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Lack of physical exercise, rise in desk jobs, reduction of food quality and stress of modern lifestyle have given exponential rise to a modern-day health issue - obesity. The number of fast-food joints has climbed to an all-time high in recent years, which is further pushing the issue.
In this horrid scenario, a healthy meal service, that is promoting food service that is healthy, delicious and affordable, is bound to catch eyes.
The healthy meal service - Lite n Macros has already created a buzz with its unique range of healthy dishes and diet plan consultancy. The Financial Express has talked to the brain behind this initiative - Afra Rahman online, who is currently operating her business from Australia.
Inception of Lite n Macros:
“It all began in 2020 when I started my own fitness plan while living in Australia. Surprisingly, I found little help from the professional dietitians to prepare a perfect dietary plan just for me, not any generic plans. I had to enrol in a Sports Nutritions Programme and learn all about nutrition and diet. Then it came to my mind - if the scenario is so difficult in an advanced country like Australia, things must be a lot harder in my home country,” Afra told the Financial Express about her beginning.
Then she began working on the idea of creating a healthy meal service in Bangladesh which can provide the consumers with the perfect dietary plan to incorporate into their fitness goals.
Traditional cooking affects nutrition:
The traditional Bengali cooking method uses too much spice, salt, sugar, oil etc. It reduces the food value of the meals.
“First of all, boiling or frying for too long reduces the nutritional value of the ingredients. Secondly, it also ruins the taste as well,” she said, “let me give you an example. Take cauliflower. If we cook it using our traditional methods, it hardly tastes like fresh, authentic cauliflower. Boiling it too much ruins its original taste.”
So what does she do to keep the taste and the nutrients intact?
“I always instruct my staff to use the cooking method that keeps the taste and the food value intact. We always cook our meals on low heat and use little to no oil. We also try to use less salt or sugar, while using natural taste enhancers.”
Popularity of fast food and Lite n Macros
Fast foods are readily available anywhere, are exotic in taste and affordable as well. “So, they are the perfect food for our fast, ever-moving lifestyle, because, in reality, we all are in a rush,” Afra explains the reasons behind the popularity of fast foods.
Lite n Macros is not a regular restaurant, it is a dietary consultancy service as well. First, there is a thirty minutes free consultancy time, where a customer talks about his/her lifestyle, food habits, preferences, etc.
Customer’s exercise routine (if any), medical condition, the tendency of having salt or sugar, allergy condition - these are also taken into consideration. Then a full dietary plan is made for a week or a month. Then the dishes are delivered to his/her residence in time.
“I first talk to my chefs about the customer,” Afra explains the process thoroughly, “I personally oversee every customer, so there is a touch of individuality all the time. The chefs prepare the meals using the healthiest and tastiest means available.”
Lite n Macros uses various herbs to enhance the flavour. Everything, from the sauces to the pastes and mixtures, are prepared in-house, fresh and authentic.
“We never cook in bulk, so there is no chance of having leftovers. Our dishes are specially designed to suit our Bengali palate, and I spend a lot of time researching to ensure the tastiest gastronomic experience for our consumers.”
Customer response:
“The customers are really glad to find such a healthy meal service and consultancy,” said an elated Afra finding praise and response from the customers.
“Our main clientele are the celebrities, young stars, middle-aged women and gym-goers. We have a few regulars, who have been benefitted from our service. Some of our clients are new mothers who have put up weight after childbirth. And an important aspect is our client demographics.”
“Many of our clients are young people who are quite conscious about their fitness and diet. So, the notion we have about people only getting conscious about health after being 40 is not so correct these days,” Afra added.
Tips for Ramadan:
This year, the holy month of Ramadan has fallen in the summer season, and the scorching heat will be hard for the fasting Muslims. So Afra has given some pieces of advice for the readers.
“Stay hydrated. Drink enough water, fruit juice and soup in Sehri and Iftar. We need protein to keep ourselves functioning during the fasting hours; so make sure you have enough protein in your diet.”
“Try to eat fewer carbohydrates and more fibre. You can take electrolytes with your sherbet or eat fruit salads. Our common iftar items like Chola is an ideal source of nutrients if it is cooked in a healthy way,” she added.
Sayara Afra
Sayara Afra has been working tirelessly to provide the people with healthy, tasty meals with a noble cause of checking obesity and other dietary health issues.