On his blog, Notes from the Food World, Michael Ruhlman has asked his readers to identify what they believe are the next big American food trends. He's gotten a huge number of responses, with people saying everything from quinoa (I definitely agree with that) to animal genitalia (I'm not quite sure how I feel about this).

It wasn't too surprising that a number of responses had something to do with locally-grown produce or seasonal products. A bunch also mentioned molecular gastronomy -- but I wonder if that's actually on its way out, rather than in. And I was pleased to see mentions of Sous-vide and infused liquors, which tell me that I exist at least somewhat in the loop (phew). Check out the discussion here on his blog, or just let us know what you think!

Will Spanish avant-garde cuisine, as epitomized by the creations of legendary El Bulli chef Ferran Adrià, stand the test of time? Lisa Abend ponders spherified mango "caviar" and Parmesan "air" in Slate. Some critics criticize the reliance on form over substance, Abend writes, and feel that intellectually-driven, techno-heavy cuisine has gone as far as it's going to go.

According to a trend piece in the Fashion & Styles section of today's New York Times, an increasing number of young people (the word "hipster" is not used, but certainly implied) are ditching Williamsburg for the farming life, raising free range chickens and organic spinach on rural farms.

"Steeped in years of talk around college campuses and in stylish urban enclaves about the evils of factory farms," twenty- and thirty-something urbanites are getting some real dirt on their trendy Carhartts, the article says.

I guess this doesn't seem particularly new to me. Coming from the more rural environs of Chapel Hill, NC, hip young people working on organic farms is nothing new - my 22-year-old brother, for example, used to work part time in a nightclub and part time on a humane, hormone-free hog farm, and delighted in the fact that he sometimes got paid in pork shoulder. Plus, how many Baby Boomers don't have a story about working on an organic farm in the 1960s?

Miller Brewing Company has introduced a line of craft beers under the tagline, "Craft Beer, Done Lite." The line features three beers: Amber, Wheat, and Blonde Ale -- each with fewer calories and carbohydrates than regular beer (110 calories, 6.2 carbs per 12 oz). Though the beer is only available in a few test markets, it's already met some harsh critics.

Joe Sixpack at the Philadelphia Daily News called the trio "the Kenny G of beers," and likened the wheat variety to a Sprite. According to Miller's press release (which you can see here at Beer Advocate), wheat "offers especially appealing flavor dimensions, with a subtle citrus note that kicks in during the finish." Over at Lagerheads, they're giving the trio mixed reviews. And in Baltimore -- one of the test markets -- Baltimore Sun Columnist Ron Casper is not infatuated with any of the three.

Consensus seems to be that it's too early to say whether Miller's attempt to merge the trends of lite and craft beer will ultimately succeed, so I'd love to hear your opinions. Has anyone tried the stuff? Give those of us in non-test cities a taste of what's out there!

Did you catch the guy eating toasted cicadas on The Colbert Report last night? David Gracer, a Rhode Island writing teacher, is on a quest to convince chefs to cook with insects, claiming that bugs offer more edible protein per pound than beef cattle.

Lots of cultures eat insects. I've enjoyed tiny grasshoppers, known as chapulines, in Oaxaca, Mexico. Slathered in guacamole and rolled in a tortilla, they were salty and undistinguished-tasting. Toasted and tossed with salt and chili powder, they were like corn nuts with legs. Cicadas, earthworms, crickets - bring 'em on.

Colbert was not convinced though. "I might ask one of my writers to eat a bug," he said. "Let me check their contract."

Remember when everyone went crazy over soy? Products from breakfast cereal to cookies touted their "soy isoflavone" content, credited with protecting against heart disease. Now a number of studies show that soy consumption has no affect on cardiovascular health and people are fretting that it may even increase the risk of some cancers.

The jury is still waaay out on just how specific foods affect the body.

So I rolled my eyes a bit reading this article in the New York Times about California restaurants claiming to serve immunity boosting foods.

Crustacean, a Vietnamese restaurant in Beverly Hills, puts a special icon next to menu items it claims boost immunity. Its Buddha roll, made with shiitake mushrooms which contains iron and Vitamin C, gets an icon, as does its lemongrass soup (lemongrass has folate, zinc and iron).

Sounds like a good way to sell more Buddha rolls. And to make a dinner out a little more like a trip to the doctor's office. I'll stick to my reasonably balanced diet (with the occasional unreasonable quantity of ice cream or pork barbecue) and pop a vitamin pill now and then for good measure.

What do you think? Any foods you believe boost your immune system?

