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UAE Health

The curry side to Keto

In conversation with Vanessa Lena Crasta, founder of Curry Keto



Vanessa Lena Crasta
Image Credit: Supplied

The UAE advertising and events industry is fast-paced and competitive. For years, my husband, Rajiv Ramnath and I worked hard to make a name for ourselves in the industry, running a successful advertising agency. This meant working 16 hours or more a day, driving between locations, executing projects, staying up all night and prepping for events. This came at a price, with takeouts and sandwiches in between meetings and site visits, on-the-go meals, mostly rice and bread once we got home, all eventually taking their toll on our bodies. We started noticing our poor stamina levels and the health complications that come with weight gain, with high BP, hormonal imbalances and acne to name a few.

How did we get here?

We decided it was time to make a change, and hence started our long search for the right diet, for the right meal plan provider. Within the year we had tried it all, Atkins, Keto, Paleo, etc., through several providers. While the food was great, nothing fully satisfied our cravings, coming from a background of dosas in the morning and biryani over the weekend and now switching to grilled chicken and salad just didn’t do it for us. My husband being a super picky eater struggled the most, he would not stick to any of the plans simply because he didn’t love what he was eating.

Curry Keto dishes are as healthy as they are fun to prep and consume
Image Credit: Supplied

We missed our butter chicken, tikkas, roti, palak paneer and idlis, and could not really stick to any of the diets or plans as we kept falling back on our old ways.

Time to make a change

They say necessity is the mother of invention. Experimenting with recipes, doing trial and error, calculating macros, reading every possible article and study on Keto, we stared creating our own low-carb Indian dishes and we loved it! The weight started dropping, we were healthier, doing better at work with increased levels of concentration, we had never been happier.

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My Keto journey paused during my pregnancy and during the first year after my daughter was born before it was time to lose the post-partum weight. I was back on Keto, stronger and better than before. In just two short months I dropped all my baby weight and was healthier than my pre-pregnancy days.

I loved the way I felt, loved what I was eating, and I knew it was time to share it with everyone, and hence Curry Keto was born. Our goal with Curry Keto is to take away the preconception that diet food is boiled or grilled meat and veggies, bland and tough to maintain. We want people to know you can maintain a low-carb lifestyle while not really missing out on delicious food.

The curry effect

Over six months we developed low-carb curry Keto recipes, on boarded a nutritionist to work with us and get them right. Soon our friends were sampling Curry Keto at our dinner parties, giving us valuable feedback, sharing their own experimental recipes. Curry Keto grew from there to add many more cuisines to the menu. Anything curry is Curry Keto – Indian curries, Thai, Japanese, Indonesian and African, we added them all.

It was then time to Launch Curry Keto, we found ourselves in a brand-new industry not knowing where to start. Hiring the right team and right consultants got us through the process. we worked together to ensure that our consumer journey is a fun one! At Curry Keto we are all about Fitness, Flavour and Fun! We wanted every element of our organization to reflect that.

Some of our popular items on the menu are Keto Dosa – yes crispy crunchy dosas with a coconut chutney, Creamy Butter chicken served with cauliflower rice, chicken tikka masala with Keto naan. We have also given a keto makeover to some of the most loved Indian desserts like ras malai and halwa. They are every bit as delicious as the real deal! Our meals also include some international cuisine to mix things up like our Keto pizza and stir-fry with Zoodles.

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We have the All-day keto – for people starting their Low-carb journey which includes breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner and dessert, and Half Day Keto for customers who follow intermittent fasting (fasting between 14 to 16 hours a day) which includes lunch, dinner and dessert or snack. Our customers can book any of these plans for a trial, 1 month or 3 months.

The response we have been receiving has been exceptional. Be they Emaratis or the UAE expat community, there is genuine curiosity about Curry Keto and how it would fit into individual lifestyles. About 90 per cent of our trials have converted into longer subscriptions! Because Curry Keto has made following the Ketogenic lifestyle much easier.

Aside from Indians and Pakistanis we are also getting subscriptions from Arabs & other expats. We currently serve in Dubai and Sharjah, our expansion plans include a delivery to Abu Dhabi and other emirates as well as a restaurant in Dubai.

For details visit: www.curry-keto.com

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