10 health trends for 2023

After, browse our healthy winter recipes for kickstarting your year. Then check out our best healthy recipes and read our guide on how to feel better this winter.

10 health trends for 2023

Budget-friendly approaches to healthy eating

With the rising cost of living, we’ve seen a move towards recipes that use storecupboard ‘superfoods’, such as pulses, grains, lentils, tinned fish and brown rice. This way our bodies get all the nutrients they need, while we keep down our spending. Plus, everyone is embracing energy-efficient cooking methods, low-waste recipes and our trusty freezers.

Tracey’s picks

Check out our top recipes using storecupboard ingredients and our healthy vegetarian storecupboard recipes.

If you’re trying to keep costs down, browse our best budget recipes.

Guilt-free fitness routines

Now that we’re back to work and our schedules are busy again, it’s difficult to keep up with complicated 7-day exercise plans. Instead, we’re moving towards a goal of daily movement, rather than fitness perfection. That means less guilt about not making the occasional gym class, and more of a focus on overall wellness by making a point to move every day.

On some days, that might look like an early morning spin class or zoom yoga session and on others, it might simply be a walk around the park at lunch or taking the stairs on your way in to work. The point here is: health is about consistency, not perfection.

Tracey’s picks

Check out these 20 healthy, high-energy foods to fuel your workout.

Read our guide on 10 ways to boost energy.

The age of air-frying continues

Air-fryers will continue to boom in 2023, and it’s easy to see why. Much more energy-efficient than turning on your oven, they heat up the air around the food but in a smaller space. Not only do air-fryers cook food quickly, they also give a crisp, golden finish to foods like chicken, tofu and potatoes – all with little to no oil.

Tracey’s picks

Use your air-fryer to make air fryer halloumi fries, air fryer brownies and much more.

For top air-fryer reviews, have a look at our sister website BBC Good Food.

Mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms

We mentioned the rise of boosted beverages in 2022, but in 2023 the mushroom will reign supreme. Mushroom coffee is having an extended moment in the spotlight, with blends including Lion’s Mane, Chaga and Cordyceps offering benefits from increased focus and stamina to boosted energy levels.

As well as this, ‘mushroom stacking’ – where users blend a variety of mushroom powders to achieve desired results – is gaining popularity. This personalised approach can be changed daily, depending on how you’re feeling.

Tracey’s picks

Get more into your diet with our delicious mushrooms recipes.

Learn more about mushroom coffee and try our favourite healthy coffee brands.

Health shots

With the nation becoming more health savvy, we’re seeing a variety of health promoting ‘shots’ popping up in supermarkets all over the country. Whether you want some turmeric and ginger to support your immune system, probiotics for your gut-health or antioxidant-rich fruit shots for your skin, you can find the perfect on-the-go boost for your needs.

Tracey’s picks

Drink the rainbow with our healthy juice recipes.

For something more substantial, browse our best easy smoothies.

Protein-boosted recipes

Plant-based eating is here to stay, and health-conscious shoppers are looking for convenient ways to get their nutrients while eating less meat. We’ve noticed continued interest in protein-boosted recipes, such as porridge and smoothies made with protein powders, and the use of high-protein plant alternatives, such as seitan.

Tracey’s picks

We have lots of high-protein vegetarian and vegan recipes for you to try, including a protein porridge and protein pancakes.

Browse our enticing tofu recipes.

Find out more about what seitan is and where you can buy it.

On our sister website, BBC Good Food, read reviews of the best vegan protein powders and bars.

A more personalised plate

As we become more in tune with our bodies, many of us are recognising which foods agree with us and which ones leave us feeling lethargic. Whether piling our plates with veggies and wholegrains or choosing to reduce our intake of gluten, dairy or sugar, we’re actively choosing foods that leave us feeling our best. This is influencing the recipes we make at home and the restaurants we visit.

Tracey’s picks

Browse our recipes for dairy-free breakfast and dairy-free dinner.

Check out our top gluten-free recipes.

Enjoy a sweet treat with our sugar-free baking recipes.

Plan a meal out with our guide to the best veggie and vegan restaurants in the UK.

Wellness travel

With rates of burnout on the rise, travellers are finding they require more than just a week in the sun to feel reenergised. As such, we’re seeing an increased interest in health retreats, wellness weekends and yoga getaways, which offer special programmes dedicated to relaxing, rebalancing and rejuvenating the mind and body.

Tracey’s picks

Have a look at our list of the best healthy holidays for foodies.

Bring the wellness home with our healthy, colourful recipes.

Grazing boards

We count these as a health trend because beautiful grazing boards are more than just aesthetically pleasing, they also lend themselves to wholesome, nutritious eating. You can discover a wide variety of foods with every board, as well as catering to all diets. Include fresh fruits, veggies, gut-healthy fermented foods, dips like hummus and guacamole, nuts, seeds, olives and delicious baked cheeses – the options are endless.

Tracey’s picks

Visit the olive shop to buy boards, cheeses, crackers, nuts, olives and everything else you could need to build your grazing feast.

Check out our baked feta board, Christmas cheeseboard and summer deli board.

Whip up classic hummus, pea hummus or guacamole to add to your board.

Better plant-based ‘meats’

As shoppers continue to add plant-based products to their baskets, there’s been a greater focus on the quality of the meat substitutes we buy. Consumers are demanding simpler products with clean, understandable ingredients (no more long ingredient lists with words we can’t pronounce, please).

Tracey’s picks

Make your own with our recipes for tofu steak, seitan and vegan ham.

Read up on tempeh and where you can buy it.

Check out eatplanted, one of our favourite brands, for their delicious meat alternatives made using peas, sunflower and oats.