There is something to be said about Lebanese and their endless pursuit to be trendy. We're hardly trendsetters but we definitely love to follow the latest trends. Our quest to be in-style is not limited to fashion; we want to be fashionable in every possible way. We pretend to be nonconformist, yet we quickly bend to social and peer pressures: We travel to the same destinations (judging from Facebook pictures, this year was definitely Dubrovnik year); we go to the same clubs (almost every one had his name on the waiting list at Seven Sisters for three consecutive weeks last summer); we have the same hobbies (wake boarding made its debut right after hiking), we share the same entrepreneurial ideas (a while ago, every person who knew how to use a pair of scissors turned into a clothes/accessories designer; this year every person who knew how to take a picture and apply a filter, or every person who remembered few grammatical rules, became a blogger... including myself! And finally, we eat at the same restaurants and follow the same diet. 2015 is already behind, but its food trends continue to be in style...
Quinoa:
Apparently, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2013 as the "International Year of Quinoa". Two years later (better late than never), Quinoa landed on almost every Lebanese restaurant's menu. This isn't supposed to be a sponsored post but Zaatar w Zeit introduced the Quinoa tabbouleh, Classic Burger had his signature Quinoa burger... just to name a few. I reached home one day to discover that my mom replaced "burgol" with Quinoa in her attempt to make a healthy "kibbeh" because chef Antoine said Quinoa was healthy!
Gluten/wheat free food:
In 2015, intolerance has massively spread in Lebanon from religion and politics to food! Almost half of the Lebanese population has apparently been diagnosed with Celiac disease. Every person I met lately "has recently discovered that he/she were wheat/gluten intolerant". I am not sure how you can discover that you were intolerant to a type of food after you've been eating it for over 30 years! My friend who is a dietician and owns a gluten free bakery in Tripoli (again, this is not a sponsored post but if you'd like to have her number for a consultation please contact me :) ) would certainly argue that. There might be a scientific explanation for that, but the increasing popularity of gluten-free food has undeniably uncovered the power of trends marketing. A lot of people might have a medical condition but for the majority, they're just following the healthy lifestyle trend.
Juice Detox
2015 was indisputably the ultimate health awareness year. Most people I know, started seeking a healthy lifestyle. Some signed up for a gym membership while others opted for yoga classes. They even hired a "PT" (Personal Trainer)... someone to help them shape their bodies (or probably someone with killer abs that are worth staring at). Juice detox was among those healthy diet practices. I had to try it myself to test its efficiency and I was honestly surprised by the result! I felt lighter, my wallet got lighter too as a three-day detox costs $150! I lost two kilograms in three days and I was so happy that I celebrated my achievement with a bottle of wine...every day for a week. Needless to say that I regained three kilos after that...
Kale:
When I first heard of Kale I had to Google it. It turned out to be a type of wild cabbage. My detox juices contained a lot of Kale, and it tasted just fine. So when I found a Kale sandwich on the menu few days ago, I ordered it. I felt like I was a grazing animal; it tasted like grass!
While most of 2015 food trends promoted a healthy diet, my favorite remained the "Pain Perdu", an improved version of French toast. I spent the year on the prowl for the best Pain Perdu in town... I've tried a dozen of restaurants, and gained more than a few kilos to finally find the winner... But since this isn't a sponsored post, and I don't aspire to become a food blogger (although this is in style as well), I'd rather keep the address to myself.
Happy healthy eating!
