The Top 10 Healthy Food Trends to Expect in 2024

The Top 10 Healthy Food Trends to Expect in 2024
The past year has had some noteworthy food moments.Who could forget girl dinner, immunity-boosting wellness shots, and cottage cheese and pickles in absolutely everything? Now, though we can look forward to what exciting new culinary innovations lie ahead.Many of those innovations take their cue from ongoing research that highlights the role food and nutrition play in the risk of developing chronic diseases, and how diet impacts day-to-day functioning, energy levels, and even mood and mental health. Experts predict that there will be a continued emphasis on new and better plant based foods, as well as those that nurture our guts with pre/pro and post biotics.

To discuss these and other emerging trends, we consulted Kelly Kennedy, RDN, staff dietitian for Everyday Health, Sammi Brondo, RD, a dietitian based in New York City, Lauren Twigge, RD, owner of Lauren Twigge Nutrition, and Diana Wind, RD, a nutritionist at Inspira Health.

1. Economical Eats;
Food prices have begun to pump the brakes, but they’re still not what they used to be. There is a silver lining for home cooks, however. All food prices are expected to increase 1.2 % in 2024, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), but while eating away from home costs are expected to rise nearly 5 percent, the price of eating at home is anticipated to actually fall slightly.

“A lot of people, especially people with larger families, are going to have to look for affordable options in order to stay on budget,” says Kennedy. “I definitely think people are going to be watching where they place their food dollars more closely.” Inexpensive protein sources, like tinned fish, canned beans, and legumes, could remain popular, while more expensive cuts of meat may secure their place in the back seat.  

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2. More Protein, Less Meat
On that note: In 2023, plant-based meat options were all the rage. A year later, consumers won’t need the disguises of a faux burger or sausage link to continue embracing nonmeat protein sources. “The protein trend is here to stay in 2024, but I think shoppers are increasingly looking beyond the meat aisle, or even the plant-based meat aisle,” says Brondo. Instead, they’ll be reaching for whole food sources like eggs, tofu, cottage cheese, beans, and even bread to meet their protein goals, she adds. For many, this addresses two concerns: those of animal and environmental ethics and those of saving money. 

Whole Food Markets’ 2024 Trend Report corroborates Brondo on this, adding that simple, protein-forward products with mushrooms, walnuts, tempeh, and legumes are expected to steal the spotlight over complex meat alternatives with a laundry list of ingredients. This trend falls in line with the growth we’ve already seen in the plant-based diet arena, and the boom is expected to continue  in fact, a Research and Markets report says the plant-based food market is projected to exceed $75 billion by 2028, up from $41 billion in 2022.

3. Plant-Based Seafood
What started as toes dipped in the plant-based seafood pond via veggie sushi rolls and the like is becoming a full on submergence thanks to the tin fish trend that overtook in 2023. In response, plant-based packaged food brands are bringing vegetarian and vegan consumers their own versions of the salty snack in the form of carrots as lox, trumpet mushrooms flavored as scallops, and the root vegetable konjac in sushi rolls and poke bowls, per Whole Foods Market.

4. Eco-Conscious Drinking

An interest in minimizing food waste in favor of environmental conservation will carry over from 2023, this time with a focus on sustainable water sourcing. According to Whole Foods Market, new water brands are using water from fruit byproducts that would otherwise be discarded. A new Regenerative Organic Certification also requires soil health initiatives that will help conserve water. Additionally, nongovernmental organizations are showing their support of farmed oysters to allow for both the natural filtration of water by aquaculture and the restoration of coastal ecosystems.Food waste has come under more scrutiny in recent years, but is still a big issue, with more than one-third of the U.S. food supply going to landfills or compost heaps, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In the past, meal planning has helped families manage household waste, Kennedy says, but, now, manufacturers are also tackling the problem.

5. Functional Foods
If you haven’t yet paid upwards of $10 for an immunity-boosting juice shot at your local smoothie shop, you’re in luck — there’s plenty of time to jump on the trend. The U.S. market for functional foods is expected to grow nearly 9 percent from 2022 to 2030, according to an industry report, and Twigge says 2024 will be their biggest year yet.

Functional foods are “a foodstuff that provides a health benefit beyond basic nutrition, demonstrating specific health or medical benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease,” per the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.Taking that definition a step further, Twigge adds that people are increasingly turning to food as medicine. “In fact, the importance of this topic is becoming so apparent that the White House recently developed a Food as Medicine Initiative that aims to reduce nutrition-related diseases and food insecurity with the goal to improve health and racial equity,” she explains. Not to mention, the popularity of Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, a 2023 Netflix docu-series about global diets, traditions, and practices for longevity has sparked a heightened interest in the topic. 

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Some other examples of functional foods include magnesium-containing nuts and milk for muscle relaxation, Twigge says, or chocolate with added chamomile and valerian for potentially improved sleep. There are also countless foods fortified with probiotics and fiber for gut health, but don’t feel like you have to seek out frilly packaging with big promises to cash in on the power of nutrition. “Specific nutrients like fiber [found in beans], antioxidants [found in citrus fruits], and probiotics [found in fermented or pickled foods] are great examples of things to look for when choosing functional foods,” Twigge says, “as these nutrients have been well documented to support health and reduce risk for disease.”

6. Choline
“Vitamin D, magnesium, and collagen have all had their time in the spotlight, and next year I think it will be time for choline to shine,” says Brondo. Choline is a nutrient required by the brain and nervous system for mood regulation, memory, and muscle control, per the National Institutes of Health. Additionally, it helps form the membran .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  The End .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .