New Things To Try In The Kitchen This Year
Image by Jan Vašek from Pixabay
There are so many new food trends each year that it’s hard to keep up with them. Are we still smashing avocados or there something else to be smashed now? While some of these food trends can get ridiculous at the same time, it’s good to have new things to try. It’s so easy to become one of those households who has spag bol on a Monday, pie on a Tuesday, something else on a Wednesday, and you can get really bored. So this year, make it a year to try some new things in the kitchen and use this list for inspiration.
Mocktails
As people become more health-conscious and cut down on their alcohol intake, mocktails look set to be very popular for 2020. Non-alcoholic spirits are rising in popularity, and more and more bars are offering zero-alcohol drinks. According to Nielsen data, 66% of millennials are making efforts to reduce their alcohol consumption. New companies offer alcohol-free tipples that look pretty enough to pour in a glass and still feel fancy, so why not try getting in on the action at home. If you’re doing Dry January, why not whip up some delicious mocktails at the weekend, so you don’t feel like you’re missing out?
Healthy Comfort Food
The trend of swapping carb-heavy components for vegetables is a big one and will continue to be so for 2020. Cauliflower mash, cauliflower pizza and cauliflower tots are already very popular and, in fact, according to the Grubhub’s “Taste of 2019” report, cauliflower pizza was the most ordered food of the year. So, if you haven’t tried any cauliflower-based comfort food yet then get your food processor out now and give it a try. As well as this, it’s likely that we’ll see more flour options this year, there’s lots of talk of chickpea flour and almond flour so you might find yourself baking pastries with these this year.
Dark Chocolate Puddings
There has been a big increase in dark chocolate’s value sales as people see it as a healthier option as it has higher cocoa and lower sugar content. Low sugar chocolate is also on the rise, so this year, why not try a low sugar chocolate cake, some low sugar dark chocolate brownies or a dark chocolate mousse?
More Local Veg
As people become more aware and interested in the environmental impact of growing and transporting food, we see an increase of signs for ‘dug today’ spuds or ‘picked today’ berries. This is great for local farmers, so it’s time to make use of it in your kitchen! This year make an effort to make more vegetable soups and other dishes such as vegetable lasagne or vegetable ratatouille and help out those locals at the same time as enjoying wonderful fresh veg.
Plant Food
Soy sausages, burgers and even soy nuggets are available in the supermarkets now and as people become more aware of the environment and the effect that eating meat has on it as well as their own health then they are opting for more plant-based options. Even if people aren’t going full vegan, many more are adopting flexitarian lifestyles, so even if you don’t fancy a plant-based recipe, for those days you just want to throw something in the oven, a no-chicken-chicken Kiev could be something new for you to try?
More non-dairy milk alternatives
This year it’s likely that you’ll find more non-dairy milk alternatives on the shelves, so why not embrace this and see what you can make? Almond milk ice cream, anyone? Smoothies made with sunflower milk? Walnut milk yoghurt or cashew nut cheese? Pea milk is another one that looks set to be big in 2020, so make your morning coffee a little more interesting and see what happens when you try and froth that.
Sea vegetables
According to Waitrose, sea vegetables are going to be a big thing for 2020. Think samphire, kelp, algae, nori and sea purslane, which all give meals a whack of umami, as well as the use of seaweed as a seasoning over salt. And look out for niche emerging diet “seaganism”, a vegan diet incorporating sustainable seafood – perhaps you could try something along these lines on a Tuesday night?
Go Vegan
Everyone else is doing it so you might as well join in. Just try some alternatives like vegan Mac and Cheese to begin with or vegan burgers. Things you know you will like, they’ve just got small changes. When you’re not sure what to cook, and bored of everything else, get experimenting with the vegan options. The way things are looking, you might not have a choice soon, so you might as well get on board now and see what all the fuss is about.
Better Quality Meat
If you are going to eat meat, you’ll find that people are opting for high-quality meat now, with less damaging effects on the environment. So perhaps you could really push the boat out and make a Beef Wellington or Surf and Turf one night?
More Frozen Foods
With less packaging being another trend for 2020 and beyond, you will likely see more frozen foods with options for pick ‘n’ mix frozen veg in stores which are trying to go plastic-free. Then there’s also the attempt to have less waste of the food itself, so more supermarkets are introducing convenient no-waste options like chopped garlic cubes to entire meal kits. Embrace the freezer this year with good healthy food instead of processed beige food and ice creams.
