SandiSplash

A few months ago, the fiancé decided we should try to eat healthier which I reluctantly had to go along with. I hate healthy eating because I like tasty food and let’s face it, although healthy food is good for you, it doesn’t really taste nice.

This weekend, I was invited to try out the health food sensation that Cape Town’s been enjoying for a while now, Nu Health Food Café in Waterfall Corner. I had a look at the menu and grimaced at the thought of how all those healthy ingredients would taste and I already decided that I’d probably stick with oats as the safe option.

When I got to their little café and spoke to the staff and eyed the other customer’s plates, I decided to be a bit more adventurous and I was not disappointed. This restaurant offers mostly vegan/vegetarian food with a few other protein options. Their aim is to provide an outlet for people to get healthy food that tastes good. I tried the breakfast wrap made with eggs, avo, tomato, rocket and mozzarella. The finance decided on an open smoked salmon omelette served with the creamiest avocado. I can’t believe how delicious the food tasted. I was also surprised at how light the meals were and I didn’t feel stuffed afterwards.

Speaking to the staff who worked at Nu Health Food Café, I was amazed at how passionate they are about their food – from the waiters to the managers. They work hard at sourcing the freshest organic ingredients, with no additives, all from within South Africa. You really can taste the freshness like with the avocados and the honey.

I know all about the honey because we were treated to a little bit of dessert after breakfast – gluten-free and sugar-free banana-coconut bread served with honey, slices of cinnamon-dusted banana and peanut butter. This did not look healthy at all and it tasted so sinfully decadent. I had so much fun cutting my bread up into little squares and deciding on a topping for every bite. This is the one dish that will keep me coming back to this restaurant and it is the dish you need to try!

The restaurant’s ingredients are halaal although their restaurant isn’t halaal-certified but they take their food preparation so seriously that they only use certain knives and chopping boards for certain ingredients to reduce the risk of cross contamination. I love that special attention because it really gives people a great deal of comfort especially if you’re restricted to eating certain foods for religious purposes.

They have a wide range of sugar-free hot drinks and smoothies made with their own low fat plain frozen yogurt. You can also have that frozen yogurt on its own or topped with an array of yummy bits like goji berries and flaked almonds.

We had breakfast at around 10am and it kept us full until 5pm. I love eating lots of little meals but I am definitely a believer in this low GI thing now – especially if it means I can eat a filling breakfast and have dessert for much less calories than my usual greasy breakfast fare.

I later tried the nu-green quinoa salad and given that I don’t like salads in general, it’s no surprise that this salad wasn’t too my taste – way too many raw ingredients for my liking. A lunch-time wrap that I can definitely recommend, though, is the iron kick. Among other ingredients, it’s made with chickpeas and lentils lightly spiced and wrapped in a low GI multigrain wrap.

If you’re keen to find out more, check out their amazing website, www.nufood.co.za – it breaks down every meal to its ingredients list and gives you the nutritional values. Or pop in to their café at Waterfall Corner and try it out for yourself.