Food Trends For 2008

May 1, 2008 — John
fast foodFood and drinks have been a world of its own that has provided us with several reasons to celebrate. They offer the perfect answer to pamper the taste buds and make every occasion truly memorable. There are a range of food trends that have been observed over the years and 2008 is no exception.

The food trends have been broadly dictated by factors like the changing tastes of people around the world. The new and improved products that make a tempting offer for experimenting and adopting new lifestyle changes have also come to play a major role. The year 2008 is a year that is going to be dominated by health consciousness. The top 10 food trends that are going to rule the food world are:

1- Eat Healthy! Health is going to be a major consideration that is going to influence our food habits. It would dictate the pattern of the foods patronized and also in turn what would be available in the market. The manufacturers are ready and eagerly waiting to take a cue from the consumption patterns so as to cash in on this multi-million dollar food market. There will, for sure, be an increase in health foods so as to cater to the demand of the potential customer. That doesn’t mean you need to give up snacks like dark chocolate smidgens or smidgens. You just need to not eat alot of them.

2- Packaging Matters! With growing consciousness, it is important that the foods have a good and eco-friendly packaging and have all details specified on the label. These are definitely going to be the ones that would be preferred.

3- Go Local! An increase in importance to local produce is another significant trend that would be witnessed in the year 2008. Customers would prefer to patronize healthy food items that are grown locally. The growing environmental consciousness and an increase in importance to personal health are going are the reasons for this choice.

4- I want Ready-To-Eat! Convenience foods would however, continue to reign supreme. With people getting busier by the day and having very little time on hand, it is important to have more options for ready to eat meals. Complete meals of one or two dishes would be preferred. The studies conducted recently have gone to show that people prefer to eat at home for most part of the week due to health considerations and thus, convenient foods provide the perfect answer to a busy family that is also health conscious.

5- No McDonald’s for kids! With health of the family gaining priority, the healthy kids snack is another area that is going to increase in importance. With several entrants in the market this trend is only going to grow by leaps and bounds in the coming months.

6- Weight loss meals get trendy! Obesity has come to be another major consideration that has come to have a significant impact on the food related decisions of a family. Weight loss foods that let you manage your weight problem without having to deprive yourself of the daily nutritional requirements is going to find favor in 2008.

7- Substitute capsules with foods! With heart diseases and others becoming a major issue, foods that can fight diseases are going to be popular. Foods with antioxidants that have the property of fighting against diseases are what people are looking out for desperately. Keep the diseases at bay with a healthy and active lifestyle.

8- Indulge Yourself! The growing health consciousness is certainly not going to undermine the importance of premium foods that offer a wonderful reason to indulge. Pampering oneself with an array of exotic tastes and flavors is going to be an essential part of our lives across the globe. Entertaining and discovering the treasure house that the culinary world offers are going to be a norm that would not change for any reason.

9- Go Veggies! There is definitely going to be a rise in the consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and food with useful bacteria like yogurt. Useful bacteria are going to gain entry into many other food items that are part of our daily diet.

10- Raw Food Rocks! Increase in the consumption of raw food in the form of salads and other enticing dishes is going to be another of the food trends witnessed globally. The benefits of raw food will be explored across the globe.

Here’s to eating right and adopting a healthy lifestyle that seems to be the key to food trends that would be witnessed in the year 2008.

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I have a passion for peanut butter

May 1, 2008 — John

peanutsI have always loved peanut butter. Nothing excites me more than sinking my teeth into the gooey stuff especially with chocolate. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich or peanut butter smidgens is enough to chase my blues away.

Many people share my passion for peanut butter. I’m not the only one nuts about it. In fact, it’s a perennial favorite among the young and old alike. Kids like theirs creamy while adults generally prefer theirs crunchy.

Peanut is a cash crop in many parts of the world and farmers in the United States produce millions of pounds of peanuts a year – most of which go into the making of peanut butter.

“Americans go through 800 million pounds of peanut butter a year. That’s enough to slather a sticky aromatic layer over every school playground in the country. Being sensible folk, we eat it instead. Around three pounds a year per person. Three big rapturous, redolent, peanutty pounds,” according to Mary Roach in Hippocrates magazine.

Other people probably don’t share the American obsession for peanut butter but they are catching up as evidenced by the number of brands in supermarkets today. There are two ways of enjoying peanut butter: the regular type is made up of at least 90 percent roasted peanuts with a dash of sweeteners and salt that makes up the remaining 10 percent.

Hydrogenated vegetable oil is usually added to the mixture to keep the peanut oil from separating. To make the mixture chunky, a couple of crunchy peanut bits are added for variation.

“Natural” or old-fashioned peanut butter is made of 100 percent ground-up peanuts with no additives. This explains why some brands are oily. In the absence of stabilizers, natural oil rises to the top of the jar but this does not denote inferior quality. Slow stirring with a strong knife will help mix the oil with the rest of the stuff.

What’s so special about peanut butter? A lot. The sticky stuff is not only cheap but a good source of cholesterol-free protein. Your kids may not always like eating meat, poultry, or fish. But most of them love peanut butter sandwiches which have about the same amount of protein as the above foods.

“Peanuts are legumes; they’re actually closer to beans than nuts. Peanuts, however, contain twice the protein of cooked dry beans. A sandwich-size three-tablespoon serving of it contains 135 grams of protein – about the amount in two eggs or a 12-ounce glass of milk,” Roach said.

peanuts 1“Like other beans, peanuts are also a commendable source of dietary fiber. Three tablespoons of peanut butter contain around four grams of fiber – about as much as in a couple of slices of whole wheat bread. Smear those table¬spoons on the bread with some jam (rich in pectin, another kind of fiber), and you’ve got nearly as much fiber as you’d get from a bowl of high-fiber breakfast cereal,” she added.

What does this mean? To the billions suffering from malnutrition, peanut butter could be the savior they’re looking for. This inexpensive yet rich source of protein can certainly go a long way in alleviating the hunger of almost 200 million children under five years old who have protein-energy malnutrition – 150 million of who come from Asia.

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May 1, 2008 — John

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