(Meredith) — One of the biggest changes we all experienced in 2020 was the way we eat. Most of us were no longer dining in at restaurants, and we learned to rely on take-out and cooking our own food at home.
In 2021, we can expect many food trends to continue – like making breakfast more often and creating new cocktails on our own.
Senior Digital Food Editor at Real Simple Betty Gold said that one of the biggest trends we will continue seeing is cooking at home, especially when it comes to making breakfast.
“As a result of having a little bit more time in the morning, we’re still working remotely, we don’t have to commute, we can wear sweatpants all day, we have a little bit more time to focus on breakfast, and that’s very new for many of us,” Gold said. “So, I think that this year, people are going to start having Sunday brunch on a Tuesday, for instance.”
Gold also said she believes people will continue to be more ambitious with the types of dishes they are making, but she expects to see a heavy emphasis on comfort food.
“Everyone is kind of looking for indulgent, delicious dishes that make them feel comfy and warm inside. Nostalgic foods have really taken off,” Gold said. “We’re also seeing a lot of Americans trying to cook things that they would probably have otherwise only ordered in restaurants that are kind of indulgent dishes like French fries, chicken parmesan, just like these hearty comfort foods that you probably only used to order when you ate out.”
Going hand-in-hand with comfort food, Americans also indulged in alcohol in 2020. While Gold expects this to continue, she also thinks people will reevaluate their alcohol intake and try to choose lower-alcohol and lower-sugar options.
“While I don’t think that anyone is totally prepared to go cold-turkey, I would say that there’s a pretty large-scale what I call ‘sober-curious’ movement going on, so I’m seeing a ton of new low-alcohol, low-sugar wines on the market, and lots of people making low-alcohol cocktails at home,” Gold said. “I think that hard seltzers are not going anywhere, we’re just going to see more and more of those.”
As far as food trends to avoid, Gold suggests steering clear of fad diets and focus on wholistic, healthy eating.
“Any kind of fad diet, if it sounds too good to be true, it definitely is,” Gold said. “Be wary of any product that seems too good to be true, because it probably is, too. You know, a candy bar is still a candy bar whether or not it’s plant-based.”
For more food tips and recipes, head to realsimple.com.
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