AJ News

A Culinary Journey

Just as industry experts look to predict upcoming fashion or stock market trends, chefs and food service professionals also get in the game. Many outside factors drive the items that make it to menus and into shopping carts across the country. These forces include economy, pop culture and even war.

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Here’s a list of food predictions that I think we will see on our culinary horizon:

Functional Foods

Our parents and grandparents watched as food became fortified with vitamins and minerals to enrich what they ate. I see trends bringing more foods that actively provide function to our diets, like the popular Kashi brand offering cereals loaded with probiotics (live bacteria that are beneficial to your heath) and cereal bars loaded with previously unheard of amounts of fiber (nature’s scrub rush) .

Middle Eastern Infusion

With an on-going war in the Middle East and so many American men and women serving our country overseas, I see the cuisines of Middle Eastern countries coming home with our military professionals. Foods and ingredients from countries like Afghanistan and Iraq include yogurt, lemon, lamb, wheat and barley. Look for these to start popping up on American menus and in aisles of your grocery store.

Dark Composite

Chocolates

Now that dark chocolate is not only not bad for you, but chocolate companies are capitalizing on our love affair with this flavinoid loaded treat. Look for combinations of chocolate and fun ingredients like pop rocks and cayenne to sea salt and bacon. The health conscious can get their dark chocolate fix loaded with acai berries, omega-three rich nuts and whole grains.

Sustainability

This is a concept that started some time ago but only recently began rolling off tongues of the American people. Sustainability is basically the ability to endure. It is achieved by being responsible with the ground, the air, animals and our bodies. In my mind, this is the continuation of the environmental and green movements with a conjoining of a desire to honor our bodies with the same commitment we have made to honor the Earth in which we live.

Green Eating or

“Slow Foods”

Stemming from the basic idea of sustainability, I see people moving toward green eating. We are aware of the effects man-made chemicals have on our environment. The same is true of processed ,chemically loaded, foods on our bodies. In 2010 and beyond, I predict people will move slowly toward homemade or whole foods and less toward processed.

Pot-Luck Dinners

What would a trend list be with out one about how we will socialize and entertain? Even as the economy begins its slow climb out of the financial despair it has put so many in, people just don’t have the money to entertain how they used to, and even if you do, it almost feels wrong to do so when so many are hurting. The interactive dinners started in the 1970s and still organized at churches and non-religious groups around the country are an economically friendly way to entertain. So, get out this month’s “Bon Appetit” and call friends to come for a fun, interactive night.

Try a “trendy” recipe out for yourself. Here’s my version of a functional food. Whip up a batch of my healthy banana pancakes this weekend, and fuel your body with food bound to have you at your peak performance.

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana, mashed with a fork

1 (6 oz.) container light and fit banana yogurt

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 egg

2 egg whites

4 cups crushed cereal

*The easiest way to crush is in a food processor. If you do not have one, put cereal into a sealed bag and smash with either a rolling pin or a meat tenderizer.

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

How to:

In a large mixing bowl, combined crushed cereal, whole wheat flour and baking powder. In a separate, large bowl mix remaining ingredients. Stir dry ingredients in slowly, mixing with a wooden spoon. Slowly add buttermilk, mixing thoroughly. Do not over-mix. Pour pancakes to desired size on a hot griddle.

Serves eight large pancakes.

Stephanie Shimkus Decker is one of the owners of Euro Cafe in Clarks Summit. She also works as a private chef and does a food/cooking blog www.facebook.com/pages/stepecurian. You can contact her at news@theabingtonjournal.com or at stepecurian@aol.com.