Thanks to inflation, many people have been tightening their food budgets and shopping for cost-effective ingredients, but that doesn’t mean they’ve given up on healthy eating. And thanks to new research, finding nutritious, budget-friendly foods we’ll enjoy may be easier. The 11th annual “What’s Trending in Nutrition” survey results are now out.
Every year, registered dietitians and nutritionists complete the survey, predicting which foods will be big that year. According to the 757 experts who weighed in this year, we’ll be focused on affordability, convenience and immunity support, as a result of the high cost of living coupled with pandemic-fueled health concerns. And for the first time in the survey’s history, all of the top 10 foods they predict consumers will be looking for in the year ahead all fit into a plant-based diet.
The top 10 foods that are trending in nutrition for 2023:
10) Non-dairy milks - Popular options include oat milk, coconut milk and almond milk.
9) Ancient grains - Including quinoa, millet, farro and bulgar
8) Green tea - It’s loaded with antioxidants and research suggests it has potential health benefits.
7) Aquatic greens - Also known as sea greens, they include seaweed, algae and sea moss.
6) Leafy greens - These are more familiar greens, including spinach, kale, collards, cabbage and romaine.
5) Nuts - A classic plant-based source of protein, fats and fiber, nuts are also used to make butters, flour and milks.
4) Avocados - Loaded with monounsaturated fat, a “good” fat that helps lower cholesterol, avocados also contain nearly 20 vitamins and minerals, are low in sugar and delicious.
3) Blueberries - This superfood is also full of antioxidants and a favorite of nutritionists.
2) Seeds - Chia and hemp seeds are both nutritious, but slightly different. Hemp seeds have more protein, fat, manganese, copper and magnesium, while chia seeds have more carbs, fiber and calcium.
1) Fermented foods - These include kimchi, yogurt, kombucha and pickled veggies, that are all high in probiotics, which have been shown to help support immune function, improve digestion and more.
Source: BuzzFeed