Eight Growing Healthy Food Trends for 2012

Jan 7, 2012 by M. Velez

Healthy eating is already a popular trend that’s only going to get bigger in 2012. There is evidence that the American population is embracing a more wholesome diet. Restaurant businesses and food companies are responding to consumer demands for healthier food options by making them available on menus and store shelves (e.g. sugar free, gluten-free, no high fructose corn syrup, no preservatives, etc.). It’s not just a marketing move. People want healthier choices and healthier choices sell.

While the healthy food movement has been around for some time, I personally credit the Great Recession of 2007-2009 as its stimulant. Hard times have a way of making people refocus or wake up. For instance, losing your job, being depressed and realizing you don’t have the money to pay for health care might be good incentives for wanting to start a healthier diet.

Eating smart makes a physical difference. Studies have shown that by simply switching to a healthier diet, you naturally reduce the amount of calories you consume, which aids in weight loss (read Study: The Best and Worst Foods for Healthy Weight, TIME: Healthland). A healthier diet can also help fight depression (see Foods that Fight Winter Depression, WebMD).

A combination of research, observation of local food market shelves and restaurant menus (plus a little intuition) has lead me to craft a list of growing healthy food trends for the Washington DC area in 2012. These trends aren’t likely to go anywhere, but on your plate. You might agree with this list or you might not. Whatever your thoughts or food trend predictions, feel free to leave them in the comment section below!

1. Alternative Red Meats

Beef is still going to reign as the king of meats for burgers in 2012, but its over popularity and ties with unhealthy mass production techniques (e.g., use of hormones, antibiotics, and questionable cow feed) might just propel less popular, but healthier alternatives such as ostrich, bison and buffalo into the limelight. However, here’s a food for thought: our healthier alternatives are only as healthy as the production methods that are applied to them. If the ostrich, bison, and buffalo—as a food source over a long period of time—were subject to the same demands and mass production techniques as the cow, would they remain our healthy alternatives?

Read More: Ostrich, the Fate of the Healthier Red Meat

The gluten-free diet began with individuals who suffered from Celiac disease (see Celiac disease for more information), but sometime between 2010-2011, the diet seemed to have caught fire with non-celiacs in the Washington DC area. If you are like most curious individuals, you are probably wondering why and why now? The “why now” will always be a mystery, but the why might have something to do with Oprah, Dr. Oz, Gwyneth Paltrow and other celebrities who have openly expressed their new dietary pursuits in the last few years. With a little bit of research, I discovered three reasons for why non-celiacs are embracing a gluten-free diet: 1) Prevention: It’s a fact that those with gluten sensitivities can develop Celiac disease later in life (see Celiac article by USA Today). Those without a gluten sensitivity need not worry. Unfortunately, a portion of the non-gluten-sensitive population seem to think they might have a sensitivity and have decided to adopt the diet. 2) Weight loss: some people have the misguided notion that a gluten-free diet can help you lose weight when in fact, a gluten-free diet can actually lead to weight-gain because many gluten-free products are packed with carb substitutes that have little fiber (see Bad-Mouthing Gluten, Time Magazine Health). 3) Healthier for You Notion: According to some experts (see Bad-Mouthing Gluten, Time Magazine Health), some people have the idea that a gluten-free diet is overall healthier for you. It is only better for you if you have a gluten sensitivity, but makes no difference if you do not. The gluten-free diet serves only as a preventative measure of those with gluten sensitivities and Celiac disease.

3. Breakfast Options in Typically Lunch-only Restaurants

I’ve noticed a growing trend among lunch-only restaurants where breakfast options are being added to the menu (see Chipotle Mulls Breakfast, Healthy Items, Huffington Post)—a business strategy that appears to compete with neighboring restaurants that are kicking butt during the lunch hour; or perhaps the breakfast menu is a ploy to cash-in on the health movement which says that breakfast eaters are statistically skinner than their non-breakfast eating compadres (see Lose Weight: Eat Breakfast, WebMD). Perhaps a stretch, but whatever the case, it works for breakfast eaters and you’ll see more of this in 2012.

