Seven healthy menu trends offered across restaurants that home deliver -From GF - VEG -DF - EF and miso caramel, to matcha and meat-free

There’s a lot of change happening in the world of food home delivery – and it’s not just a greater volume of restaurants and faster delivery times. From combined gluten-free-and-vegan dishes on demand through to more obscure food trends, cooking methods and flavours, Australians can now get just about any kind of diet or food craze catered for, straight to their front door.

Having analysed its 7500 restaurants across Australia, online food delivery platform Menulog.com.au has curated seven of the latest trends you should know about, and where to get your fix.

1.       Gluten free ITALIAN

Yes, it’s not an oxymoron, it exists.  You don’t have to go without Italian food just because you have a gluten-free diet.  There are more and more places offering gluten-free dough with all your favourite toppings and in some cases, gluten-free pasta to boot.  Mama mia!
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Try Frankie’s Pizza in Victoria’s Ascot Vale for their amazing gluten-free pizzas, and Mario Brothers in Sydney’s Crows Nest for gluten-free pasta and pizza options.

2.       Water sautéing

Adding oil to a stir-fry does not have to be obligatory – in fact there have been studies that have found that exposing oils to high heat can result in the production of oxidized compounds and free radicals detrimental to your health. Water sautéing is a cooking method that retains the flavour of sautéed vegetables without using heated oils. You can always drizzle your favourite oil on top once cooked.
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Try B Thai Cuisine in Sydney’s Darlinghurst for your favourite ginger chicken or beef chilli basil stir-fry, all sautéed in – you guessed it – water.

3.       GF, VEG, DF, EF

Meat free Mondays just got a whole lot fancier, with more and more carnivores turning meat down in favour of dishes that are all GF, VEG, DF, and EF (gluten-free, vegan, dairy free and egg-free).  From gluten-free base pizzas with dairy-free cheese, to vegetarian American-style burger and hot dog bars, there’s vegie versions of your favourites popping up all over the country.   Several restaurants in Sydney have recently gone 100% vegetarian or vegan over the past 6 months too, including Gigis in Newtown, Yellow in Potts Point, and Gelato Blue in Newtown.

Try Manoosh Pizzeria in Enmore Sydney for their gluten-free Vegan Paradise pizza, or Ayla’s Café in Adelaide for a host of vegie dishes from the famous ‘a-Not-Dog’ to vegan burgers and raw vegan cheesecake.

4.      Matcha

One of the biggest trends of 2016 was matcha, literally meaning ‘powdered tea.’  Matcha is the superfood of superfoods, a powerhouse of anti-oxidants, and it’s now available home delivered. Best incorporated into sweets or drinks, you can even get matcha green tea crepes, and Matcha thickshakes.

Try Yummy Puff café in Melbourne’s Green Tea crepe cake with slow cooked red beans and mini mocha with its Green Tea Milk Tea, made with Taiwanese High Mountain and Japanese green tea, vanilla ice cream and slow cooked red beans.  Micky’s in Paddington, Sydney, also offers a Green Matcha thickshake.

5.     Souping

Souping is the new juicing – a popular health choice. The appeal of souping is easy detoxing, as soups don't strip fibre off your drinks, so they're filling as they are nutritious. The secret to good soup is a good stock, or broth. Try The Grazery in Mentone, Victoria, for its 48-hour cooked Bone Broth, popularised by Pete Evans and
Paleo crusaders. Or for something more fragrant, Kushi Q in Brisbane’s St Lucia offers the tastiest vegetable and fired tofu ramen soup.

6.  Raw desserts

The raw food craze sees no signs of waning. Raw food is replacing baked cakes in the dessert category in a big way. Primarily, we are seeing sweet dishes made from nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables that are uncooked, and not heated above 46 degrees c. But is it almost too good to be true – a thick slice of cheesecake, a slab of creamy chocolate or an oozy piece of caramel slice, minus the sugar, dairy and gluten?  The Grazery in Mentone, Victoria, offers everything from raw cheesecake to a raw caramel slice and raw cacao walnut cookies, but also try Zen House in Adelaide for its vegan raw chocolate cake.

7.   Miso caramel

​We’re not talking miso soup, we’re talking miso caramel flavour. A whole new level of salted caramel, it’s sweet but savory, and is the perfect ice cream flavour, and it can be delivered to your front door. Watch out for miso caramel flavoured dishes such as Sake in Double Bay’s caramelised miso cod, or straight up in a Miso Caramel milkshake with vanilla ice cream from The Milk Bar in Sydney’s Redfern.
 
Menulog.com.au is Australia’s most delicious app and ordering platform for takeaway meals, from discovery through to delivery. With its 7500 restaurant partners, Menulog brings more than 130 cuisines to your front door in an experience that is effortless, filled with the delight of food, and made for you individually every time, everywhere.