Healthy_Food_Guide_UK_-_January_2020

lCITRUS SENSATIONS

Bergamot orange,blood

orange, calamansi,citron,

pomelo, yuzu andugli

fruit tend to be sour,but

apparently our palates

are seeking tart foods

as we reduce sugar.

lNEW SPREADS

While peanut, almond

and cashew buttersare

likely to remain popular,

look out for watermelon

or pumpkin seed,

macadamia nut and

even chickpea butters.

Check out Meridian

Organic PumpkinSeed

Butter, £3.39/170g,

Holland & Barrett.

lUGLY VEG ANDFRUIT

We don’t need perfectly

curved bananasor

round tomatoesto

enjoy them. Expectto

see more misshapen

fruit and veg onsale–

check out the Wonky

Veg range at Morrisons.

lSPICES HOT UP

Using chilli to addpunch

to dishes is having

a moment. As a wider

range becomes

available, hot sauces

es arethe

vestosalt

vour.

E SUGAR

ut nectar,

and

molasseshavebeen

bignews.Thenew

kidsonthesugar

blockincludesyrups

madefrommonkfruit,

pomegranate,dates,

sweetpotatoand

sorgum.Remember,

theyallstillcountas

freesugars,though,

soshouldbelimited.

lFANTASTICFLOURS

Justaswe’dgotused

tospelt,buckwheat

andrye,newflour

varietiesmadefrom

cauliflower,bananas,

tigernutsandteff

caughtourattention.

TryDovesFarm

OrganicTeffFlour

(£1.36/120g,

dovesfarm.co.uk)

formakingmuffins

andbrownies.

lCBDPRODUCTS

Althoughtheir

effectivenessis stillon

trial,CBDoilstrended

lastyear.NowCBDis

beingaddedtofood

anddrink,soexpect

it topopupin

mainstreamproducts

fromteatotonicwater.

lVIETNAMESE

COOKING

Eastmeetswestinthe

kitchenasmoreofus

tryAsian-inspired

dishes.Checkoutthe

ScratchVietnamese

StirFry(£5.99/783g,

Waitrose),a mealkit

thatcontainsallyou

needfora supperfor

two.OrdineatPho

forVietnamesestreet

food(phocafe.co.uk).

ZERO

WASTE

COOKING

This taps into the desire to

reduce food waste by eating

up food before it’s passed its

use-by date and unsafe to eat.

But the concept also includes

‘root to stem’ or ‘nose to tail’

cooking – eating the parts of

food we often throw away.

For example, you might turn

butternut squash seeds into

a snack, add broccoli stems

to a stir-fry, or steam chopped

cauliflower leaves. The

concept is already becoming

mainstream – MasterChef

often includes a ‘scraps’

challenge, where chefs create

a dish from trimmings that

usually go in the bin.

Zero-waste restaurant Silo,

which opened in London in

November (silolondon.com),

is

s

EDIBLE PACKAGING

Anyone fancy edible spoons made from rice flour, wheat and

sorghum, straws that come in a variety of flavours, or drink

pouches made from seaweed and other plant materials?

Packaging as we know it is changing. Researchers from the University

of Nottingham have already developed a 100% biodegradable and

edible alternative to clingfilm that’s made from carbohydrates and

proteins. One easy way to embrace the trend is simply to snack

on more fruit and veg instead of crisps, biscuits or sweets. Apples,

pears, grapes, peppers and cherry tomatoes all come with a natural

packaging you can eat – it’s called the skin! – but do buy them loose.

NO-PROOF DRINKS

More of us will be bypassing

the booze aisles in favour of

alcohol-free options. It helps

that traditional distilling methods

are being used to create

plausible non-alcoholic

alternatives, such as the Seedlip

range, which are designed

to be drunk with a mixer. The

Waitrose Food & Drink Report

also confirms a greater focus

on flavoured drinks rather than

alcohol. Benchmark, a global

hospitality company, suggests

new fruit juice flavours, such as

prickly pear and dragon fruit,

will be whetting our appetite

in 2020. Check labels, though,

as zero alcohol doesn’t mean

zero calories or sugar! Try Vit Hit

Immunitea Dragonfruit + Yuzu

(£1.40/500ml, Sainsbury’s),

which is fortified with zinc and

B vitamins, has just 35kcal

per bottle and is low in sugar.

GOING UP

ILLUSTRATIONS: ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES

JANUARY 2020 HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE 93

NUTRITION