Brisbane’s best health food joints

<span class="h2">Ground Organics</span>Chaga mushroom, he shou wu, Siberian ginseng and camu camu – the team at this beachside feel-good cafe take their superfoods seriously. All of the above, and more, get whizzed up with fresh fruit, greens and sprouted brown rice protein to create their Mother Earth smoothie. The Naughty Made Nice range includes smoothies such as After Dinner Mint, Jaffa and Turkish Delight. Classics, such as a cheese burger and chips (a sweet potato and vegetable patty with nut cheese and salted roast potatoes) are given healthy makeovers on the main menu. 7/11 Mooloolaba Esplanade, Mooloolaba. <b><a href="http://www.groundorganics.com/" title="www.groundorganics.com">More details</a></b>

1/14Ground OrganicsChaga mushroom, he shou wu, Siberian ginseng and camu camu – the team at this beachside feel-good cafe take their superfoods seriously. All of the above, and more, get whizzed up with fresh fruit, greens and sprouted brown rice protein to create their Mother Earth smoothie. The Naughty Made Nice range includes smoothies such as After Dinner Mint, Jaffa and Turkish Delight. Classics, such as a cheese burger and chips (a sweet potato and vegetable patty with nut cheese and salted roast potatoes) are given healthy makeovers on the main menu. 7/11 Mooloolaba Esplanade, Mooloolaba. More details

<span class="h2">Mondo Organics</span>Brenda Fawdon (pictured), along with Dominique Rizzo and Sonja Drexler, are pioneers of Australia’s organic scene, opening Mondo, an organic restaurant, cooking school and catering business, in 2000. The West End institution is still going strong, serving up allergy-friendly fare such as wheat-free sourdough crumpets with roasted winter fruits, or a dairy and gluten-free sausage and smoky bean cassoulet for breakfast, and elegant tasting menus, using produce sourced from Ms Fawdon’s Tamborine Mountain home, in the evenings. 166 Hardgrave Rd, West End. <b><a href="http://www.mondo-organics.com.au/" title="www.mondo-organics.com.au">More details</a></b>

2/14Mondo OrganicsBrenda Fawdon (pictured), along with Dominique Rizzo and Sonja Drexler, are pioneers of Australia’s organic scene, opening Mondo, an organic restaurant, cooking school and catering business, in 2000. The West End institution is still going strong, serving up allergy-friendly fare such as wheat-free sourdough crumpets with roasted winter fruits, or a dairy and gluten-free sausage and smoky bean cassoulet for breakfast, and elegant tasting menus, using produce sourced from Ms Fawdon’s Tamborine Mountain home, in the evenings. 166 Hardgrave Rd, West End. More details

<span class="h2">Paleo Cafe</span>The Bulletproof coffee (a long black blended with grass-fed butter and MCT oil) is a winner at Paleo Cafe (Bulimba operators Coerita and Scott Meredith pictured). Salads such as mediterranean, cob or pear, beetroot and walnut, can have chicken, prawns or kangaroo added, and seafood marinara comes with sweet potato noodles rather than spaghetti. Plenty of clever swaps – linseed focaccia for real bread, coconut milk-based icecream, sweet potato chips and seed-based muesli – make it feel like a regular cafe. Cairns, Brisbane City, Bulimba. <b><a href="http://paleo-cafe.com.au/" title="paleo-cafe.com.au">More details</a></b>

3/14Paleo CafeThe Bulletproof coffee (a long black blended with grass-fed butter and MCT oil) is a winner at Paleo Cafe (Bulimba operators Coerita and Scott Meredith pictured). Salads such as mediterranean, cob or pear, beetroot and walnut, can have chicken, prawns or kangaroo added, and seafood marinara comes with sweet potato noodles rather than spaghetti. Plenty of clever swaps – linseed focaccia for real bread, coconut milk-based icecream, sweet potato chips and seed-based muesli – make it feel like a regular cafe. Cairns, Brisbane City, Bulimba. More details

