I’ve been writing a lot about protein this year, because it is the mega-food-trend of 2026. Chain restaurants are reconfiguring their menus to showcase their existing items that have a lot of meat, or they’re introducing salads and wraps with double portions of chicken or beef.
Pretty much every medium and large coffeehouse chain now offers milk fortified with protein, despite the fact that milk already contains protein.
I’ve had to report on all of this, and I’ve modified the format of my Menu Tracker column to mention how many grams of protein these menu items have—that seems to be important to people.
As I write about these menu innovations, I try to find a way to add the context that, according to most public health authorities, Americans get as much protein as they need, and then some.
But I also know that on any given night I might be cooking lentil soup for dinner while simultaneously boiling four eggs for the following day’s breakfast, guaranteeing that I get the protein that I know that, as an American, I get plenty of without even thinking about it.
I’m aware of these trends, I watch them coming, I shake my head in smug disbelief, and I jump on them anyway.
After all, just because I’m a trend reporter doesn’t mean that I’m not enmeshed in the same marketing ecosystem as my fellow Americans.
Even as I walk the floor of the National Restaurant Show, from which I’m writing this column, I’m going out of my way to sample the items such as sausage spiced with Hatch or Calabrian chile (Calabrian chile is certainly trending at the Show this year, and Hatch has been doing that for a while), sous vide bacon, and whatever kinds of beef are being sliced in front of me.
I had the new SPAM hot dog—the first time SPAM has been sold in anything other than a can—smoked duck breast and duck prosciutto, a new pistachio butter, and all the cheese I could fit into my mouth.
I did have the presence of mind not to bother with protein-enhanced pretzels and cookies, and steered clear of the guy hawking tofu like it was new and we’d likely never had it before.
It’s not a new thing, my guy, and the worst way to get me to try something is to force it on me.
So why are people trying to eat more protein? I asked this of Leah Cohen, the New York celebrity chef and owner of Pig & Khao, who was at the Boursin booth promoting creative uses of the cheese.
“Because everyone’s telling us we need more of it,” she told me, maybe a little perplexed as to why she was struggling to reach her goals in consumption of the macronutrient.
I spoke to a restaurateur in the better-for-you segment who told me he was trying to eat 200 grams of protein a day (which, for those of you blessed enough not to be counting your protein intake, is definitely more than he needs), and when I asked him why, he simply shrugged.
But did you notice what I’ve actually been eating? It’s delicious charcuterie, grilled meat, nuts, and other food that I enjoy regardless of its nutritional value. And I had the willpower to avoid the tofu and protein-enhanced snack food.
I also love my lentil soup and hard-boiled eggs (which I cook for seven minutes so the yolks are still a little soft, and I sprinkle them with a little black pepper).
I can’t speak for the people who guzzle protein shakes at the end of their workouts, but a lot of the actual protein that I and so many other people are loading up on, also happens to be food that we enjoy.
That means it’s a trend with staying power.