The top ten foods of the decade, according to The Kitchens of the Food Channel:

1. Sushi
2. Bacon
3. Cupcakes
4. Sliders
5. Gourmet Burgers made with Kobe or Angus Beef
6. Superfruits such as Acai, Pomegranate and Blueberry
7. Oils, such as olive oils and truffle oils
8. Whole grains
9. Artisan foods, particularly in breads, cheeses and dark chocolates
10. Coffees, teas

The Top Ten Flavors of the Decade, according to The Kitchens of The Food Channel:

1. Pomegranate
2. Wasabi
3. Cranberry
4. Ginger
5. Blueberry
6. Hibiscus
7. Bacon
8. Green tea
9. Dark Chocolate
10. Mint

The Top Ten Food Influences of the Decade, according to The Kitchens of The Food Channel:

1. Organic foods, along with Locavore and Community Supported Agriculture
2. International Cuisines
3. Food TV and Internet
4. Food Safety
5. The Economy and subsequent shift to home cooking
6. Fast casual restaurant concepts
7. Fair trade and Artisan concepts in bread, chocolates, cheeses
8. Mobility/Social Media/Twitter notifications/Underground dining
9. Mixology
10. Culinary education

More to come tomorrow!

Also from MyRecipes.com, ways to reduce sodium in your diet...another rising food trend.
By Anne Cain, R.D.
Use fresh or frozen veggies, not canned
It's hard to beat the flavor of garden-fresh vegetables, so making this switch might just be the easiest change of all. If it's not convenient to buy fresh, go for frozen. As an alternative to green bean casserole with canned cream of mushroom soup and canned onion rings, try fresh green beans, red onion, and wild mushrooms.
Use Homemade Dressings Instead of Bottled
Bottled salad dressings, while certainly convenient, usually have more than twice the sodium of a homemade dressing because of the sodium-containing preservatives. Make up a batch of this tangy, versatile vinaigrette and use it as is or as the base for additional flavored vinaigrettes.
Make Soup Homemade, Not Canned
One can of tomato soup contains 1,690 milligrams of sodium, while one serving of this homemade version only has 229 milligrams. The recipe still calls for convenience products such as canned tomatoes, dried tomatoes, and canned chicken broth, but it's enhanced with fresh vegetables and herbs.
Homestyle Roasted Chicken...Homemade!
Rotisserie chickens from the grocery store deli can be packed with sodium, especially if they're roasted with a seasoning blend or sauce. You can achieve a big sodium savings by roasting your own. A 5-pound chicken will yield about 7 1/2 cups of chopped cooked chicken.
Use Dried Beans, Not Canned
The convenience of using canned beans comes with a price-a sodium price. For a low-sodium alternative, replace canned beans with dried. One pound [...]

From MyRecipes.com, an awesome series on food trends that will be highlighted-some already hot, some becoming even more so-in the years to come.
Food Trend #1: Going Organic
By Rachel Quinlivan, R.D.

"Organic" is a term regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It refers to (1) any produce that has been grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers and (2) meats and dairy products that come from animals raised without the use of antibiotics, growth hormones, or excessive antibiotics or other drugs.
Benefits of Eating Organic
Although the benefits of an organic diet are still being explored, studies show that by eating organic foods, you reduce your exposure to the potentially negative health risks associated with the chemicals used in traditional farming practices. Research also suggests that organic produce contains higher levels of vitamin C, iron, calcium, and magnesium as compared to traditionally grown foods.
Paying the Price
Without pesticides and other chemicals, a farmer's job can become more expensive, and those increased farming costs translate to the price tags at the grocery stores and farmers' markets. Organic produce, poultry, and meats can cost between 25 to 100 percent more than their nonorganic counterparts. So what's worth the extra cost and what's not? Here's an aisle-by-aisle guide.
Produce
Some fruits and vegetables retain pesticide residue even after they've been washed, particularly thin-skinned fruits and vegetables and those that can't or wouldn't be peeled–so it might be worth [...]

