New Food-TrendA Breakthrough in Soul Food CookingThe new food-trend is on quick, easy, and ready-to-eat foods. These are foods that are packaged for convenient consumption or what some may call it portable foods. Portable food is food that (you can make quickly and take with you) from your home and transport in portable containers to where ever you’re going. With the latest new food-trend, you can easily make your own portable soul food. One of the main challenges I’ve seen is how the new food-trend is on quick and convenient--yet the biggest focus is more on flavor and taste. More and more people want a quick fix--but at what cost? Does quick and easy mean heating up regular store-bought food? Or does it mean buying food in cute little containers that's low on flavor and taste?
According to Food Technology Magazine, few consumers don’t want to compromise taste, convenience, or time to get these things. Yet, few indicated that they were completely satisfied with their ready-to-eat choices in the stores. What does this mean? It means that most consumers “want it all” good comfort food without compromising taste, value, or spend a lot of time in the kitchen to accomplish that goal. Food Technology Magazine also reported that, “people want to eat at home: 77% of all dinners in 2004 were eaten there, but people want less hassle in the kitchen. And, more of us are ordering take-out from full-service restaurants during the week.” According to McCormick & Company’s latest Flavor Forecast, culinary trends include unique food pairings, repeated use of ingredients that both heat and cool the palate, and regional and ethnic cuisines.“ Soul food offers many nutritional options and can be made for on-the-go families with busy schedules. Keeping with the current food-trend, you can make your own quick and easy soul food by first deciding on your menu. Let’s use the following menu as an example. Old-fashioned Meat Loaf Let’s say one Sunday afternoon I decide to take my lunch to work on Monday since I’ll be tied up in meetings most of the day. I made the above menu and stored enough for me in a sealed container. When time to eat, I simply heat the food up in its container which takes about 2-4 minutes total. The process is quick and easy and won’t take up a lot of time. The above menu is just an example. You can make any number of hot or cold entrees, vegetables, potatoes, salads, or whatever you feel like making--The possibilities are endless.
Just think about it. The heat-‘n-serve foods you purchase in the store is simply food prepared by someone else, packaged in heat ‘n serve containers, then shipped to the stores. Bottom line? It’s simply food that you heat up and then serve. So, with the same concept, you can do the exact same thing and make your own portable soul food. Well, if you’re willing to do a little planning, you can “have it all“. Quick heat 'n serve soul food meals whenever you want. There are several one-pot soul food meals that are perfect for portable dining. To get you started, I have included a few: Old-fashioned Spaghetti & Ground Beef Make several of these one-pot meals then store in plastic containers and use for portable lunches or dinners later during the week. Also, consider freezing small portions to use at a different time. You can also add a fresh salad, fruit, and a dinner roll to complete the meal using the same portable concept. Quick and easy dining is the new food trend that consumers prefer most often. You can make delicious soul food meals and enjoy them whenever you want. With just a little planning and a little imagination, you can have the best of both worlds, quick and easy meals without compromising flavor or taste. For more One-Pot Meal Ideas, visit Soul Food Meals Cassandra Harrell is a Soul Food Advisor and recently owned a soul food restaurant and catering service. She has coached one-on-one sessions on preparing great soul food cuisine.
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