All Hail Kale (And Other Trending Foods)

Until my roommate began filling our fridge with bags of kale, I was under the impression that the leafy greens were only weeds mistakenly thought to be lettuce. But it turns out they’re part of a larger movement, the mainstreaming of the health foods initiative that has food aficionados predicting that 2014 is the year of green.

However, I’ve found the most popular fare for 2014 seems to be trending towards the versatile – people are turning to foods that can be adapted to multiple meals in multiple forms and foods that are delicious in multiple ways.

Here’s a few foods for you to try this year:

Kale – Without a doubt, this very adaptable vegetable has recently bombarded food blogs and websites with its wide-ranging culinary possibilities. Kale is a leafy green vegetable with a traditionally bitter taste. However, when processed through baking or sautéing, for example, it tends to take on the taste of the foods with which it is cooked.

Try it in: Salads, smoothies, soups, and side dishes. Or bake it with seasoning and eat as chips. (Potatoes, you better look out!)

Gourmet Mac & Cheese – It’s an old favorite, and a go-to comfort food, but macaroni and cheese has long since left behind its Kraft blue box. Now it is frequently served as an upscale casserole with a variety of other ingredients (bacon, chili, mushrooms, garlic, beef, and onions to name a few), and some truly classy cheese (gruyère, cheddar, pepper jack, and gouda for starters). No matter where you go, it’s still the cheesiest!

Try it at: Homeroom, a Mac & Cheese restaurant located at 400 40th St., Oakland.

Quinoa – Quinoa seeds may be tiny, but they are a super food. Used in meals in place of rice or other starchy grains, quinoa contains all 9 essential amino acids, is gluten-free, and fun fact, has been produced in the Andes of South America as a staple for thousands of years. But its popularity in the U.S. is still growing. Though it’s considered quite tasty on its own, it is also featured in an extremely wide range of recipes as both a hot and cold food.

Try it in: Quinoa tabbouleh, salads (as a topping or base), as a side dish with dried fruit and nuts, as a breakfast cereal, in pancake form, or in soups and chili.

Gourmet Donuts – Similar to the ongoing love of fancy cupcakes, is the up-and-coming trend of unusually flavored, artisan donuts. Bakeries are looking beyond basic glazed and sprinkled varieties, focusing on newer tastes like cookies and cream, fruit flavors, peanut butter and the innovative “Cronut.” The Cronut, an original from the Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City, is a cross between a croissant and a donut and has slowly been spreading across the country.

Try it at: Donut Savant, a cronut/donut shop on Broadway in Oakland.

Newly Bunned Burgers – Perhaps it’s boredom with the same-old, but restaurants seem to be kicking their burgers in the buns right now, and giving their meat some new accoutrements. There is, of course, the lettuce wrapped burger, but new buns are also made of rice patties, deep-fried mac and cheese, various forms of pastry, and even fried ramen. The ramen bun, which is fairly easy to make yourself, certainly seems like an excellent option for those college students already subsisting on a ramen diet to begin with.

Try it at: Koja Kitchen, featuring their koja “burgers” with rice patties, or at In-N-Out with the Protein-Style burger on the not-so-secret menu.