‘Fresh food, healthy eats, eating good, fit for life’ are some of the most common hashtags and trends of today. In a generation so focused on working hard while leading a sedentary lifestyle, the concept of eating healthy is the talk of the hour.
Does this generation really know how to cook, or does it have the time to cook meals every single day? If not, where do they turn to? The answer lies in the socially aware food start-ups that are increasingly focusing on healthy food items in their menu. But, is the food actually fresh or junk food in disguise? Are the companies fooling us by claiming to have healthy choices on board or are they actually stating the ingredients used and are we making the wrong choices?
A big bowl of yummy goodness, the richness of ingredients in every bite and euphoric effects of staying fit and healthy are relative to one another. Healthy eating is the modern twist to good eating. The generation today is aware of what they consume to quite an extent. They focus on incorporating the necessary food groups in their diet and try to keep it balanced. They turn to food companies to supply their daily nourishment, but how healthy are the new-age start-ups?
FreshMenu has a new, vibrant menu every day. Its all-day breakfasts and salads are quite a hit. Promising goodness in every bite, they claim to source fresh ingredients to spruce up your meal. While on one hand they serve oats jar and fruit, vegetable and chicken salads, on the other, they have fried chicken strips, pizzas and burgers.
Chefkraft brought a revolution in gourmet food and recipe kits. While their ready-to-eats are quite famous, so are their recipe-kits with hand-picked ingredients. Delivering food to many corporate set-ups, they focus on delivering wholesome nutrition to individuals focused on healthy eating. Not only do they offer nutrition-packed salads, but mains as well. But they also have options like peri-peri chicken burger, nasi-goreng and creamy lemon and herb chicken.
“There is a visible shift in the diets of the corporate class. They are opting for nutritious and healthier meals. Our order size has been increasing at a 25% rate month on month,” says Anchit Palta, founder of The SuperFoodz Kitchen, Mumbai. Ask him if customers request for healthy options and he nods in agreement, “We get requests to skip cheese in salads, use less oil in cooking and skip bread since some customers are gluten intolerant.”
“Personally, I believe diets are a fad and very temporary in nature. Every diet is inevitably replaced with a newer supposedly better one. The theme that has stuck on is eating better and real food. I think the shift toward a better healthier lifestyle is here to stay,” says Palta.
Companies have realized the shift in trend and are trying their best to fill the gap between the customer’s requirements and healthy menu availability. Right from low carbs and protein-rich foods to granola bars and salads, they have it all. With great recipes, come convenient options for delivery and flexible plans for making payments.
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The likes of The First Meal and The Green Box in Hyderabad providing proper meal plans that cater to a balanced diet, incorporate a major chunk of healthy food thereby encouraging the take on healthier life choices. Indians are adopting healthier eating trends faster than their Western friends.
Subscription-based snacking models are also becoming popular. People have started relying on breakfast cereals, fat-free chips and tasty snack substitutes, considering the fact that the sale of snacks has shot up six times over the past ten years. Some of the well-known health food start-ups like Snackible or Fab Box offer such services. They provide granola bars, dehydrated fruit mixes, multi-grain goodies, high-protein snacks and healthy nuts.
New age start-ups like The Nibble Box have breakfast-specific bars, special cookies, healthy nuts and fruits infused in a bowl. Yogabar again revolves around the concept of healthy snacking at odd hours or peak periods of hunger, devoid of artificial flavouring and preservatives. Adding some twist to the tale is the concept of a snack in a bottle – ‘Goodness!’ by DropKaffe, that offers brilliant combinations of healthy drinks like yogurt smoothies, oat beverages, cold brewed coffees and gluten-free, fibre-rich snacks in a bottle.
Aditi Shukla is a blogger, content writer and editor, and an avid traveller, foodie and music fanatic. She runs the blog Lyf&Spice to share her travel experiences and gourmet journeys.
Image: Freshmenu Facebook page