What are American families eating?

A report from Allrecipes.com shows the encouraging trends in home cooking.

Wed, Dec 14 2011 at 12:21 PM EST

Photo: Jamie/Flickr

Allrecipes.com is my go-to recipe website because it's so practical. I find the search features and user-generated ratings and comments to be a perfect fit for my cooking needs — especially on a busy weeknight when I need to come up with an idea quickly.

The site is the number one food website online, and because of this, the data collected from the site and its users can give a pretty accurate picture of the trends about what American families are eating and cooking at home. Allrecipes has just released a report that gives insight into current and emerging trends among home cooks.

Many of the insights are interesting and encouraging. Here are few of the highlights:

More people are embracing flexitarianism. More than one-third of the home cooks said they were eating less meat than they were a year ago. The reasons for doing so include eating more healthy food, environmental concerns, concern for animals, saving money and others.
People are going back to basics. Food additives and processed foods are on people’s be-wary lists. They’re eating cleaner — more lean meats, beans, fruits and veggies and less carbohydrates.
Label reading is important. Yes! Finally, people are turning their boxes and cans over to read ingredient lists instead of simply believing front-of-box claims.
Desserts are shrinking. Mini desserts have gained in popularity. Twenty-nine percent of home cooks said they’ve made something small like cake pops and mini cupcakes in their own kitchens. The number one reason for doing so is portion control.
Quinoa and chickpeas are getting some love. Both of these nutritional powerhouse foods were on the fastest-growing ingredient search list. Home cooks are searching for ways to incorporate them into their meals.