Sushi has become so popular in the U.S. in the last few years that most people have at least some idea what nori seaweed is. It's that lovely green wrapper encasing your favorite maki rolls. For most Americans, this is the only place to use the delicate seaweed sheets. However, a group of chefs are creating a movement to use nori in a variety of new and different ways.

According to an article in this week's Dining Out section of the New York Times, a substantial number of chefs are thinking way outside the box when it comes to using nori. From an accent ingredient (nori stirred into black truffle risotto) to the main flavor (nori ice cream "sushi"), the seaweed sheets are appearing in more and more menus. Though low grade nori is generally used for sushi, high grade sheets are available and are generally preferred for these high end uses.

I must admit, I was a bit taken aback when I first read the article. But the more I thought about it the more intrigued I became. I always like to try new things and there are some pretty interesting things happening with nori seaweed out there today. So in the words of Chef Yasuda of Sushi Yasuda, "Please, eat".

According to a study that our friends over at Green Daily unearthed, it is now officially cool to eat organic. That poll showed that the number of people buying organic is going up and that 79% of people believe that buying organic food is better for the environment. Ninety-eight percent of frequent organic food buyers believe that it also tastes better than conventional foods.

The study also broke down which groups of people are doing the organic buying and discovered that they are either mostly liberal, mostly college graduates and are frequently both. These results make me blush a little, as I fall smack dab into this demographic and I do my best to buy organic foods whenever possible. Who knew I was so predictable?

We love smoothies. New consumer research shows that smoothies have been one of the fastest growing food/drink markets over the past five years, where sales have been up more than 80% to over $2 billion in annual sales. This includes both made-to-order smoothies, from businesses like Jamba Juice, as well as pre-packaged products.

There are a couple of reasons for the popularity of smoothies, but the biggest one is that they are perceived as being health-conscious, without being too "healthy." Most smoothies involve a blend of milk, yogurt, sorbet and fruits, often with additional vitamins and supplements mixed in. They aren't necessarily low calorie, but they are better for you than a double cheeseburger and fries in terms of nutritional content. Smoothies are also convenient, and their appeal as an "on-the-go meal" is one thing that has helped them become a fixture in people's busy lives. The biggest market is people 18-34, with 50% of respondents to researchers inquiries said that they had at least one smoothie a month.

To keep up the growth, smoothie manufacturers will have to look to new flavors and new twists on their existing recipes. Look for more flavors/ingredients in existing recipes, like the addition of green tea and açaí, and expect to see a wider range of offerings, from low-calorie smoothies to decadent ones, to draw in new consumers.

Açaí (pronounced along the lines of ah-sigh-ee) is just about the ultimate superfood, as the South American berry has a higher concentration of anti-aging antioxidants than any other food out there, is high in fiber and has an "almost perfect essential amino acid complex" that will aid in muscle function. Up until recently it was virtually unknown in commercial foods, but its extraordinarily fast rise to popularity means that it is popping up all over the supermarket these days.

Bossa Nova bottles açaí juice, both pure and blended with other fruit juices, to make it easy for consumers to get the maximum health benefits of the fruit. All of their products are completely organic and they proudly advertise the fact that they work in conjunction with the Rainforest Alliance, so that each bottle you buy saves a tree. They make five flavors, including açaí and açaí blended with raspberry, blueberry, mango and passionfruit. Açaí itself tastes quite similar to blueberry, which will give you an idea of what the flavor combinations taste like, but the excellent drinks are refreshing and give you a little peace of mind that you're doing something good for your body.

A really high-quality, aged balsamic vinegar is something that no chef should pass up, as it is basically the standard to which all other vinegars aspire. Other vinegars have their uses, of course, but few will be coveting the taste of white vinegar to top off a nearly perfect dish. Aged balsamics can be expensive, though, and as a finishing touch to a dish or to enhance the flavor in a dressing or marinade, flavored vinegars can be great options.

Flavored vinegars are infused with everything from sweet berries to fiery chilies and they seem to be everywhere right now. Trader Joe's, for example, is carrying at least four kinds right now, including the ones pictured above: California Grapefruit, Mango Chili, Strawberry Balsamic and Pomegranate. The flavors tone down the astringency of vinegar, while retaining its brightening properties. Of the ones pictured above, Grapefruit and Pomegranate are delicious in salads, while Strawberry is good on desserts and Mango works well as a marinade.

If you can't find a flavor that matches your own tastes, you can make your own fairly easily, with fresh herbs, fruits and spices.