Yay, it's Cinco De Mayo! Time to celebrate history and, for many of us, indulge in delightful, delectable treats. Unfortunately, these treats are often incredibly...well, unhealthy, due to the amount of processed fats, added salts (and even sugars!) and tequila-laced calorie bombs masquerading as margaritas. Here are a few ways to indulge in a healthier Cinco De Mayo:1. Replace regular white flour tortillas with whole-grain or whole-wheat tortillas for a heartier taste and a healthier nutrition profile, whether you're making enchiladas or quesadillas or burritos. The flavor is more satisfying and the grain and fiber content in whole-grain or whole-wheat tortillas are more filling than their white-flour counterparts.2. Swap out regular sour cream for reduced-fat sour cream. You won't even notice the difference and reduced-fat sour creams can contain up to 30% less fat than regular sour cream. For a totally fat-free, high-protein alternative, try plain fat free Greek yogurt. The creamy consistency is similar to sour cream, and it has a pleasantly sour-creamlike taste (that can be upped a notch or two by a squeeze of fresh lime juice).
3. Spice it, don't salt it! Instead of salt to flavor...well, anything, try using spices instead. Garlic granules (not garlic salt, though they look similar), fresh garlic, dried ground chiles, citrus zests, cinnamon, unsweetened cocoa powder and of course, the ubiquitous cayenne powder, are all standout additions to traditional Cinco De Mayo fare, and since salt is one of the most overused condiments-not to mention a contributing factor to a host [...]

As always, we love feedback from our customers...what do you think of the new ban in Santa Clara County on toys in McDonald's Happy Meals?

Here's a short synopsis of the ban from the foodconsumer.org:

Santa Clara County Bans Happy Meals With Toys

Santa Clara County will soon ban Happy Meal toys and other promotional items that are used to promote sales of high calorie children's meals unless the restaurants meet nutritional

guidelines approved by the County Board of Supervisors.

The Board passed the ordinance by a 3 to 2 vote. Ken Yeager, the sponsor of the measure, was cited as saying that the ordinance prevents restaurants from "preying on children's love of toys" to sell unhealthful food.

Opponents like Donald Gage said parents should be responsible for their children who actually don't have the purchasing power.

Dr. Dan Delgado, director of a county program aiming to fight childhood obesity

, was cited as saying that toys encourage children to eat unhealthy food which helps cause obesity.

A spokesman for the McDonald's said foods served at the chain restaurant offer many nutrients that children need.

A health observer told foodconsumer.org that one unhealthy meal without an ideal nutrition profile would not do much of any harm.  What may be really detrimental is that you eat junk food as a habit.

Some think they should; others aren't so sure. Here's one commentary, thanks to US News & World Report, on the proposed changes to regulate the American diet:
(commentary by Deborah Kotz) "The pressure is on the food industry to stop poisoning us with all that added salt and sugar that make Oreos, Coke, and Krispy Kreme doughnuts taste oh, so good. On Tuesday, the Institute of Medicine urged the Food and Drug Administration to start regulating the amount of sodium in foods, since simply telling us to eat less salt hasn't had much impact. Who knew that a Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino Light Blended Coffee has 350 milligrams of sodium—about 15 percent of our daily allowance? The FDA said yesterday that it will review the Institute's recommendations "over the coming weeks" and work with "the food industry to support the reduction of sodium levels in the food supply."
Sounds good, right? But what if the food industry just swaps sodium for sugar? A study published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that all the added sugars in processed foods spell trouble for our cholesterol levels and our hearts. The more added sugars we eat, the more our LDL or "bad" cholesterol goes up and the more our HDL or "good" cholesterol goes down. We also get an unhealthful boost in triglycerides, blood lipids that are [...]

Does anybody have any suggestions to select a healthy fast food meal, that is low in calories?

