Tag Archives: food trends

Dietitian Advice, Nutrition Education

Food trends 2018 I’d be pleased to see.

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January always brings the weird, the wonderful and the wahey of food. I’ve highlighted a few trends that I predict are on the rise for 2018 and ones that I would be happy to see more of. You can check out my 2017 trends post here and see how I did! 

Plant Power

I think we’ve all seen the rise of the vegan diet with veganuary in full swing. Whilst being vegan is perfectly great way to live life and eat I don’t think it is something to take lightly or do for a month. Being a vegan is a lifestyle choice and not a fad. Rant over. I do think that eating more plants and less meat will be high on the 2018 agenda which is fabulous. Foods like tofu, tempeh and quinoa are growing in popularity as are meat free days. Check out Meatfreemonday for great recipes and inspiration.

Sustainable eating

This ties in with eating a plants based diet but goes further. Consumers are becoming more conscious and choosy about where their food comes from. Choosing foods that are not just heathy but are obtained in a way that does not damage the ecosystem or deplete a food source is important and coming higher up the agenda for people.

Fermented foods, probiotics and gut health

The chatter on these has been increasing in 2017 with people starting to think and talk about making them at home. As research on the microbiome grows this is a natural area to grow alongside it. Gut health and how your feed those bacteria is likely to become popular. Personally I love this idea and it’s certainly something I will be getting on board with. Making your own kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, live yoghurt , sourdough are all things you can make yourself.
Less diets more body signals. This could just be the circle I am in or my own hopefulness but could 2018 be the rise of intuitive eating? Listening to the bodies hunger and fullness signals, guilt free eating and take the labels of good and bad away from food. It’s a journey and no quick fix but boy it would be fabulous to see and I think it’s on the way up.

Recycling food

Using up leftovers can seem hard work to some and second nature to others. Chefs are coming on the scene who are pushing this as a trend. Not only will it reduce food waste but also your food bill. A great place to go for inspiration on how to use your leftovers is Love Food Hate Waste.

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Dietitian Advice, Nutrition Education

The rise of nutrition social media.

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Since I qualified as a dietitian in 2005, the way nutrition information is communicated has changed at quite a pace. The basics of nutrition are still the same but we have moved from….

  • Books, journals and written journals to ebooks and blogs.
  • Face to Face meetings have become online meetings, virtual hangouts and video calls.
  • TV chefs have been challenged by food bloggers and YouTube cookery channels.

With social media being a huge knowledge driver it is clear that how we communicate affects language. So nutritional professionals with the RIGHT message need to be actively on social media, shouting about it.

Shoutnutritionmessages

The History:

1999 : Rise of Blogs.

2004 : Facebook begin and is now worth hundreds of billions.

2005 : YouTube started up.

2006 : Twitter, rising to more than 100 million users in 2012.

2012: : Health Bloggers emerge.

Rise nut social media

53% of consumers check their smart phones within 5 minutes of waking. Health bloggers are now prolific and widely followed, some are fast becoming household names with their own recipe books and published in the media. However many of these bloggers are giving out their own nutrition advice but with no real qualifications.

What do people now want?

  • Evidenced based nutrition knowledge presented online, in an easy to access format. Bite sizes snippets that is scientifically correct. 
  • Ethical products.
  • Natural foods.
  • Homemade, fast recipes.
  • Artisan ideas.
  • A unique story on food.
  • Smaller independent brands in a move away from the mass produced products.

As dietitian’s/registered nutritionists  we have a huge role here. 

My thoughts:

  1. How we communicate counts. Be present, be a part of the conversation.
  2. Be authentic. Dietitian’s eat cake! Model healthy eating, balance, moderations and all the things we preach about.
  3. Working with brands is ok as long as you are one about it using the hangtags #ad #spon and a disclosure in any blog posts.
  4. Share your tips, what you eat, your recipes, your work, your stories, new foods, your meals, the research you read, live tweet study days. Show your passion, shout about it.
  5. Keep abreast of the food trends. We can’t get left behind. Be current, be topical, be present.