From fibre-focused foods to bold flavour combinations, this year’s eating trends are all about making nutritious choices more enjoyable.
You don’t need unfamiliar ingredients to try them. Nuts and dried fruits can bring flavour, texture and variety to breakfasts, snacks, salads and desserts.
Here are five current food trends—and some easy ways to make them part of your everyday routine.
1. Fibre Is Having Its Moment 🌿🥜
After several years in protein’s shadow, fibre is receiving some well-deserved attention. Nuts and dried fruits are both sources of dietary fibre, making them easy additions to meals you already enjoy.
Try adding chopped almonds and dried apricots to oatmeal, topping yogurt with walnuts and raisins, or mixing pistachios and dried cranberries into wholegrain cereal.
These small additions make a familiar breakfast more colourful, interesting and varied without requiring a completely new routine.
2. Choose Snacks That Offer More 🫐
Consumers are increasingly looking for snacks that offer more than convenience—and nuts are a natural fit.
Nuts provide plant protein, fibre and predominantly unsaturated fats. Research has associated nut and seed consumption with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, possibly due in part to their effects on blood lipids.[1]
Enjoy a small handful of nuts on their own, combine them with dried fruit or add them to yogurt for a convenient afternoon snack.
3. Simple Snacks Are Back 🧺
Many consumers are paying greater attention to ingredient lists and choosing snacks made with simple and recognisable foods.
Nuts and dried fruits are an easy starting point. Enjoy them separately, pair them together or create your own snack mix using your favourite nuts, dried fruit, seeds and wholegrain cereal.
Try combining almonds with raisins, pistachios with dried cranberries or walnuts with chopped dates. Spices such as cinnamon, ginger or paprika can introduce another layer of flavour.
Preparing your own mix allows you to choose the ingredients, adjust the flavours and create a combination that suits you.
4. Sweet Meets Spicy 🍈
Sweet-and-spicy—or “swicy”—flavours continue to appear in snacks and recipes around the world. Nuts and dried fruits are particularly well suited to this trend because their natural flavours work with both sweet and savoury seasonings.
Try roasting almonds or cashews with paprika, chilli and a little honey, or combine dried mango or apricots with chilli and lime. Chopped dates can bring a sweet contrast to spicy couscous, curries and grain bowls, while pistachios add colour and crunch.
You can also use walnuts, which are particularly notable among nuts for their alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA, content. ALA is an essential plant-based omega-3 fatty acid.[3]
Start gently with the spice and adjust the heat until you find the right balance for you.
5. Sweet Treats Get a Nut and Dried Fruit Makeover 🌱
People are not giving up desserts, but many are experimenting with more varied ways to satisfy a sweet craving.
Try dates filled with nut butter, dried apricots dipped in dark chocolate or frozen yogurt topped with pistachios. You can also blend dates and nuts into homemade snack bites, add raisins to baked oatmeal or use chopped hazelnuts as a dessert topping.
These ideas are not about labelling foods as “good” or “bad.” They are simply creative ways to enjoy something sweet while introducing a greater variety of ingredients.
🥗 Small Changes, More Variety
The most useful food trends are not the ones that require a complete lifestyle overhaul. They are the ones that inspire small and enjoyable changes you can maintain.
Try adding almonds to breakfast, experimenting with a sweet-and-spicy nut mix or using dried fruit in a savoury recipe. A familiar ingredient may be all you need to discover a completely new flavour.
Which trend would you try first? Share your creations with @nutfruitpower on Instagram or TikTok.
References
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Arnesen, E.K. et al. (2023). “Nuts and seeds consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and their risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Food & Nutrition Research, 67. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36816545/
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Naghshi, S. et al. (2021). “Dietary intake and biomarkers of alpha-linolenic acid and risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies.” BMJ, 375, n2213. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34645650/
These images were generated using AI and do not depict a real person.