4. Dark Chocolate in Savory Dishes

In America, chocolate typically falls under the desert category, and more recently in years as part of a healthy breakfast option (when eaten in small amounts). However, Europe, Northern Mexico and Mesoamerica have been using chocolate in savory dishes for years (see Chocolate’s Savory Side, Gourmet; Chocolate Savories for Your Sweet, NPR). America is only now beginning to explore the next step in the chocolate revolution. I’ve already seen a few chocolate savory marinades and sauces on store shelves and online, and I’ve noticed a growth in savory chocolate recipes within the past four months since I last did research on the topic. It is just a matter of time before the second chocolate revolution, or savory chocolate fad, takes hold of America and I predict 2012 will be the year to bring it home.

Read More: A Taste of Olio’s Porcini Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Chocolate Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar

5. Quinoa as a Substitute or Option on Restaurant Menus

With the exception of the custom salad chain restaurants that have integrated quinoa into their menu, this popular little seed is making its way onto your plate as something more than just a salad garnish. Quinoa’s healthy properties make it an ideal substitute for brown rice and whole wheat pastas. Some restaurants have already begun to add it to their menu as the main dish (e.g. Freshii’s Menu). Quinoa’s growing popularity might make it more common on restaurant menus.

6. Alternative Healthy Chips

I give credit to the raw foodies and vegetarians for the popularity of the alternative healthy chip, which is anything but a potato or a chip made from powdered rice, corn, or beans. The healthy chip is an actual piece of a vegetable or fruit that has been baked or air popped/crisped and eats like a chip. A good example is the kale chip (see Potato chips, Rice chips…Kale chips?, Food News & Reviews), which is essentially kale leaves that are misted with olive oil and baked. Nothing more is done to it. What qualifies it as a chip is its crunchiness. The true healthy chip is, well, healthier for you than any flour-based chip you’ll come across on store shelves. Some food companies have caught on to the healthy chip idea and have created products for the health conscious buyer (e.g., Rhythm Superfoods), but, as with all products that claim to be “healthier” for you, beware of added ingredients. Always read the labels.

7. Sprouted Grains Will Sprout into New Products

The sprouted grain concept has been on store shelves for awhile, but only recently has it taken off—thanks to the healthy food movement—into newer food products (e.g. Sprouted Grain Pizza from A.C. LaRocco). A sprouted grain is a kernel (be it wheat, rye, rice, etc.) that has been allowed to sprout before it is grounded and made into bread. There are two approaches to the sprouting method: grounding dried sprouts and grounding wet sprouts. The latter is often referred to as flourless (see Sprouted Whole Grains, Whole Grains Council). According to the Whole Grains Council, sprouting increases the “amount and bio-availability” of certain vitamins and minerals. The enzymatic activity that occurs during the sprouting process is said to make the grain more digestible. The Whole Grains Council provides a lists of studies that show the benefits of sprouted grains. On the other hand, according to some researchers, the nutritional value of the sprouted grain is only significant when compared to white bread, but has little edge over whole grain breads (see Sprouted-grain breads: the facts, Los Angeles Times). Whatever the case, be prepared to see more sprouted grain products on store shelves.

8. Raw Food Restaurants

The raw food diet is as controversial as it is popular. When I delved into this topic, I was surprised to discover a number of fringe subgroups consisting of fruitarians, sproutarians, juicearians and raw meat dieters (see raw foodism, Wikipedia). The raw food diet consists of eating uncooked (or heated to no more than 118 ° F) and unprocessed food. This diet was born on the idea that eating raw foods is healthier for you because the naturally occurring enzymes in raw food help with digestion. However, according to the American Dietetic Association, it’s not the food, but the body that produces the enzymes needed for digestion (see Raw Food Diet, WebMD). While the raw food diet is popular, the number of health problems associated with this lifestyle are unfortunately too numerous to adapt (for a list of health problems, go here). Common sense tells you that certain foods are naturally not meant to be eaten raw (e.g. a butternut squash is too hard to consume. Cooking not only makes it softer, but kills harmful bacteria.). But the idea of health sells (even if what’s selling isn’t all that healthy), so don’t be surprised to find an explosion of raw food restaurants opening up in the Washington DC area in 2012.