The adage ‘Bodies are built in the kitchen and sculpted in a gym’ holds true. No matter how many hours are dedicated to exercise, I believe that you cannot attain your desired fitness goals without paying attention to a proper diet. The proof is in the pudding when I looked at my food and exercise habits. As someone who works out five times a week, I know the main reason I cannot seem to shed weight is because of an indulgent diet. So, I knew saying yes to a carefully put together paleo diet would kick start a change in my life.
Paleo, aka eating like a caveman, may sound bland and boring, but I had a great week of tasty, healthy, and nutritious meals. Most importantly, they were low in carbohydrates. Daintree Food offers three different meal prep choices, paleo, vegan or healthy. As a meat lover, I went for paleo, a ‘caveman diet’ made with foods that only existed during the prehistoric times; including animal proteins, vegetables, nuts and fruit. No sugar, dairy or anything processed. A small part of me was worried, as my social life involved eating out a lot, but I knew that in order to see a difference, I needed to take it seriously.
The meals were delivered the night before and marked with stickers as breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. You store them in the fridge and microwave them, or warm them up on the stove.
On my first day breakfast was made up of a generous portion of scrambled eggs served with beef pastrami and sautéed spinach. I got to snack on baby carrots and cucumber served with cauliflower hummus. I think cauliflower hummus has changed my life. Lunch was a herbed roast chicken and pan gravy with a side of roasted zucchini. Followed by another snack: mixed fresh fruits, including kiwi, pineapple, apple, plums, peach and watermelon.
On another more indulgent day, I had a mushroom and thyme omelette with the most filling chia seed smoothie made with banana, pineapple, spinach, chia seeds and almond milk. Chia seeds are the best way to feel full, as they expand in your tummy. The day’s snacks included the most delicious brownies I have ever had in my life. They were made with gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, almond milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract and walnuts. I may have asked how I could get a year’s supply of them because of how good they were.
My lunch was an incredibly seasoned fish biryani with cauliflower rice served with coconut yoghurt raita. Because of this very dish, I have now successfully incorporated cauliflower rice into my diet, as a replacement for my usual carb sides. Dinner was steak and sweet potato mash. You wouldn’t think this was a diet.
The best thing about Daintree is that the food is flavourful and filling, something that other health food deliveries in the UAE lack. When I was previously getting food delivered, I felt like my meals were the most boring thing on earth, but these guys used modern ingredients and modified popular treats like brownies in a healthier manner.
Getting a healthy food delivery is an option that’s more applicable for the busy and single. People who don’t want to worry about cooking for a family and just want an easy way to eat healthy clean food. At Dh150 per day, it may seem very expensive, however if you get food 5 days a week for a month, you will spend Dh3,000 and never cook, eat out or worry about planning your meals, so you would be paying for convenience and clean food. Choose your diet based on individual nutrition requirements without compromising on taste and quality.
