We've all seen styles in clothing change over the years. Well, food styles change with the times, too.
2010 may be the year of the sweet potato. And why not? First of all, they're delicious, and folks are catching on to the fabulous health benefits. They're high in fiber, beta carotene and vitamins C and B6. They're really cheap, easy to store and have a relatively long shelf life. You can cook them all kinds of ways, like baking, frying, mashing, boiling, candying, anything you'd do with a regular potato, but they're so much better for you.
Another trendy flavor next year will be Cardamom. Ever heard of it? Those of us who love to bake know it pops-up as an ingredient in some yummy desserts. It's also a comon ingredient in Indian food. But this healthy, delicious, intensely aromatic spice is going to be more mainstream next year.
. Perhaps you've seen hibiscus in tea. Well, expect to see hibiscus in other drinks besides tea, next year. The USDA announced hibisus can help lower blood pressure, so food producers will be adding it to their products as a selling point.
Also look for the emergence of capuacu. This is expected to become the next "superfruit" kind of like blueberries and pomegranite from years past. Capuacu contains more than 10 vitamins and antioxidants.
And expect to see more cilantro, the Latin herb (delicious!) and rose water in 2010.
On the other hand, we will likely be seeing less salt in packaged, processed and restaurant foods. Americans are becoming increasingly aware of the health dangers of too much salt in their diet. A major report in the British Journal of Medicine links higher salt intake to cardiovascular events in data from 13 studies and a sample of 170-thousand people. This is no surprise. We have seen results like this from studies conducted over the past decades. People can monitor how much salt they put into the food they cook themselves, but it is alarming how much salt is in food we do not prepare at home. So food agencies are under more pressure than ever to reduce the sodium content in their food. The American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine reports, "A major issue in salt consumption is that much of it is involuntary and attributed to the increase in the consumption of packaged, processed and restaurant foods."