Arts
A tasty serving of healthiness
When you hear or see the word ‘healthy’ before food or drink, you automatically mentally prepare yourself for less than tasty food. But, of late, a number of restaurants and cafes are slowly changing that perception, and showing Sri Lankans that healthy can be delicious too. One such establishment is Life Food, a small little cafe that opened on the corner of Perahara Mawatha and Alwis Place in Colombo 3, earlier this year.
The Life Food cafe initially began as a juice stall at the Good Market, a marketplace for environmentally- friendly products.
Tamara Raymond, who at the time was selling nai miris sauce at the Good Market, noticed the lack of juices available at the market and decided to fill the gap. But not wanting to be just the typical juice vendor she curated a range of juices that are beneficial to one’s health. The positive response led to her expanding the weekly stall into a permanent cafe.
Tamara with her husband
The cafe serves a variety of juices, smoothies and salads which are presented as mains rather than as starters. “Salads are one of my favourite meals at any time. So I wanted to introduce the concept of salads as a meal and offer people an alternative to the regular rice and curry even at lunch time,” says Tamara. The concept seems to have been embraced by consumers, as the little cafe has no shortage of customers throughout the day, especially during lunch time.
The cafe offers vegetarian and vegan options and limits its range of meats to chicken, turkey and seafood, and is halal.
We started with the “Purifier”. A ‘thirst quencher’ as its called, the juice contains pineapple, passion fruit and mint leaves. Light with no pulp it came in a large glass jar. It’s apparently good for digestion and cleanses the body. We appreciated the use of paper straws instead of plastic, though at times it did get annoying as it tends to get a little soggy.
Next we tried the “Moroccan”, which was a rocket and chickpea salad, with baked cauliflower marinated in the Moroccan hot chili paste, harissa, sprinkled with feta, cashew, mint and a tahini curd dressing. While the feta and the cashew gave a creamy and crunchy texture to the salad, we found the chickpeas a little bland. As for non-vegetarians there is also the option of adding chicken to this dish.
Finally we tried the “honey honey” salad. A visually appealing dish, it consisted of honey glazed chicken which sat upon a green salad base, containing corn, avocado, feta, garlic croutons, tomatoes and covered in a honey mustard dressing. The honey glaze gave a lovely texture to the chicken. The creamy texture of the avocado pieces and the chewy corn add another dimension to the dish. The garlic croutons were a little too intense when eaten on its own , but together with the rest of the salad and the sweetness of the corn the intensity lessened. However, if you aren’t a fan of your mains being sweet, this salad isn’t for you. We were surprised to find that there was no sugar used in the preparation of these dishes or anything else in the menu. Though to be fair they do occasionally use honey and treacle where necessary.
The cafe’s use of local produce and free range village eggs help to reduce its carbon footprint while also ensuring high quality products for its customers. Even its coffee is sourced from local producers, White & Co.
Overall the small cafe is the perfect place to stop by for a healthy yet delicious lunch– though with its limited seating, it may be a little tricky to dine in during the lunch rush.
The Moroccan
Honey honey salad. Pix by Sameera Weerasekera
The purifier
| Address: No A1 – 33, Perahera Mawatha, Colombo 03 Operating Hours: 7.30 a.m. – 9 p.m. daily (Including Poya and other Price range: Rs 350 – 1600 Contact no: 011 7225433 Follow them on: *Instagram: @lifefoodsl *Facebook: Life Food | |