Arts
Kemara wellness extends to food too
The Kemara Life brand has been a fixture in Colombo in terms of maintaining the wellness of the body in a holistic way. Those looking to maintain a heathy lifestyle have long sought out the Kemara Spa that offers relaxing, rejuvenating treatments for the entire body as well as the Kemara Boutique which offers a whole range of natural and organic products geared to both children and adults alike.
Squash Nachos
Now, Founder of Kemara Life and holistic therapist Kishani Gunewardena has turned her focus to how the foods we take in, greatly impact the wellness of one’s body. Having just introduced a detox-juice programme, she has expanded on the idea to introduce Kemara Cuisine — which is a clean eating meal plan that is both wholesome and delicious.
Kemara is known for their customized treatments that are specialized to one’s individual needs, and it is this that led to Kishani starting Kemara Cuisine. “When we were doing these (customized) treatments over so many years now, we found that a lot of clients had diet and food related issues, from gluten to dairy which leads to skin and dietary problems” Kishani explained at the launch of Kemara Cuisine on November 3 at the Kemara Wellness Centre.
With that in mind, Kishani undertook much research to figure out how certain foods could be avoided in a diet and that is how she created a 100% gluten, sugar, bean, grain and dairy-free meal plan. “Food is medicine because you are eating as well as nourishing your body,” she said explaining the slogan for Kemara Cuisine.
The food is based on a Paleo diet which Kishani further elaborated on saying, “When you describe a Paleo diet, you would say it has a hunter-gatherer regime. People think it’s really meat – heavy but that is not the case. We don’t want people to think that we are following a particular form of a fad but we work in that framework of a Paleo diet.”
Kishani Gunewardena. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
The goal of Kemara Cuisine is to not let customers think they are on a diet, Kishani tells us. The reasoning behind this is that the minute somebody thinks they are on a diet, they tend to feel restricted and have the urge to go back to their unhealthy dietary habits.
What the Kemara Cuisine team has done is re-think the ingredients behind the dishes we all know and love such as bread and pol sambol, kottu to even chips and dips, using alternative ingredients such as arrow root, chicory and coconut butter to deliver meals that don’t make you feel guilty when you eat them no matter how delicious they are.
We had the opportunity to sample a few dishes that will be available on the meal plan. From nachos made out of squash chips to a dense yet tasty herb-almond bread loaf, yummy chicken quesadillas, shrimp wraps and crepes, the food was packed with flavour and spices making us forget that it was not made with the ingredients we were used to. The best part is that there is a vegan alternative as well. The meal plans are changed weekly, and customers can view the Kemara Life Facebook page for updates.
Customers can have their meals either delivered or picked up from Kemara Spa located at 14 Reid Ave, Colombo 7.
For more details contact them on 0773043590 or 011 2696498.
Kottu with spicy chicken curry
Cranberry bread
Sesame crusted shrimp crepe parcels
Taquitos with raw Pad Thai with spicy almond butter dip