Michelle Bridges

It's coming. Slowly, inexorably, a revolution is under way. Soon we'll find ourselves in a new world. Sure, I get that seismic social shifts start in capital cities, then assimilate into the regions, so us city types might be seeing things change a bit quicker than others, but to quote Robert Zimmerman (come on, guys – Bob Dylan!), the times they are a-changin'.

Good food – whole food – is hip. And not just hip as in "on trend" – this is here to stay. Our social consciousness is shifting towards better eating habits and healthy ingredients. I'm not going to analyse it – I'll leave that to the sociologists and the marketing teams of Big Junk – but it seems to me that as a community we have consciously moved towards quality food and home cooking, rather than away from junk food.

Michelle Bridges: "Our social consciousness is shifting towards better eating habits and healthy ingredients."Credit: Ellis Parrinder

Whatever the cause, Big Junk is hurting. McDonald's has just recorded its worst global sales results in a decade, and right now there's a Mac attack on all fronts, with health authorities in Australia hammering it over its new home delivery service, and a Cancer Council study finding that a loophole in the advertising code had allowed the fast-food giant to advertise higher-kilojoule adult meals to children (Shock! Really ?)

Maybe MasterChef, My Kitchen Rules etc have given us a new appreciation of real food with real ingredients, although I don't really know. But at the risk of blatantly plagiarising a certain organisation's marketing tag line, I'm lovin' it. The chips and chocolates that used to fill snack-food vending machines are slowly being replaced with fruit and nuts. People tirelessly Instagram and tweet photos of home-prepared recipes. Cookbooks dominate the non-fiction best-seller lists.

Minted brown rice salad.Credit: Henryk Lobaczewski

A new generation of parents is bringing an understanding of modern nutrition into family homes, with the denials by vested interests of any relationship between junk-food advertising to kids and childhood obesity being met with eye rolls by savvy mums and dads. It will take time, but it's coming. I can feel it.

Michelle's tip
The best thing to do when there's a good wave? Catch it: join the wholefood revolution!

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MINTED BROWN RICE SALAD

Brown rice has a much higher nutritional content than its white counterpart, and its slightly nutty flavour combines well with the other ingredients in this dish. Make sure your tomatoes are nice and ripe to give the hint of sweetness that balances the salty cheese.

SERVES 2

½ cup (100g) brown rice

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite-sized chunks

200g cherry tomatoes, halved

50g low-kilojoule feta cheese, crumbled

¼ cup fresh mint, chopped

2 spring onions, thinly sliced

3 tsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method
Cook rice in a small saucepan of boiling water for 40 minutes or until tender. Drain and allow to cool. Meanwhile, blanch asparagus in a small saucepan of boiling water for 1 minute or until bright green. Drain and cool in iced water. Drain again. Combine remaining ingredients in a serving bowl. Season with black pepper and toss to combine.

Tip
Consider making double the quantity, as this is a perfect lunch box meal for the next day.

Recipe from Superfoods Cookbook (Viking) by Michelle Bridges.