The new year is fast approaching, giving us a chance to reflect on this year’s crazy food trends that we’d like to leave behind. From foods created solely for Instagram to unsustainable dishes, here are some of the trends you might want to stop following next year.

It might be a staple, especially for millennials enjoying overpriced brunches, but it’s time to kick this old favourite off every single breakfast menu on the planet: not only are our palates becoming unadventurous and our bank balances becoming scarily reduced, but our love of avocados is actually damaging the environment, with huge pine forests in Mexico being illegally cut down to satisfy the demand.

Last year saw plates forgotten in favour of wooden boards, mini shopping trolleys and even glass slippers. This year has seen the rise of eating absolutely everything, from smoothies to sushi, in bowls. While we’re all in favour of eating cereal and drinking soup from bowls, we draw the line at almost anything else. Please can plates make a comeback next year?

Charcoal has been all the rage this year, with the popular fad showing up in everything from facials and toothpastes to smoothies and pizza. However, despite proponents of the ingredient claiming it can be beneficial for health and wellness, scientists are dubious, saying there’s no evidence and that the substance could actually be harmful.

It’s time to wave goodbye to the downright dangerous trend of “clean eating”, a term that casts shame and guilt on food when there shouldn’t be any. From frankly unqualified eating “gurus” on social media offering unsafe dietary advice to their followers to cookbooks that make us worry about every bit of processed food we put into our mouths, 2017 took living a healthy lifestyle to extremes. We hope 2018’s "gurus" preach a responsible message, without taking the joy out of eating. These are just a few of the concerning claims to look out for.

Coconut oil has been credited with everything from aiding with weight loss and helping with skin problems to improving blood cholesterol levels and preventing tooth decay. However, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, with nutritionists warning that the magical elixir is in fact very high in saturated fats.

Let’s just say it: courgetti is a poor substitute for spaghetti. If you want pasta, eat pasta, and enjoy it in all its delicious, sauce-rich, cheese-soaked glory. If you want courgette, there are plenty of tasty, easy recipes to help you make the most of it: these are a few of our favourites. But let’s not get the two confused: they don’t work well as a team.

Think about how much money and wasted takeaway cups you would save if you just made your coffee at home every day instead of trudging to Starbucks on the way to work. Luckily for you, we’ve got some great tips on how to perfect your brew without ever leaving the house.

In medical terms, detoxing is a myth: your body is already equipped with all the detoxifying tools it needs, in the form of a liver, kidneys, lungs and more. So it’s time to stop believing that a week of juicing, a carb-free diet or any other seemingly magical remedies are going to help us detox: they often end up doing more harm than good.

OTT freakshakes, rainbow bagels, arty lattes, smoothie bowls and waffle ice cream cones… it seems like every time we open Instagram, a new trend is stealing the show. While we’re all for a bit of #foodporn, the way brands are constantly cashing in on our need for likes is all getting a bit predictable. Call us cynical, but every time a food company announces the launch of a ridiculously over-stacked, colourful, picture-perfect product, we can’t help wondering if it’s all "for the gram".

While those with celiac disease must follow a strictly gluten-free diet to avoid health problems, plenty of people without the disease jumped on the gluten-free bandwagon and swore to live a life free from the protein. However, studies have shown that restricting gluten can have negative health impacts on those who don’t suffer from celiac disease, including an increased risk of heart problems.

We’re sorry, but we’re just going to say it: we're not quite convinced that eating insects will catch on in 2018. Although they might be the next big thing in eco-friendly protein, so far no-one's yet found a way to make them an affordable, simple and appetising part of our daily diet. According to one study, published in PLOS ONE, bugs also aren’t as full of protein as we might have hoped, with the study's author telling Time “the sustainability claims on this topic have been overstated given the current state of knowledge."

This year has seen a number of companies spring up selling drinks with everything your body needs: the perfect amount of protein, carbohydrates and nutrients so that you can drink every meal in a perfectly efficient, number-crunching manner that’s super-healthy and time-saving. Except where’s the fun in that? This 2018, we’re voting for meals you actually eat and enjoy, even if they’re not created by a scientist.

Call us old-fashioned, but we miss the days of calling up, booking a table and knowing it’ll be ready when we arrive. It seems that all the coolest places shun a trusty reservation system, which means you have to leave your email address and number, and hang around for hours until a couple of cramped seats at the bar finally become available. Is it time to bring back archaic booking systems?

The popular Hawaiian street food has taken over our hearts, wallets and social media feeds this year, but before getting your fourth bowl of the week, spare a thought for the environmental impact of your lunch. There are worries that the increasing demand for yellowfin tuna will have a detrimental impact on fish stocks around the world.

The texture and taste of quinoa are loved by some and loathed by others, but whatever you feel about the so-called superfood, consider opting for something else next time you get a healthy salad. The price of the Andean grain is skyrocketing at such a rate that many people in its native Bolivia, who once considered the food a staple, can no longer afford it, with imported junk food a cheaper option.

We love a glass of rosé as much as the next person, but when did we get so unadventurous? In 2018, give the rosé a rest, and try something new: for example, you’ll love the versatile and varied flavours of sherry, officially next year’s coolest drink.

It’s seriously uncool to admit it, but not everyone loves sharing. With sharing platters, it seems you end up spending double and eating half as much as usual out of politeness. Can we go back to just ordering our own dish and hogging it to our heart’s content?

The turmeric latte, or golden milk, has been one of the year’s trendiest drinks, and while we’ll admit it’s helpful for a sore throat, we’re secretly a bit fed up of sacrificing our morning coffee hit. It’s time to bring back the plain latte with a pretty design on top: that was radical enough. Turmeric is still a brilliant ingredient, but we'll be cooking with it rather than drinking it. 

We may have welcomed the unicorn emoji, and perhaps a couple of unicorn-themed dishes, but the current craze of prettying up every single dish with glitter, sparkles and a whole rainbow of colours, is, dare we say it, getting tiresome. What happened to trusty toast and butter without a perfectly coordinated colour palette and a lifetime’s supply of sprinkles?

Fried chicken isn't exactly caviar and champagne. That’s exactly why we like it: it’s tasty, it’s simple and it’s consistently delicious. This year, however, there’s been a worrying trend towards gourmet fried chicken being served in fancy restaurants with all sorts of unnecessary extras. The phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” has never been so apt.

We’re all guilty of it, but it’s time to make a firm New Year’s resolution: no more endless snapping every time you’re faced with a slightly attractive dish. Several restaurants have banned the practice, and we have to say we’re glad: while some dishes are so special you have to capture the moment, others would benefit from being enjoyed before they go cold while you choose the perfect filter.

While we’re all for simplicity in dining, the rise of the one-dish restaurant is a step too far. With crisp restaurants, roast potato restaurants, avocado restaurants, mango restaurants, meatball restaurants, sausage restaurants, mac and cheese restaurants and even rice pudding restaurants, part of us is worried that establishments with more than one item on the menu are going to become obsolete in 2018.