DENMARK - Fresh produce is now taking on the realm of fast food, with Swedish home furniture company IKEA manning the helm of sustainable, health-forward fast food innovation. Ikea’s research lab Space10 announced it is creating what they call the “fast food of the future,” releasing five new, sustainable dishes to launch new eating trends. With surprising ingredients like bugs and yet-to-be-tapped into produce items like microgreens and more, Space10 is leading the way for the future of fresh produce.

“At Space 10, our research is rooted in an important principle—dishes shouldn’t just be healthy or sustainable, they must be delicious too,” explained Space 10, according to a report by Dezeen. “To change people’s minds about food, to inspire them to try new ingredients, we can’t just appeal to the intellect—we have to titillate their taste buds, which is why we’ve been working with our Chef-in-Residence to come up with dishes that look good, taste good, and are good for people and the planet.”

According to Metro, Space10 only used ingredients that can be cultivated sustainably or are byproducts of an existing production chain for its new line of futuristic foods as a way to tackle the global food crisis and design food capable of withstanding time and human’s environmental impact.

Check out a complete list of the new items below:

Dogless Hot Dog

Contrary to its name, this dish is not just bread, but a soon-to-be vegetarian classic. With a sausage made of dried and glazed baby carrots and a bun made of the micro-algae spirulina, the Dogless Hot Dog is sustainable down to its beet and berries ketchup, mustard and turmeric cream, roasted onions, cucumber, and herb salad condiments.

Bug Burger

Eating meat could be a thing of the past if IKEA has anything to say about it. Instead of meat, the retailer is advocating the latest protein-substitute tearing up the food world: bugs. The Bug Burger patty is made from beetroot, parsnip, and the larvae of the common darkling beetle—mealworms!

Lokal Salad

Ever heard of microgreens? Maybe not, but I bet there hasn’t been a dish set in front of you that didn’t include a cute microgreen as the topper. Tiny sprout-like crops typically used as a garnish, microgreens are the spotlight of this dish after Space10 discovered the root, seed, and shoot are chock full of nutrition. The Lokal salad consists of three varieties:

• pink-stem radish, pea sprouts, and thyme
• broccoli, red-veined sorrel, and tarragon
• borage, red frill mustard, and lemon balm

Each salad is served with croutons made from day-old bread and a tarragon, lemon balm, and basil dressing.

The Neatball

The famous Swedish meatballs we all know, and love, are getting two new meatballs with meat-friendly and vegetarian twists dubbed The Neatball. Similar to its new burger, one is made from mealworms, while the veg-friendly meatless ball is made from root vegetables.

Ice Cream

With ice cream flavors like coriander, fennel, and mint and ice lolly flavors like woodruff, sorrel, and Spanish chervil, you won’t find these options at your local confectionary.

Are IKEA’s latest innovations paving the way for new fresh produce trends? AndNowUKnow will continue to report with the latest.

IKEA Space10