What’s on your plate today would’ve been non-existent 50 years ago. Yup, we’re talking about some of your favorite go-to foods like healthy grains, flavored coffees, and gluten-free swaps. In just a few decades, food culture has transformed and these 10 eats are surprisingly recent innovations.
10. Salad Greens
Believe it or not, 50 years ago, most salads were only made with iceberg lettuce and a dressing. Others were luckier since they had gardens and grew leaf lettuce. It was only in the ’90s that packaged salad greens became widely available in the US. Think pre-washed baby spinach, arugula blends, and spring mix. Older people on this Reddit thread recalled loving salads when other types of greens became more popular.
9. Hummus
While hummus itself is an old Middle Eastern dip, it wasn’t mass-produced or stocked in supermarkets before the 1990s, especially in the Western part of the world. Additionally, making it from scratch involved unfamiliar ingredients like tahini. In early 2000s, hummus went from non-existent to a pantry staple, driven by the rise of health food trends.
8. Out-of-Season Fruits
In the past you can only eat strawberries at one point throughout the year (summer), and the same goes for other seasonal fruits like watermelons, mangoes, and grapes. Today, it’s possible to find seasonal fruits in grocery stores year-round, thanks to innovations in cold-chain logistics and global trade.
7. Kale
To be clear, kale has been around for a long time, but what’s mind-blowing is how people perceived it 50 years ago. Salad bar workers in the ’80s shared that kale was only used as garnish between bowls and was re-used for days. When kale was promoted as “superfood” in the early 2000s, its popularity really started to take off.
6. Boba Tea
Yup, this fun, chewy drink that took the world by storm wasn’t around 50 years ago. It first popped up in Taiwan around the ’80s and the decade after, Taiwan families started opening boba shops in California cities. Now, you can find this drink in cities all over the world, and it’s usually made with tea, milk (or fruit juice), sweetener, and the iconic tapioca pearls that you slurp through wide straws.
5. Plant-Based Meats
Fifty years ago, people only had basic soy and veggie patties as meat alternatives. But now, we have modern plant-based meats like Impossible Burgers and Beyond Meat, which didn’t exist until around 2010s. When people started looking for a smarter way to enjoy the taste of meat without the downsides for health, animals, or the planet, plant-based meats exploded in popularity.
4. Flavored Coffees
Adding flavor to coffees like hazelnut, cinnamon, and vanilla has its roots in ancient spice trade, but it didn’t really take off until late 20th century (in the West). According to a Dunkin’ employee in the ’80s, you could only have your coffee in two ways—regular or decaf. Now, flavored coffee has become a full-blown trend, and we can have everything from pumpkin spice everything to peppermint mocha.
3. Gluten-Free Food
Back in the day, gluten-free food options were mainly for people with celiac disease, a condition where protein in wheat (gluten) can damage the small intestine. When early 2000s came, gluten-free eating went mainstream, driven by various wellness trends. We can now enjoy gluten-free cookies, pasta, and even frozen pizza, and many would agree that these modern gluten-free food options are much better in taste.
2. Quinoa
Quinoa is grown in the Andes mountains and is valued as a hearty crop by indigenous communities. The rest of the world wasn’t aware of quinoa, but that changed in the 2000s when it was rebranded as a “super grain.” Suddenly, quinoa is everywhere, loved by many for having protein, fiber, and all the nine essential amino acids. While the quinoa craze has calmed down a bit, you can still find it in many health-conscious food stores and homes.
1. Chicken Nuggets
To our foodie friends 50 years old and above, here’s a quite shocking truth: you all are older than the Chicken McNuggets! While chicken sticks (ground up, skinless chicken that’s breaded and frozen) were invented in the ’60s, it was McDonald’s who popularized the nuggets in the ’80s. Everyone from kids to adults loved them and other fast food chains rushed to make their own.