AUDIO: WHOLE FOODS CLAIMS YOU’LL BE EATING THIS STUFF NEXT YEAR
Here are five of Whole Foods’ predicted food trends for 2018:
1. Mushroom-infused coffee. Expect to see mushroom varieties like reishi, chaga and cordyceps infusing your coffee, chocolate, broths and tea, marketed as a way to promote wellness. Mushrooms will also increasingly be used in lines of soaps and hair care, according to Whole Foods.
2. Engineered plant-based food. Expect more foods like the widely buzzed-about “bleeding” vegetarian burgers, sushi that uses tomato instead of tuna and dairy-free desserts that get a creamy texture through scientific manipulation of nuts (* Like when you get a physical?).
3. Root-to-stem. 2018 will be the year you stop throwing out your carrot stems or other bits and pieces from vegetables formerly thought to be garbage. Instead, you’ll turn them into treats like pickled watermelon rind, broccoli stem slaw or beet green pesto. (Uh, no I won’t.)
4. Super powders. There will be powders made from spirulina, kale, roots or herbs. Whole Foods says we’ll see more growth in turmeric-based drinks, while powders like matcha, maca root and cacao are also increasingly being incorporated into beverages.
5. Floral flavors. Look for an increase in hibiscus and rose flavors.
* So, 2018 is the year we all become horses.
* Oops, they forgot to mention that all this crap will be SUPER EXPENSIVE.
* THAT’S what’s been missing from my coffee – mushrooms!
* I’m sure Starbucks will get right on that.
* What happened to bagels? A couple weeks ago, someone said it would be bagels. I wanted bagels!
CLIP: Our classic A-Whole Foods parody spot.
