Are you a diabetic patient who continuously asks himself, "What can I eat?", “Can I take the risk of digging into those appealing food items?” and "Can I put my health at stake by making a certain food choice?” Thankfully, the recently-concluded ‘Diabetic Food Trail’ made many to stop worrying! For it made many realize that living with diabetes doesn't refer to being 'underprivileged'. Designed by paying special attention to the needs and the restrictions of those suffering with diabetes, the food trail was an interesting attempt at helping one opt for balancing meals and make healthiest food choices.
Seema Pinto, the organizer of the initiative, says the project was an idea that emerged from her personal struggle. “This project is very close to my heart since I have been suffering from Diabetes for almost a decade now. The genesis of this idea came with my personal struggle through the years, to find an eating place in Mumbai which offers healthy food options and this is true for other cities as well; especially, when we are out for meetings and need to have a meal, or when going out to dine with family and friends. I started my career in the food industry and do a fair bit of cooking myself and I cook diabetic friendly tasty meals at home and the idea came from there… that if I can cook a healthy meal, I’m sure all restaurant chefs can come up with a healthy menu too. And that’s when we started working on this initiative. Most people suffering from Diabetes are unaware of the significance of a healthy diet on blood sugar management. Diet coupled with exercise and medication are key ingredients to managing Diabetes well; and I hope this idea was communicated well through the Diabetic Food Trail.”
The initiative - which kicked off on November 14 and went on till the month’s end - was carried in over 120 restaurants across 4 cities. And a special diabetic friendly menu was crafted which was not just healthy and delectable, but also easy on the pocket! “Every dish in the diabetic friendly menus offered, featured its nutritional value, and mentioned the calories, carbohydrates, fat and protein it contained,” she adds.
Elated with the ‘phenomenal’ response the campaign has earned, Seema has a few plans ready for the second edition. “We want to bring it back in a bigger avatar and scale. We aim to roll it out in 12 cities in India, next year and plan to double the number of restaurants, and run the initiative for a longer duration. In the next edition, we will work more closely with the restaurant chefs to bring out a larger menu with more choices and also urge restaurants to include Diabetic Friendly Mocktails and Cocktails.”
To ensure the initiative was as effective in implementation as it appeared in its conceptualization and presentation, we decided to review the diabetes diet available at different restaurants on the basis of its nutrition, and calorie meter.
Our first stop was Berco’s in Connaught Place. Popular for its Chinese and Thai fare, the restaurant gave many an opportunity to indulge in their favourite foods and still eat in a healthy way with their lip-smacking alternatives. Since I entered the restaurant with the thought that eating diabetes diet would mean having only bland and boring foods, I was happy to be surprised. For the chef picked healthier options for me that did taste great! I started with the soothing Tom Yum Soup Chicken. Needless to say it came with a unique flavour. As mentioned on the menu, it had 176 kcal, 35.3g carb, 1.8g fat and 5.9 g protein.
The non-veg starters including Grilled Chicken Satay (203kcal, 9g carb, 5.5g fat, 26 g protein) and Steam fish light soya sauce (157kcal, 0g carb, 3.3g fat and 20.8g protein) deserve a special mention. No, not just for its fine taste, but also how honestly it adhered to the dietary chart.
Since meals for many are unthinkable without greens being served on the table, there is nothing as purely satiating than the quickly stir-fried Asian greens (51kcal, 6.5g carb, 1.1g fat, 0g protein). That’s also why I couldn’t give it a miss.
It didn’t me take very long to finish the next dish - Silken tofu with green in soya chilli garlic sauce - that graced my table. In addition to the calorie meter (which read that it had 200k cal, 8g carb, 13 g fat and 21 g protein), I fell almost instantly for its texture, courtesy the different veggies that were added to the food item. All in all, it came with an attractive color scheme and an unforgettable taste.
Image: Shutterstock
Most of the people go wrong while preparing Phad Thai noodles vegetables. Like how it is unfortunately served in Delhi, Phad Thai noodles vegetables at Berco’s weren’t mushy. That’s because it was soaked for the right amount of time. Bendable, and not at all stiff, Phad Thai tasted flawless with the sauce - which came with the right balance of sour, sweet and salty and a deep flavour. (Calorie meter: 322k cal, 57g carb, 9g fat, 10g protein)
So all those who thought living with diabetes is a challenge, the recently-concluded ‘Diabetic Food Trail’ proved how offering varied, delicious and healthy culinary choices even while following the calorific and dietary requirements of diabetics isn’t a mammoth task.
(Image courtesy: Shutterstock)
Comments
0 comment