’s, even got a thumbs up and totally clean plates from some friends of ours awhile back.

It’s so much fun to cook with, but it also has some wonderful health benefits like anti-inflammatory properties, helps with wrinkles, is high in protein, and has a lot of Vitamin A

Moringa

I started hearing a buzz about Moringa towards the end of last year. It scares me a little bit because of the color, but the more I hear about, the more I want to try it.

Moringa leaves are said to be more nutritious then any other plant known to man. Found mostly in a powder form, this plant is said to have stronger anti-inflammatory properties then those of turmeric.

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6. Probiotics

I know, I know. Probiotics have been around for awhile, but I guess they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Gut healthy and easy to implement, probiotics are a must in any daily regimen.

You can take Probiotics in capsule form or find them from natural sources like Kombucha or sauerkraut. In a series of posts, I share the many benefits of Probiotics and how I have used them in my wellness journey.

7. Pulses

When I first started looking up these healthy food trends I had no idea what Pulses were. Well, I know what they are, I just didn’t know they were called Pulses.

Pulses are protein, fiber, and nutrient-packed seeds of beans, lentils, chickpeas, and peas. They are quickly becoming quite popular because of their versatility and ability to take the place of more starchier, high carb foods.

8. Sparkling Water

Breaking the soda habit seems to have gotten a lot easier these days. Sparkling water has gone way beyond the lemon flavored fizz a lot of us grew up.

From homemade sparkling water via a Sodastream, to flavorful concoctions from companies like La Croix and Dasani, being able to have something fizzy, delicious, and healthy, just got really popular.

What Do You Think?

Can you see adding any of these healthy food trends to your daily regimen? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

 

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