Food trends have completely taken over social media over the past few years (see Facebook videos of melting cheese and foodstagrams), and many of them are fueled by millennials. However, there are some foods millennials love that are great, like avocado toast and cronuts, but there are some that I just do not understand.
From trendy health foods to over-the-top desserts, in my opinion, here are some of the foods millennials love that are just totally overrated.
1. Açai Bowls
Smoothies, I can get on board with, but I don't completely understand why you have to put one in a bowl. I also don't get what makes açai so special. Is it the taste? Or is it the gorgeous color that every açai bowl seems to have?
2. Elevated Toast
Avocado toast is the breakfast of champions, but recently toast has become "elevated." You've seen the Instagram photos of ricotta toast or even mermaid toast. To me, it just seems like this is not a feasible breakfast choice for most college students, since it takes more prep time than a classic PB&J or avocado toast.
3. Freakshakes
Milkshakes do not have to be this large. After you're done taking your Instagram photos, it's all going to start collapsing and melting all over the place. Also, I have no idea how you would go about eating this — with a spoon, a straw, your hands, or all of it? That's just too much work.
4. Sushi Burrito
Now I love a good sushi burrito, but it's true that it's overrated. I just too big for me. And anyways, I always thought that sushi was supposed to be eaten in one bite?
5. Starbucks New Drinks
This year, Starbucks has released more than 14 new drinks, including the Unicorn Frappuccino, the Pink Drink and the Midnight Mint Mocha Frappuccino. While these drinks are great for getting all the Instagram likes, are they really that good? I'm just not convinced.
6. Kale
Over the past few years, kale has gone from a garnish to America's favorite superfood. From fancy restaurants down to Panera, you can find a kale caesar salad on just about every menu. While millennials seem to love this cruciferous veggie, it's not all good news — kale can be pretty rough on the digestive tract, amongst some other minor issues. So next time you go to order a salad or smoothie, think twice about adding this superfood.
7. Rolled Ice Cream
While rolled ice cream does look magnificent, according to reviews, it does not hold a candle to real ice cream. Since it's been flattened and rolled on a frozen slab, the ice cream is not creamy anymore. So at a high price tag, this treat is something I can pass on after the first Instagram-worthy trip.
8. Cloud Eggs
This is the one that I truly cannot get my head around. What happened to a nice and simple fried or scrambled egg? Making a cloud egg just seems more labor intensive for breakfast than it needs to be.
It seems like most of the foods that millennials love stem from what creates the perfect Instagram post #InstaWorthy. This is not to say that millennials are just obsessed with getting likes on Instagram. It's more to do with the nature of food trends. They trend on the Internet through social media, which means that the most outrageous or beautiful foods are the ones that become viral. But I'm not mad, since my Instagram feed does look amazing.
#SpoonTip: These are only my opinions, and not intended to offend anyone. I'm not judging anyone about their love for freakshakes or kale.