And you thought 7-Up as a mood stabilizer was loony...the rest of these weird and wacky food facts will knock your socks off for sure! Check 'em out!
1. Strawberry flavoring comes from 50 different chemicals and might not even include strawberries at all. What you're tasting in your "strawberry-flavored" ice cream can be a concoction of all sorts of chemical compounds, such as benzyl isobutyrate, amyl acetate, mint and even cognac. Make sure yours is real by knowing the folks who made it--mom n pop ice cream shops make this easy, just ask at the counter--or simply reading the label to make sure "strawberries" are listed...not "strawberry flavor".
2. Cheese is cheese, right? Well, yeah, unless it's cheese food, or cheese product. FDA labeling rules mandate that processed products that are anything other than 100% cheese are labeled as such. For a quick and easy way to tell if it's real cheese, here are the facts:

"Pasteurized process cheese product" contains less than 50% cheese
"Pasteurized process cheese food" must contain a minimum 50% real cheese
"Pasteurized process cheese" must be 100% cheese.

3. Fresh or frozen? It might surprise you to learn that frozen vegetables are often fresher than "fresh" vegetables from the produce section. While frozen veggies are picked at their perfect ripeness and flash-frozen immediately, fresh veggies often have to travel hundreds and even thousands of miles before they reach your grocery store, and all of [...]

It's Monday, and this week we're getting into the wide world of intriguing, odd and downright weird facts about food. So take a little break to enjoy these fun foodie facts...brought to you by Glenny's with a little extra help from BrightHub.com.
We've got ten crazy food facts...five to whet your trivia whistle for today and five more jaw-droppers to check out tomorrow! Here we go!
1. Yogurt may promote weight loss! Low fat dairy products, naturally rich in calcium and protein, can help actually promote weight loss. One study conducted by the International Journal of Obesity profiled 34 obese adults who were otherwise healthy; some instructed to eat 3 servings of fat-free yogurt daily. Those participants shed more than 14 pounds, while those who ate one serving lost only 11 pounds. Moreover, the test subjects lost up to 81% of their stomach fat. Spoons up!
2. No wonder we love chocolate so much: its consumption dates back to the 5th century AD! Ancient Mayans drank a mixture prepared with cocoa beans, chili peppers, cornmeal, spices and water. Needless to say, we've improved our enjoyment of the delicious cacao bean over the centuries, but it all began over 2000 years ago!
3. Addicted to vanilla? There may be good reason: ancient medicinal texts indicate that vanilla was used to cure hangovers as well as a potent aphrodisiac. Because it increases adrenaline and epinephrine levels, vanilla actually can be mildly addictive. Tough to describe something bland as "vanilla" anymore!
4. 7-Up could have a "top ten [...]

Steel cut oats might take a long time to prepare are worth every toothsome, delicious bite! Steel cuts also pack a flavorful powerhouse, boasting B-vitamin bounty, whole grain goodness and filling, slowly-digesting fiber and carbs. While many feel that the chewy texture and maybe even "bland" flavor of steel cut oats is a dull and boring way to start the day, steel cut oats can  take on a whole new deliciousness very quickly. Try adding any of these toppings (I like to lace the whole bowl with them instead of just having them on top) to your morning bowl & enjoy the luscious flavors and hearty nutrition of steel cut oats!

-fresh sliced strawberries with 1 tsp lowfat whipped topping (such as Cool Whip)

-raisins, with a pinch of cinnamon and brown sugar

-fresh figs, cut into bite-size pieces

-half an apple (I like granny smith best) cut into bite size pieces, with a drizzle of honey

-1% milk and a drizzle of honey

-just plain old brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves and handful of toasted walnuts...for delicious flavor, crunchy-chewy texture and a nice "good morning!" warming. Mmmm...

How do you like your steel cuts oats? We'd love some advice from some real experts on the matter (you!) so feel free to drop us a line in the comment space below. Alternately, send us questions, make suggestions and submit your own recipes here. Thank you from Glennys!