You’ll be eating hemp, cauliflower, marine foods, and faux meat every day if the eight smart health food health trend predictions are right! Japanese and Pacific Rim flavours are tipped to become mainstream, and the Keto diet will take off even further. Of course, there is a new superfood.

Here are the eight smart food health trends in 2019 that will have you talking.

Cauli-mania for healthy eating

One of the eight smart food health trends for 2019 will be the elevation of cauliflower to a food staple.  According to Nielsen market research reports, sales for packaged cauliflower products grew 71 per cent last year, so at least some farmers are doing okay.

Forget that baked, cheesy white sauce version (so yummy but so not good for you). Cauliflower is now a healthy substitute for rice, potato and pasta and even makes a damn fine pizza crust.

Marine morsels

Seaweed is so last year. Try the new healthy eating trend stars, algae and kelp, for your daily dose of omegas.

Pacific Rim foods

If you can’t go to Fiji, let Fiji come to you with colourful fruits, fish and produce.  The Pacific Rim includes Asia, Oceania, and the Western coasts of South and North America. I’m talking dragon fruit, passionfruit and guava which all grow in tropical North Queensland. Head to Rusty’s Market in Cairns to try them all. On the protein side, expect to see shrimp paste, dried shrimp and cuttlefish along with a Filipino pork sausage called longganisa.

Japanese flavour

If you have not discovered miso yet, this is the year. The experts are predicting that you’ll be poaching your chicken and fish in miso more often than roasting beef or lamb in the oven. Miso, Japanese yams, sansho pepper, yuzu and ponzu are the Japanese ingredients that are going to become very familiar. In an exciting twist, Miso can also be mixed with coconut sugar and used to top off your ice cream topper. It’s also fabulous sweetened as a miso sugar paste. This is a healthy eating trend that I can really embrace.  I like the flavour of miso and the way it enhances

Vegan and faux meat

Australia has the third fastest-growing vegan population in the world, and cruelty-free eating has become a huge focus. Just because we want to be ‘plant-based’, doesn’t mean we want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so one of the biggest growth areas is ‘ready to eat plant-based foods’. Think things like ‘just add water’ vegan mac’n’cheeze and marinated jackfruit massaman curry.

I recently trialled Beyond Burger, a real burger patty doppelgänger except it is completely plant-based. This vegan-friendly burger is packed full of protein with 20g per patty and is soy, gluten, GMO and cholesterol free. Surprisingly, Beyond Burgers even bleed when cooked and are best-served medium-rare. I think it would be tough for anyone to tell the difference on a barbecue except they cook a lot quicker.  It even has a meaty smell.

Keto diet

Continuing to rise in popularity, the low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic, or ‘keto diet’ has created a market for new snack ideas on the shelves. Look out for keto bombs that you pop in your morning coffee (did I hear a shudder from coffee purists), keto snack bars and keto cookies.

Hemp and cannabinoids

They won’t get you high, but they may get you well as it turns out hemp is an excellent source of nutrition. It has high protein and is rich in omega 3 and omega 6.  With these characteristics, hemp is quickly becoming a favourite cereal, salad, and smoothie starter. Growing research around the ability of Cannabinoids (CBD) to calm anxiety and reduce stress and inflammation in the body are other areas to explore.

Superfoods

This year’s superfood is the Peruvian Cape gooseberry, which is known as Golden Berry. Health lovers in Europe and in the United States call it the ‘new acai’ due to its superfood powers. The Peruvian Cape gooseberry has vitamin A, vitamin complex B and C and has a high sample of protein and phosphorus, which can improve overall diet and health. It is the size of a cherry tomato, and full of tiny seeds. The fruit can be eaten straight or added to salads, bakes, desserts and cooked dishes. Try them dried and sprinkled on savoury dishes, seafood and meat. For a sweet treat – dipped in chocolate or stewed.

Broccoli sprouts are also very popular as they are thought to be amazingly nutritious, anti-cancer forming and detoxifying.

More food and diet trends

Disclaimer

Information supplied by Flannerys Organic & Wholefood Market where you’ll find these smart food health trends for 2019 and more.

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