What are the hottest diet and food trends for 2019? From the keto diet and non-dairy milk alternatives to dinners cooked campfire style in foil packets, today's guest puts this year's food trends into perspective. Joining me is Dr. Joan Salge Blake, long-time friend, colleague, author of Nutrition & You, and Clinical Associate Professor at Boston University.

Here are the top trends you'll hear about on the show: the keto diet, the push to lower added sugar in everyday food products, non-dairy milk, foods cooked in foil,  and plant-based eating. 

Show Highlights:

• A new foil-packet dinner recipe for Cod, Carrot, & Green Beans, which can be used with any seafood. It’s seasoned with green onions and teriyaki sauce and topped with a fresh avocado sauce.
• Check out my blog, with a dozen new foil pack dinner recipes.
• What’s coming up on the podcast in 2019? A listener survey to get specific feedback and show ideas and my soon-to-be-announced “March into Good Nutrition” campaign featuring short videos to answer your questions and solve listener cooking and nutrition challenges.
• Joan’s Italian background and how her love of good food led her to become a dietitian and help others to eat better.
• Joan’s work as a professor at Boston University, nutrition textbook author, and her work in media (she’s logged over 1,500 interviews).
• Food trends in 2019:
  • The Keto Diet: Very low in carbohydrates, moderate in protein, and very high in fat
    • The evidence shows that the Keto Diet is helpful for children with epilepsy, but more research is needed on its role in weight loss 
    • The Keto Diet is a far cry from the healthiest diet of all. What's the most popular diet style out there? The Mediterranean diet!  
      • Have you listened to my podcast on the Mediterranean Diet? Check it out! 
    • The bottom line on the Keto Diet: “Try it if you want to, because it may or may not work for you.”
  • Lower sugar content:
    • Upcoming new labeling requirements on the Nutrition Facts Panel will begin in January 2020, and the goal is to make it easier to identify sugar content in foods
    • Why you can’t just “cut out” all sugar in products and foods
    • Liz's recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
  • Non-dairy milk alternatives, which provide different ways to drink, cook, and bake
    • Look out for added sugar in milk alternatives
    • Regular milk is packed with protein, potassium, vitamin D, and calcium, and the alternatives don’t always measure up nutritionally
  • Foil-pack dinners are easy, no muss, no fuss ways to prepare healthy meals:
    • The food inside steams and stays moist
    • No mess, no fuss, and no dishes to clean up
    • This method reduces food waste by using up leftover vegetables
  • Plant-based eating, which is a trend that’s being repeated and finally understood
  • Fermented foods, which are being promoted as champions of gut health
• Joan’s podcast, Spot On, launching at the end of January. It focuses on health and wellness for college students and will be full of trendy and useful nutrition information.
• Joan’s family favorite recipe: homemade pizza.
• Joan’s advice: “Make sure you get food and nutrition advice from credible and trained nutritionists and dietitians.”

Resources:

www.superhealthykids.com

www.parentsondemand.com

Find Joan Salge Blake on Instagram and Twitter

Find Joan’s podcast, Spot On, on Facebook

Find Joan’s blog: Nutrition & You