By Jia Singh
We're witnessing {and thoroughly enjoying} the growing numbers jumping onto the healthy food bandwagon in our city! Getting in on the action is TLC Kitchen - a gourmet food service dedicated to bringing customised and calorie controlled meals to your doorstep.
The gourmet weight watchers
The most commonly heard pieces of advice from nutritionists involve "portion control" and "monitoring calorie intake." For the noobie dieter - irrespective of what your motivation is - figuring out protein and carb quantities, and balancing these with healthy natural fats and oils can be a daunting task, especially for someone who hasn't studied or read up on the intricacies of nutrition. That's where TLC Kitchen comes in. The most intriguing part about TLC - customized meal plans. The luxury of choosing your meal, and having someone else take on the responsibility of making sure it is healthy sounded too good to be true! A quick look through their menu and a form to select my meal requirements was all it took, and a box of gourmet food was sent over to my house.
The healthy home makers
Tarani’s Low Calorie Kitchen is run by Tarani Kapur, a mother of two and no stranger to the kitchen, and well known hospitality consultant Sohrab Sitaram. Designed by a team of chefs and nutritionists, the food offered by TLC isn’t tasteless or bland; it is bursting with flavour. The menu offered is fairly diverse, with enough options for vegetarians, non-vegetarians, and the Delhiwaala with a sweet tooth. Dishes include the likes of Salmon Cobbler, Haryali Chicken Tikka and multigrain Idlis. I ordered the non-vegetarian Kebab Platter and the Goan Prawn Curry with rice for dinner. The Kebab Platter had an assortment of Chicken Tikka, Seekh Kebab and a Tangri Kebab, with Tandoori Cauliflower {gobhi}, sautéed vegetables, and a mint relish. The food was fresh, grilled, with very little added fat, and was appropriately seasoned. I normally mix my protein with veggies {fibre and complex carb} sans bread/roti, but because the portions were a tad measly, I felt I still had room for more food. The second order was the Goan Prawn Curry with brown rice, which was a tad disappointing; the curry lacked zing and Goan flavors, and there were too few prawns, which seemed to drown in the curry. Although Prawn Curry {protein} and brown rice {complex carb & fibre} make for a wholesome, healthy meal - the meal left me underwhelmed and not completely satiated.
Shall we, shan't we?
I'd recommend this service, especially to those with a health concern. They have a variety of meal programs to choose from, which cater to targeted interests, such as Calorie Controlled, Diabetic Friendly, Healthy Heart, and Weight Management programs. What checks the box for TLC is custom meal plans, which are ideal for foodies with specific requirements, like people with food allergies and health troubles. There's really nothing like having someone qualified taking care that you eat right.
The meals are preservative free, pre-portioned and sent over frozen, so you don’t have to worry about counting calories or obsess over portion sizes.
Notes in our Little Black Book |
If you are a conscious eater who wants gourmet style food that is affordable, convenient and promises to be healthy - order your meals from TLC. We strongly recommend their Sea Bass Cobbler and Non Vegetarian Kebab Platter. The food will need heating, so make sure you have adequate provisions in your office/home.
Price | This service for a month {inclusive of all three meals and a mid meal snack} costs only INR 16,999. A single meal costs approximately Rs 275.
Contact | To order, log onto their website here; email them your requests at info@tlckitchen.in; or call 9911414137
Find their Facebook page here.
TLC delivers in Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Indore and Chennai.