There’s a lot more to social media than posting your vacation pics on Insta or binging on the latest YouTube cat videos. Foodies are upping the recipe game by starting viral food trends introducing people to delicious, creative, innovative dishes they haven’t tried before. Here are some standout meal ideas you should take from your phone to your plate.
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Salmon Rice Bowl
This TikTok food trend was popular from 2020 to 2021. The ingredients include rice, leftover salmon, avocado, sriracha, an ice cube, and mayonnaise. You can also add seaweed and kimchi.
- Use a fork to break the salmon into tiny pieces and place them in a bowl.
- Put cold rice on your salmon, followed by an ice cube.
- Microwave for one to 1.5 minutes.
- Add soy sauce to taste and mix well.
- Top the bowl with avocado slices, kewpie mayo and sriracha.
- Add seaweed and kimchi if you’d like.
Salmon is a nutritious option because it is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids. It reduces inflammation and is good for the heart, reducing the probability of heart disease by 36%. This dish is a great way to use leftover salmon as a new meal.
Green Goddess Salad
This recipe was popularized on TikTok and Instagram. There are several ways to make it, and all are healthy.
Dice a small green cabbage, three to four Parisian cucumbers, a small bunch of green onions, and ¼ cup of chives.
Mix the following ingredients for the dressing:
- Juice of two lemons
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- One small shallot
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup fresh basil
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup water
- Salt to taste
Layer the finely chopped vegetables in a bowl. Pour the well-blended dressing over the top and enjoy.
Deep, leafy greens like spinach are rich in iron and several essential B vitamins, including folate. Nutritional yeast is a valuable source of vitamin B12, which is typically found in meat. It’s ideal for vegans to meet their needs without violating their cruelty-free values.
Smashed Chinese Cucumber Salad
Here’s a simple salad that began as a TikTok trend. It makes a delightful refresher on hot summer days — whip it up as your next barbecue contribution.
Peel one fresh English cucumber. Smash it with a Chinese slicing knife before cutting it into bite-sized pieces. Another alternative is to spiralize it.
Add cucumber to a bowl, mixing it well with three mashed garlic cloves, ¼ teaspoon sugar, and salt to taste.
In a separate container, blend:
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon black vinegar
- 1 to 2 teaspoons of chili oil
Pour the dressing over your salad and enjoy.
The capsaicin in chili oil is a potent anti-inflammatory and also cools you down. There’s a reason people who live south of the border like things spicy.
Bell Pepper Sandwiches
Are you giving keto or paleo a try? Research suggests that such diets may lower your Type 2 diabetes risk, a threat facing nearly 100 million Americans. This recipe lets you cut carbs by substituting healthy red or green bell pepper for the bread, giving you a hefty dose of vitamin C in the bargain.
Gather your ingredients, including the following:
- A red or green bell pepper
- Uncured lunch meat, such as roasted beef, chicken, or turkey
- Cheese
- Low-carb veggies, such as tomato and lettuce
- Mayonnaise, mustard, pesto, cream cheese, salt, pepper, Braggs 24-herb blend, or other low-carb dressings and spices to taste.
Remove the stem end of the pepper and the seeds, splitting it in half.
Spread your dressing and spices on both halves of the pepper.
Layer your other ingredients, fold like a sandwich, and enjoy.
Sticking to unprocessed meats gets you filling protein with fewer health risks. The World Health Organization classifies processed meats as a carcinogen, and a recent study linked their consumption to an increased Type 2 diabetes risk. By opting for healthier ingredients, this low-carb trend makes for a lunchtime classic you can feel good about eating.
For a fun variation, try this whipped cottage cheese as a dressing. It’s another TikTok trend that increases flavor while lowering calories — the fluffiness increases volume but not fat.
Use Social Media Food Trends to Your Benefit
Food that becomes popular on social media is trendy because it’s delicious and new. It adds variety to your diet and challenges health enthusiasts to be more creative in their meal plans. Join the bandwagon and try these recipes to mix things up in your kitchen, and be sure to post pictures of the results to your own social pages.
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