Category: Food industry trends

The latest food industry trends impacting how people eat and why.

U.S. moving at a slow pace to reduce salt consumption, expert advises

We recently reached out to Neha Chatterjee, a research & development scientist specializing in formulating and developing protein-rich foods. We asked her to discuss U.S. salt consumption and salt-related health topics. Read what she has to say here. The views expressed are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of her employer Glanbia, a global nutrition company.

What is the current state of salt consumption in the U.S.? Have intake levels been rising or declining in recent years?

The short answer is Americans are still eating way too much salt, and that hasn’t really changed. The national average sits at around 3,400 mg/day, which is nearly 50% over the recommended 2,300 mg limit. Data from 2003 show that 86–89% of adults have consistently exceeded that threshold. So, despite all the awareness campaigns and label changes, the needle just hasn’t moved much at the population level. Intake has been essentially stable where it is not really rising, but not declining either.

From a food science perspective, that’s not surprising. Salt isn’t just a flavor enhancer, it plays critical functional roles in food processing, controls microbial growth, affects dough structure in baked goods, improves moisture retention in meats, and influences texture in everything from cheese to canned vegetables. Those functions are deeply embedded in how our food supply is manufactured, which is part of why reducing salt content at scale is so technically challenging.

Are Americans being encouraged to consume more or less salt amid changing dietary recommendations, and the potential health implications of these shifts?

Continue reading “U.S. moving at a slow pace to reduce salt consumption, expert advises” →
0

$6 beer? We’re a long way from the 1930s

The U.S. average cost for a beer at a restaurant or bar has reached $6.52! Wow, that tells me how long it’s been since I went out drinking.

“The most expensive city to buy a beer in is New York, at an average price of $9.16, and the most expensive states are New York, Hawaii, and California.

“The most affordable city to buy a beer in is San Antonio, and the places with the highest cost growth are New Mexico, at 4.8%, and Philadelphia at 3.3%,” The Food Institute recounts about findings by Toast.

Following the end of Prohibition in the early 1930s, nickel beer became common across the country. Often, in those tough times, free food came with the beer.

My dad would talk with joy about the free sandwiches. We even once went to an old bar in the pre-gentrified Washington, D.C. that still had that perk in the 1970s.

Those days are long gone now. I suppose the only upside to expensive beer is that it’s much tougher to get drunk on beer now than it was when I was in college in Milwaukee, the original beer town, where we were served free beer on campus once a year.

If you plan to belly up to the bar now, be sure your wallet is full first.

0

AHA vs. Federal Guidelines: Meat Consumption Debate

While the federal government is pushing red meat consumption these days, the American Heart Association remains committed to recommending limited meat consumption, according to its newly polished food guidelines.

The federal guidelines highlight animal sources like eggs, dairy, poultry, seafood, and meat as “safe and high-quality options,” offered alongside plant proteins. The AHA, on the other hand, recommends shifting from meat to plant sources (legumes and nuts) and seafood, with guidance to limit red meat and choose lean cuts if consumed,” reports Mindbodygreen.com.

Two other major areas of disagreement emerge as well, Mindbodygreen.com reports.

Continue reading “AHA vs. Federal Guidelines: Meat Consumption Debate” →
0

Protein primer: How to find the protein you want

Know what you;re buying when you pick a yogurt to eat.

America seems a bit obsessed with protein these days. Those on the new weight-loss drugs think they need to eat it. Those trying to drop pounds the old-fashioned way think if they eat more rpotein,m they’ll basically eat less of everything else.

So how much protein is enough? American women eat an average of 69 grams a day, about 2.4 ounces, reports a piece on LoseIt.com. Some health types advocate eating as much as 100 grams a day, 2.5 ounces.

I tend to ignore food fads, but if you’re on the current protein quest, LoseIt.com has a list of 10 foods that provide at least 15 grams a serving.

Continue reading “Protein primer: How to find the protein you want” →
0

Understanding Boy Kibble: A New Trend for Men

Men, especially young men, can do some pretty strange things. But eating kibble? Isn’t that for dogs?

Not exactly, according to a recent New York Times piece, Move Over, Girl Dinner. Boy Kibble Has Arrived.

“Boy kibble — also known as “human kibble” since women eat it, too — is a ruthlessly efficient, male-coded rejoinder to the extemporaneous charms of “girl dinner.” The latter is a TikTok term for the assemblage of light bites that women sometimes cobble together and eat as a meal, with little care for gastronomic coherence,” The Times reports.

“Boy kibble, in contrast, focuses on some nutritional ideal — here a mix of carbs, protein and fiber — that helps one achieve a specific body type or fitness goal. Pleasure-seeking details like flavor and aesthetics are tossed to the side.”

The person profiled in the article makes his boy kibble with rice, vegetables and ground beef, all cooked in the same pan.

