Too busy to cook? Try the neo-dabba!

After a long day at work, the thought of entering the kitchen to cook is almost nightmarish!

The stressed body demands relaxation and the grumbling tummy some quick nourishment. For want of a lavish spread the next best thing that supplements comfort food is anything handy, which is most often junk food. 

The absence of time is a major reason why most professionals binge on junk food. And often, whatever is available in the name of ‘health’ food fails to appease the palate. 

“During my talks at various corporate houses I realised that people want to have healthy food, but they don’t really have an option in the market,” says Priyanka Verma, a nutritionist who recognised the potential of this need and founded ‘Calorie Smart’ (0124-4145589) with her partners. Her company designs and serves corporate lunches, much like the usual dabbawallas, but the difference here is the ‘health factor’ that she keeps in mind. 

“When it comes to healthy food, people feel that taste will be compromised,” says Verma informing that they don’t use a lot of oil and spices and have options of world cuisine for clients to choose from. 

Even TLC (Tarani’s Low Calorie) Kitchen (011-41414162) offers such a wide platter. Tarani Kapur, CEO and founder of TLC Kitchen shares that it took her a year-and-a-half in research and development, “to come up with ways to prepare low calorie delicious food from across the world, that can be stored through the technique of flash freeze without any use of preservatives. We direct our customers to store it in the fridge at the right temperature and, we deliver twice a week because we understand that Indians don’t consume packaged food like Americans.” 

Interestingly, TLC also has meal options for Type-2 diabetics, heart patients and of course those who are looking for weight management! Others like tattva Gourmet Organic Kitchen (8860244640) are also into a lot of customisation. “If someone wants less salt or sugar then we do that,” says Chef Anuradha Madhusudhanan whose company provides a 3-course organic lunch (with a compulsory drink such as buttermilk or rhododendron sherbet) delivery service. 

A student of ayurvedic nutrition Madhusudhanan believes “Even pasta can be healthy. We prepare in-house ravioli and lasagne and for drier varieties pick organic whole wheat pastas. The cheese that we use is also handmade. A little bit of oil, ghee or butter is required by the body. So fat is not bad but what is important is which quality of fat we choose.” 

All these services work on subscription basis and have a lot of plans to choose from. While Tattva’s ‘gourmet nutritional lunch plan’ and ‘all day plan’ (with a morning snack, 3-course lunch and an evening snack) are gaining popularity, TLC’s two-week calorie control programme has been tried and tested by known names like fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani and make-up artist Ambika Pillai. 

“But the ultimate aim is to not to miss any food group in your lunch,” says Verma emphasising on the need to experiment and improvise every day, “One day if you get a I then the other day it will be a jeera or coriander roti.”

The mouth starts watering at the mere mention of these savouries. So the next step-- pick up the phone and subscribe to any one of these for a healthy, nutritious and yummy home-cooked meal. Don’t forget to keep your trays intact, these dabbawallas will collect them the next day!