Full disclosure: when it comes to all things trendy, I’m usually lightyears behind. (I’m still unabashedly listening to the Hamilton soundtrack and wearing boot-cut jeans like it’s 2008.) But when it comes to food, I can call trends like it’s my day job. You could say it’s an “intuition” or you could just attribute it to checking Instagram 28 times a day in search of exciting new foods. Either way, I’m basically a certified food guru. These are my predictions for the fall food trends that will be on everyone’s plates this season.
Protein Pasta
With the market push for more gluten-free products, as well as the modern focus on high protein diets, protein pasta is a natural fit in this fast-paced world. Why bother with making meatballs if you’re getting 14 grams of protein in a single serving of pasta? Not to mention it’s absolutely delicious! A win, win, win!
Purslane
This edible weed is about to make it big. With the current emphasis on farm-to-table and environmental sustainability, there’s nothing more sustainable than stepping outside, picking this stuff out of your sidewalk crack, and throwing it in your salad. I’m not kidding. The first time I ever had this was when my dad ripped it out of the cracks in our patio cobbles. But no matter if you buy it from the grocery store, or utilize the more “budget friendly” approach the fact remains that it’s a delicious superfood chock full of omega-3s with a unique, lemony flavor.
Basically Anything On Tap
Literally anything. I don’t foresee the kombucha trend dying out anytime soon, and as a result, “on tap” drinks are hotter than ever. Oktoberfest biers, hoppy craft brews, cold brew coffees, there’s even something called water kefir that I anticipate will come into the mainstream very soon. From what I hear, its similar to kombucha in that its a fermented drink, but a bit lighter with more of a sparkling flavor. Apparently, it pairs well with microgreens and generally very vegan-y things.
Dulse
A particular strain of dulse was cultivated off the coast of Oregon in 2015 and marketed as a bacon-flavored seaweed. It is high in fiber and protein, as well as rich in vitamins, healthy fatty acids, and antioxidants. Many have predicted that once dulse hits the mainstream market, it will become the next kale. Right now it has made its way into restaurants in Portland successfully, but the production is small scale, hindering a mainstream introduction.
Edible Bugs
They call it the “food of the future”, I’m calling it this season’s hottest snack. Don’t believe me? Just ask the two Harvard grads that started the company Chirps. The company grinds crickets into a flour that can be used to substitute wheat flour. The real kicker is that per serving the flour has 4 grams of protein, over twice the B12 of salmon, and more iron than spinach.
Not to mention, crickets are a highly sustainable food source. Due to impending global overpopulation (its estimated that by 2050, there will be over 9 billion people in need of sustainable food sources), this type of ingenuity is becoming even more trendy.
Purple Vegetables
Purple beets, purple carrots, purple cauliflower, purple cabbage, purple potatoes, purple kale, the list goes on and on! Purple will be all over the plate this fall and for good reason, because there are so many health benefits to eating purple. Almost all fruits and vegetables with a natural purple hue are high in antioxidants. Purple cabbage is also high in polyphenols which are known to help prevent degenerative diseases and cancer. With the growing availability of purple produce, you don’t have any excuse to not get in on this healthy trend this season.
Food is truly exciting and as the world changes, so will our consumption of new and unexpected dishes. This season is predicted to see a taste test of some of these interesting new foods.