<span class="h2">Kitchen Sanitarium</span>Tucked away in the state’s steak and red wine quarter of Eagle Street Pier, this vegetarian cafe has defied the odds to flourish (manager Pauline Cummins pictured). Expect hearty lentil and five-bean chilli, with hummus, guacamole, salsa and tortilla, cheesy pumpkin quesadillas, spinach and ricotta fritters with green tomato chutney, and beautiful salads, such as greenwheat freekeh, with olives, broccolini and plenty of superfoods. Breakfast is just as creative, and sweets such as jaffa slice or raspberry friand, are largely gluten-free. 145 Eagle St, Brisbane City. <a href="http://www.kitchensanitarium.com.au/" title="www.kitchensanitarium.com.au"><b>More details</b></a>

4/14Kitchen SanitariumTucked away in the state’s steak and red wine quarter of Eagle Street Pier, this vegetarian cafe has defied the odds to flourish (manager Pauline Cummins pictured). Expect hearty lentil and five-bean chilli, with hummus, guacamole, salsa and tortilla, cheesy pumpkin quesadillas, spinach and ricotta fritters with green tomato chutney, and beautiful salads, such as greenwheat freekeh, with olives, broccolini and plenty of superfoods. Breakfast is just as creative, and sweets such as jaffa slice or raspberry friand, are largely gluten-free. 145 Eagle St, Brisbane City. More details

<span class="h2">Orawgi</span>Kofta balls, pizzas, bagels, brownies, doughnuts – all made without so much as a pinch of flour or traditional ingredients. Instead, raw food chef Jamie Louise Stevenson (pictured) soaks, blends and dehydrates slices of eggplant into jerky, avocado and raw cacao into mousses and cashews into blueberry cheesecakes. “Living lasagne”, spicy pad thai and “unfried” rice also make the cut, with plenty of green or creamy smoothies to choose from too. 43 Ipswich Rd, Woolloongabba. <b><a href="http://www.orawgi.com/" title="www.orawgi.com">More details</a></b>

5/14OrawgiKofta balls, pizzas, bagels, brownies, doughnuts – all made without so much as a pinch of flour or traditional ingredients. Instead, raw food chef Jamie Louise Stevenson (pictured) soaks, blends and dehydrates slices of eggplant into jerky, avocado and raw cacao into mousses and cashews into blueberry cheesecakes. “Living lasagne”, spicy pad thai and “unfried” rice also make the cut, with plenty of green or creamy smoothies to choose from too. 43 Ipswich Rd, Woolloongabba. More details

<span class="h2">From Earth and Water</span>Back from the beach, From Earth and Water serves up a nature-inspired menu and is a minimalist, breezy space (chef/owner Nicki Fulton pictured). All the fare, such as deconstructed melon gazpacho, a trio of raw tacos, and the tofu, avocado and wild rice salad, is free from pesticides, as well as processed and pasteurised ingredients. Try the raw snickers for dessert, or a strawberry spider, with coconut water, strawberries, banana and vanilla ice cream. 2 West St, Burleigh Heads. <b><a href="http://www.fromearthandwater.com.au/" title="www.fromearthandwater.com.au">More details</a></b>

6/14From Earth and WaterBack from the beach, From Earth and Water serves up a nature-inspired menu and is a minimalist, breezy space (chef/owner Nicki Fulton pictured). All the fare, such as deconstructed melon gazpacho, a trio of raw tacos, and the tofu, avocado and wild rice salad, is free from pesticides, as well as processed and pasteurised ingredients. Try the raw snickers for dessert, or a strawberry spider, with coconut water, strawberries, banana and vanilla ice cream. 2 West St, Burleigh Heads. More details

<span class="h2">Botanica</span>Gluten-free doesn’t automatically mean a particular food is good for you, but the plentiful salad bar here certainly casts a healthy halo over the (gluten-free) baked goodies, such as cinnamon sugar-coated bundt doughnuts and callebaut chocolate and cherry bar cakes. Options such as shaved red cabbage with walnuts, parmesan and sharp Dijon vinaigrette, or Israeli couscous with roasted sweet potato and vegan super greens pesto, are hearty and satisfying. QLD Taste story on Cheap Eats. Bonnie Shearston, owner of Public, enjoys the salads. 9/1 Enoggera Terrace, Red Hill. <b><a href="http://www.botanicarealfood.com.au/" title="www.botanicarealfood.com.au">More details</a></b>

