For the average millennial, stepping into a clothing store’s changing room and staring at themselves in a full-length mirror can be a distressing situation. Oddly enough, it’s also where many of them solemnly swear to make healthier lifestyle choices: eating right and exercising. That’s exactly how Dr Suraj S (name changed on request) began his diet journey.
“Despite the oh-so-Instagrammable images that pop-up while searching for healthier recipes on the internet, amateur cooks like me find it tough to pull it off. Realistically-speaking, due to my long working hours, I’m hard-pressed for time to personally source the essential ingredients and prepare meals,” shares the medical professional, who works at a reputed hospital. Incidentally, it was during one of those aforementioned late-night shifts that Dr Suraj came across DietEasy.in while scrolling through posts tagged #CleanEating.
Dispensing myths
DietEasy is touted to be the pioneering diet meal subscription service from Kerala. The first hurdle that founders Johny Samson and Sona Thomas had to tackle was the notion that diet food is bland and boring. To achieve this the couple roped in another husband-wife duo, Liza Vijay and Vijay Karikkassery.
“Johny helmed a fitness centre and worked in the health/wellness industry for decades. Sona, who also used to run a pizzeria, has been cooking and following a clean eating lifestyle for over 15 years. My expertise lies in baking low-calorie/ healthy treats,” says Liza. With such expertise, they seem to have the confidence to forego having a qualified dietician or nutritionist on board. “You can be certain of one thing: everything we serve is prepared fresh and truly delectable.Clean eating meets convenience,” claims Vijay, an ex-corporate employee who currently handles the business administration at this firm.
Eat this, not that!
For a closer look, we tried out their holistic subscription meal plan ourselves (which starts at `649/day). DietEasy delivers an entire day’s sustenance—usually between 7-8 am every day, except Sunday—which includes breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, evening snack, and dinner; all of which arrives in microwave-safe containers. Their low-sodium menu varies on a day-to-day basis and calorie conscious patrons can breathe easy, as these meals amount to a total of 1,600 calories/day.
The flavours are primarily Asian-Western, particularly evident in palatable dishes like fluffy quinoa salad with lime-cilantro marinated grilled chicken. Can’t rid yourself of that mid-day hunger pang? Their flavoursome olive oil-infused hummus and crunchy veggie sticks should do the trick. “We prepare these dishes with minimal/unprocessed ingredients like palm sugar jaggery or wild honey, lean cuts of meat, and whole grains (such as brown rice or millet),” states Liza, a lawyer-turned-baker. Since clean eating isn’t just about nourishing the cells but also about nurturing the soul, one can always indulge in their guilt-free dessert, yogurt parfait.
anoop.p@newindianexpress.com
@godsonlymistake