Part of the ongoing effort by men to define what being a man means these days? Perhaps, the article suggests. Or just another goofy fad? Time, as always will tell.

0

McDonald adding insult to injury?

McDonald’s in recent years has been systematically eliminating any menu items that were even remotely healthy. Gone are yogurt parfaits (which were still high in sugar) and McDonald salads (which packed a lot of salt if you used the store dressing).

Stuck at a fast food outlet? Try to find one still offering salads like this one at Buona Beef in Chicago.

Now, according to a report by TastingTable, McD’s is adding insult to the very real injury its menu can cause your health by charging small order fees for delivery. I’m assuming this is in addition to any fees the delivery app charges you too.

My days of loving it at McDonald’s are long gone, In its salad days, pre-Covid, I would have salads and yogurt there two or three days a week. Then I could feel like a normal human being instead of one with heart issues that had changed all my eating habits.

I could just blend in instead of thinking about the two stents holding my arteries open. No more, though.

So I’ve been testing out other fast-food salads and found two I’m enjoying at Chicago’s Buona Beef chain and at the Potbelly sandwich shop chain.

0

Experience Unique Waffle Flights at Elly’s Pancake House

Pancake house menus are pretty much all the same right — lots of pancakes, eggs, waffles, you know the drill.

When I go to one, I look for something heart-healthy, like an egg-white veggie omelet.

But recently I discovered a place near my father-in-law’s new retirement home that had a non-heart-healthy dish I simply could not pass up — waffle flights!

If you’ve ever done a beer or whiskey flight, you know the concept — four varieties of something in smaller sizes than normal but each with a very distinctive and wonderful flavor.

That’s exactly what Elly’s Pancake House in Glenview, Ill., is doing with waffles! Exclamation point? Yes, because this flight was really that amazing.

The waffles included are called s’mores, fruitopia, dalmation and apple pecans. You have to look back to the pancake section of the menu to find out what those include, namely:

  • S’mores — oreo, marshmallow spread, graham cracker crumbles
  • Fruitopia — strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, bananas, mascarpone sauce
  • Dalmatian — white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips

Regular readers know I don’t eat nuts, so I asked for the apple pecan without the pecans and our waitress was very accommodating about that.

Continue reading “Experience Unique Waffle Flights at Elly’s Pancake House” →
0

2026 Food Shortages: Key Fruits and Vegetables Harder to Find

Target 93% lean ground beef

Nutritionists constantly encourage us to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. But some of those healthy picks will be harder to find this year, as will some other foods like domestically raised beef, reports Tasting Table, mostly because of lower production.

For one though, cottage cheese, increased demand is creating shortages.

Continue reading “2026 Food Shortages: Key Fruits and Vegetables Harder to Find” →
0

Why Iceberg Lettuce Deserves a Second Chance in Your Salad

Ever notice how nutritionists balk when you say you like iceberg lettuce? I had one audibly scoff at me once.

A pre-Covid Costco salad, now that was a salad worthy of the name. And it featured iceberg and other lettuces.

But a recent piece in USA Today says all lettuce is good for you, even the maligned iceberg.

Turns out it’s not as good as lettuce that more deeply green, and so higher in good things.

But “choosing darker, red-leaf varieties or mixing in baby greens or microgreens can really boost the nutritional value of your salads,” one nutrition expert tells USAToday.

So let the salads begin and enjoy the type of lettuce you enjoy.

0

The cheapest groceries aren’t at a grocery store

Grocery prices have reached the stratosphere and we’re all scrambling to lower our food bills. Enter Consumer Reports which recently looked at where the cheapest groceries can be found.

My advice to lower your food bill — wherever you shop, plan weekly trips, search out deals and then plan your meals accordingly. I save between 30-50% on weekly trips, as this receipt shows.

Surprise, the winner wasn’t a traditional supermarket or even Walmart, it was Costco.

“Only six chains nationwide had lower prices than Walmart, and the cheapest grocery store in America was none other than Costco. According to the study, groceries at Costco cost, on average, 21.4% less than at Walmart,” reports Delish in analyzing the Consumer Reports study.

But before you run to Costco, keep in mind there are some downsides to shopping there. You have to buy a membership, to start. Costco also doesn’t stock as many grocery products as traditional stores. And you likely have to buy in large quantities, more than a small family might need.

But you could join with neighbors, splitting the $65 membership fee and dividing up what you purchase.

BJ’s Wholesale came in second, another warehouse concept store.

My advice for getting lower prices — shop sales, use coupons and plan your weekly trip, and your weekly menu to maximize your purchasing power. I rarely pay full-price for any grocery item.

My goal each week — to save at least 33 – 40% off full price for my weekly shopping list.

0

A WordPress.com Website.

Up ↑