A platterful of health: Bangalore’s healthfood outlets

If food courts and fast food stalls are sprouting all over the city, never before has health food been so much de rigueur. Bangalore is waking up to the fact that tempting victuals need not be smattered with butter, chocolate or sugar anymore. And health food need not only be about boiled vegetables and insipid flavours.

High-fibre, organically grown, low sugar, low fat and non-fried foods seem to be the order of the day. Right from basic grains and pulses to fruits, vegetables and processed foods, there are choices galore for the health conscious. While whole wheat breads are today available at every neighbourhood grocery shop, what are new are the variants like ragi bread, nine-grain bread, and oat and bran breads. Most grocery stores like Food World, Fab Mall and Nilgiris stock these products along with regular white breads. Larger marts have separate counters for the same.

Organically grown vegetables and pulses come high in the pecking order for the health brigade. While Namdharis caters to your veggie needs, Fabindia stocks an impressive array of organically grown pulses. Though priced a tad higher than the regular variety in the market, vegetables at Namdharis are organically grown sans any pesticide treatment. At Fabindia you can take your pick of Indian spices and masalas in addition to exotic dried herbs like thyme, lemon grass, rosemary and dill, whole wheat pastas and noodles, and pickles and fruit preserves made of organically grown fruits and vegetables.

Even though it’s hard to think healthy when you are hit by cravings for fried and sugar-loaded munchies, the trend today is to go for grainier, baked and low sugar snacks. From sea-weed flavoured baked rice crackers to whole wheat roasted garlic toasties, the stress is on low fat, high fibre snacks. Even traditional Indian snacks like khakhra and chidwa are now available in low fat versions at Nilgiris and Food World.

Cookie cravings can be particularly hard to stave, and Cookie Man has scrumptious options given that except for butter shortbread cookies, all others are made with natural margarine and packed with nuts. Even coffee shops like Barista have wisened up to the health conscious eater’s needs and offer a crunchy whole wheat bread sandwich.

Clearly times were never better to belly up to lip smacking health foods!