7/14BotanicaGluten-free doesn’t automatically mean a particular food is good for you, but the plentiful salad bar here certainly casts a healthy halo over the (gluten-free) baked goodies, such as cinnamon sugar-coated bundt doughnuts and callebaut chocolate and cherry bar cakes. Options such as shaved red cabbage with walnuts, parmesan and sharp Dijon vinaigrette, or Israeli couscous with roasted sweet potato and vegan super greens pesto, are hearty and satisfying. QLD Taste story on Cheap Eats. Bonnie Shearston, owner of Public, enjoys the salads. 9/1 Enoggera Terrace, Red Hill. More details

<span class="h2">Primal Pantry</span>Chef Tracey Hirst has reinvented the wheel, creating elegant desserts and cafe fare without a lick of gluten, dairy or processed foods. Expect specials such as barbecue lamb pizza with caramelised onion, mushroom and garlic aioli, or pan-fried gingerbread with macerated fruit, almond butter and coconut yoghurt, and staple items such as crispy fish tacos, grain-free pancakes and sand crab omelette. Cnr Florence & Macquarie sts, Teneriffe. <b><a href="http://primalpantry.com.au/" title="primalpantry.com.au">More details</a></b>

8/14Primal PantryChef Tracey Hirst has reinvented the wheel, creating elegant desserts and cafe fare without a lick of gluten, dairy or processed foods. Expect specials such as barbecue lamb pizza with caramelised onion, mushroom and garlic aioli, or pan-fried gingerbread with macerated fruit, almond butter and coconut yoghurt, and staple items such as crispy fish tacos, grain-free pancakes and sand crab omelette. Cnr Florence & Macquarie sts, Teneriffe. More details

<span class="h2">Kunara</span>This Sunshine Coast hub of all things healthy scooped both the best organic market place and cafe at the 2013 Organic Consumer awards. It’s easy to see why – the 95 per cent organic and gluten-free cafe stocks their colourful, ever-changing “cabinet of abundance” with tasty cakes, muffins and biscuits, interesting salads, savoury tarts and lentil sausage rolls. Montville Organic coffee is on pour, with Barambah milk and a good range of nut milk alternatives. Barista Melissa Mepham tries the Zinger smoothie. 330 Mons Rd, Forest Glen. <b><a href="http://www.kunara.com.au/" title="www.kunara.com.au">More details</a></b>

9/14KunaraThis Sunshine Coast hub of all things healthy scooped both the best organic market place and cafe at the 2013 Organic Consumer awards. It’s easy to see why – the 95 per cent organic and gluten-free cafe stocks their colourful, ever-changing “cabinet of abundance” with tasty cakes, muffins and biscuits, interesting salads, savoury tarts and lentil sausage rolls. Montville Organic coffee is on pour, with Barambah milk and a good range of nut milk alternatives. Barista Melissa Mepham tries the Zinger smoothie. 330 Mons Rd, Forest Glen. More details

<span class="h2">Home-delivered</span>Home delivery of healthy food options has caught on just as quickly as the cafe trend. We love Wholesomeness, which offers meals such as coconut and turmeric chicken with steamed greens, lentil stew with ham hock and kale, or balsamic roast beef with root vegetables. Yummbox (owner Sheldon Hikaiti pictured) will sort out your work lunches, delivering vegan boxes of smoky bean chilli with guacamole and corn chips, or fresh mixed salads, to city offices. Noosa Cleanse delivers certified organic cold-pressed juices and slow-cooked bone broths to Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. <b>More details: <a href="http://wholesomeness.com.au/" title="wholesomeness.com.au">Wholesomeness</a>, <a href="http://yummbox.com.au/" title="yummbox.com.au">Yummbox</a>, <a href="http://www.noosacleanse.com.au/" title="www.noosacleanse.com.au">Noosa Cleanse</a></b>

10/14Home-deliveredHome delivery of healthy food options has caught on just as quickly as the cafe trend. We love Wholesomeness, which offers meals such as coconut and turmeric chicken with steamed greens, lentil stew with ham hock and kale, or balsamic roast beef with root vegetables. Yummbox (owner Sheldon Hikaiti pictured) will sort out your work lunches, delivering vegan boxes of smoky bean chilli with guacamole and corn chips, or fresh mixed salads, to city offices. Noosa Cleanse delivers certified organic cold-pressed juices and slow-cooked bone broths to Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. More details: Wholesomeness, Yummbox, Noosa Cleanse

11/14umag food - kunara cafe

12/14umag food - kunara cafe

13/14umag food - kunara cafe

14/14umag food - kunara cafe

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