This past week, Business Week magazine published its “Popularity Issue” in which it dissects what exactly America is going crazy for these days. Although I’m not one to read business magazines on the regular, I was intrigued by this issue for the abundance of food-related content. Unsurprisingly, much of what is popular in the United States involves diet. Here are just a few of the foodie-tastic highlights from the issue:

Five Guys This burgers-and-fries chain is growing by leaps and bounds—the company has opened 5 new restaurants per week in 2011. In my experience with this chain, it is not vegetarian-friendly or even remotely health-minded. Their menu’s “veggie burger” consists of a white bun with lettuce and tomato. Mmm that sounds good.

Orbit Gum Judging by the number of flavors available in Orbit’s ever-expanding line of products, America loves to smack—there are an impressive 14 different flavors. Now this is a trend I can get into…don’t tell anyone, but Seth and I secretly love the strawberry flavor:)

Honey Nut Cheerios Who can say “no” to the Os? Honey Nut Cheerios continue to be America’s top-selling cereal. We always had a box stashed in the pantry when I was a kid. These days I groove on Kashi Heart to Heart instead.

Gluten Free The fastest-growing diet trend in the nation is the gluten-free diet, representing a $2.6 billion industry. For the 3 million Americans who are indeed gluten-intolerant, the diet is absolutely necessary for optimal health. However, I think this expanding industry is mostly due to people seeking to lose weight—I mean, excluding wheat from the diet is bound to reduce Caloric intake…unless you substitute with the often processed, higher-Calorie gluten-free snacks. All I have to say is read those labels!

What do you think of these food trends? Are you a fan of any of the foods listed in the issue?

Here’s what’s been popular here at the B-Hut today:

As per usual, I made myself a stack of pancakes on this lovely Friday morning. This batch was wicked good, as I added bananas & chocolate chips to the batter. Crikey, they were delicious! Also, I had no whole wheat flour in the house, so I used some buckwheat flour I had leftover from these pancakes.

Once home from the grocery store, I was starving, so I just threw together a toasted pita salad with white beans.

Tonight marked the conclusion of Pea Week, with Mama Pea’s Thai Veggie Burgers.

One glance at the ingredients list for these babies, and I knew I had to make them: chickpeas? peanut butter? cilantro? Yes please! Apparently, I saved the best for last—these were fantastic! The sweet pineapple with the peanut-sesame flavored burgers presented quite a lovely contrast of flavors and textures. Seth approved too, as demonstrated by his quick consumption of two burgers.

I’m sure Margot would have liked them too, if we had let her try some…

I’ll post a full review of the book (along with a giveaway) later this weekend. Happy Friday to all!

Filed under: Meals