2025 food trends to try at home | Lifestyle.INQ
2025 food trends

These food trends are both easy to do and good for your health, too


 

Each year, a particular ingredient or flavor finds its way into every restaurant menu, TikTok, or social media post. Think Dalgona, matcha, sundried tomatoes (very 90s!), and sourdough. This year, I looked up the most interesting and doable trends that you can try at home. More importantly, I chose those that are good for your health and are sustainable.

 

Sandwiches

In all the articles I read, sandwiches seem to be making a comeback in a big way. Food trends especially highlight super-sized sandwiches, or sandwiches with an overload of toppings and filled with interesting ingredients. Perhaps it’s because of the very on-the-go culture so prevalent now, that people want to have a portable gourmet meal that satisfies all cravings. In line with the sandwich trend is a trend for sauces: different flavors to spice up the sandwiches and alter a rather humdrum ham sandwich into something special. 

 

Try it at home: BBQ Langka Sliders

Get the flavor of a pulled pork sandwich without the calories

Serves 4 

Ingredients

2 cups green langka or jackfruit
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon soy sauce or gluten-free tamari
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
4 hamburger buns, sliced in half

Procedure

  1. In a pot, boil the green langka for 1 hour until tender. Drain the cooked langka. Press a paper towel or cloth over it to dry it off.
  2. In a pan, heat the cooking oil. Add the langka, onion and garlic powder, and stir fry.
  3. Mix in the ketchup, soy sauce or tamari, and liquid smoke. Set aside in a bowl.
  4. Using a fork, pull apart the langka in the bowl until the fibers are shredded.
  5. Place the hamburger bun halves on a toaster or baking tray lined with parchment paper. 
  6. Spoon the cooked langka on half of the buns, leaving the other halved buns bare without filling.
  7. Top the langka with the barbecue sauce (see recipe below), spreading it as evenly as possible.
  8. Toast the buns in the oven for 5 minutes. You should see the barbecue sauce getting stickier.
  9. Remove the buns from the oven. Place the bare buns on top of the langka-filled buns and serve.

 

Barbecue sauce

Ingredients

1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
salt, to taste

Procedure

  1. In a separate pan heated on low heat, combine the ketchup, soy sauce or tamari, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and liquid smoke. 
  2. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Check the taste and season with salt to taste. Set aside. 

 

 

READ: Michelin, return of a la carte, the continuous rise of Filipino cuisine, and other predictions for 2025

 

Surreal Tablescapes

When entertaining, I always feel a bit anxious about buying flowers as the centerpiece. While they are beautiful for the dinner or event itself, it makes me sad to see them wilt and die within a few days.

Edible tablescapes may be another one of this year’s food trends to look into. In my book, “Juana’s Table,” I shared some tablescapes that can be eaten after the event so that your decoration doesn’t go to waste. Other ideas for a surreal, edible tablescape: charcuterie arranged on platters or boards in the middle of the table, surrounded by fruit and nuts. While this is usually served as an appetizer, why not put them in the middle so guests can snack the night away? Macaroons, cupcakes, and other small-sized pastries also make for beautiful decorations when arranged properly. 

 

Try it at home: Vegetable Centerpiece

Materials

Long shaped container
1 bunch sitaw
6-8 tomatoes
2 eggplants
1 bromeliad or any large tropical flower
1 bunch onions, preferably native ones that still have the dried stalks attached

 

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

Step 5:

Protein

While protein has always been part of a healthy diet, the plant-forward movement in the early 2020s made it seem that protein had taken a back seat. The end of last year saw meat in all forms come back to the spotlight with a vengeance. The animal-based diet and carnivore diet have all taken center stage in health and food trends.

As women age, we tend to lose muscle and protein is essential to keep the muscles strong. Women are encouraged to take 120-150g of protein by those who espouse bodybuilding, but getting 1 gram to 1.5 grams of protein per kilo of body weight is enough for most who lead a healthy lifestyle.

It’s important to change up the sources of your protein to maintain a good diet diversity and to make sure you are getting all your vitamins. Plant protein has the added benefit of including fiber into the mix. Having your beans for one meal, and then fish or chicken or a healthy meat cut for another meal is one way to mix up your protein sources. I am sharing one of my favorite bean dishes for you to add to your rotation. 

 

Try it at home: Bicol Express

Packed with protein from sigarilyas and the beans, this is one way to spice up your protein

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoon coconut milk
1/4 cup chopped red or white onions
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups coconut milk, divided
1/4 cup salted black beans, plus 1 tablespoon soaking liquid from can
2 pieces green sili or long green chili peppers, seeds removed and chopped (optional)
1 cup monggo or mung beans, cooked
1 cup sigarilyas or winged beans, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
salt, to taste

Procedure

  1. In a pan turned to low heat, add 1 tablespoon of coconut milk.
  2. Add the onions and garlic. Wait for the onions to turn translucent.
  3. Add the 2 cups coconut milk, salted black beans, and 1 tablespoon soaking liquid. 
  4. Let simmer for around 10 minutes on low heat for the flavors to combine. If you want to make it spicy, add 1 piece of sili at this point. 
  5. Add the cooked monggo and sigarilyas and cook until the sigarilyas become soft. 
  6. Add the second piece of sili. Let simmer until the mixture has thickened. Season with salt to taste. 

 

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