Every year there are a handful of ingredients and flavors that find their way onto almost every single restaurant menu in the country. Last year, two of the most popular flavors were pomegranate and chipotle. This year, the menu trend-spotters have already made their top five predictions, some of which are bolder than before and others that are merely extensions of existing trends.

Functional flavors - Beyond green tea and pomegranate there is a whole world of functional food that will become more widely used. Açaí, acerola cherry, red wine and red tea will all step more into the limelight.

More Latin flavors - Chipotle is still popular, as is regional Mexican (from Oaxaca and Jalisco), but new flavors will step up, with more influences from Central and South America.

Sweet and savory- The pairing of salty and sweet (or savory and sweet) really hit a home run with packaged foods last year, but more mainstream restaurants will be offering salted caramels or herb-infused ice creams than in the past.

Expected flavors, unexpected fruits- Why stick with orange when you can use blood orange? The same goes for choosing Meyer lemons, Buddha's hand or other citrus over plan lemon. Twists on popular flavors will make the food seem more exotic, without taking a big risk by radically changing the flavor.

More Spice, Less Heat - Instead of the overt heat of chipotle, ancho, and jalapeño, there will be more Indian and Moroccan spices added to menus, including curry, cumin and cardamom.

We have heard that formal dining rooms are back in vogue on the restaurant scene this year, which means that the combination restaurant dining room/kitchens, where everyone had a clear view of their food from start to finish, will gradually be phased out. Patrons are now more interested in eating the food and appreciating the subtleties of a well-prepared meal than they are in watching it be prepared. With the massive number of cooking shows on TV, can you blame them? Everywhere you turn, you can see great pictures of food and videos of how its made, but the restaurant is where you can taste every delicious looking item that you wouldn't ordinarily get at home.

The UK Guardian is saying that the "Nigella Effect" is responsible for this change, as the sultry chef's recommendation is enough to make people try anything. She sold the public on 250,000 tins of goose fat over Christmas, so the end of open-air kitchens was easy by comparison. But although she may have helped to speed up the trend, it is far more widespread than Britain already - and like it or not, it seems as though this trend could be here to stay.

Food manufacturers love bacteria, especially probiotic bacteria. The market for products that contain probiotics has really taken off in the past year in the US, after Dannon launched a line of yogurt, Activa, that included them as an aid to digestive regularity. The company's sales soared to over $100 million dollars and other producers quickly scrambled to work probiotics into their own lines, appealing to health-conscious consumers who are interested in improving their diets and lifestyle with food that is good for them, rather than by taking pills as supplements. In other words, probiotics appeal to the American consumer's growing interest in functional foods.

Probiotics are being called "this decade's oat bran," by trendspotters, who are referring to the fact that that grain rose quickly to popularity in the 1980s - and stayed there - when "it was shown to lower cholesterol levels." Oat bran ended up in everything for a very long period and it seems likely that probiotics will, too, provided that the companies that use them can get the same results from the live cultures than Dannon has. Known benefits include relief from irritable bowel syndrome, yeast infections, and diarrhea, but more claims are being made every day, suggesting "probiotics may help ward off everything from allergies to colon cancer."

For now, most probiotic products are dairy-based, including a TCBY frozen yogurt, StonyField Farm's upcoming dairy-based energy drink and Dannon's Activa and DanActive. There are soy milk products that contain probiotics and Kashi has put it into cereal.

While we're all busily listing the best restaurants we've eaten at in the last year, Adam Platt, from New York Magazine, already has a list put together of where to eat in New York during the next one. He gives his picks for the best eateries in fifteen different categories: Vegas on the Hudson (Buddakan, Del Posto), The Out-of-Towners (L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon), Neighborhood Chic (The Little Owl), Haute Italian (Café Boulud), Haute Barnyard (Telepan), Real Barnyard (Daisy May's BBQ USA), Gourmet Bar Food (Degustation), Makeover Madness (Tocqueville), Designer Steaks (Craftsteak), Nightclub Chinese (Shun Lee West), The Great Lunch (Adrienne's Pizza Bar), Brooklyn Ramble (The Farm on Adderley), Breakfast Ramble (Zucco: Le French Diner), Cocktail Madness (Employees Only), Dessert (Russian Tea Room, Pinkberry and Chikalicious) . And there are many more listed in each category!

Individual and themed picks aside, there are also lists of the ten best new restaurants in NYC (all contained in the above list), the ten most decadent dishes in town, the best up and coming chefs and the five best egg dishes in New York.

Take Platt's advice and you'll be eating out every day for the rest of the year. But if his picks are on the money, you probably won't mind one bit.