Friday 10 / May / 2024
Powdered sips for breakfast in the 1970s, healthy shakes for athletes and gym-goers in the 1980s, weight management plans in the 2000s, and a decade later, nutrition-balanced snacks for everyone. Living a healthy lifestyle is an aim many of us wish to accomplish. It is becoming sort of a trend in this generation, though the struggle to commit to it might put some people off due to the bland taste of so-called healthy food. It restricts us from having our favourite condiments, dips, and snacks such as chocolates and chips.
Eating vegetables is not enough for those who are foodies-at-heart and have a taste for sugars and fat-filled sauces, and that’s a dieter’s worst nightmare they say, but today the game has changed. We live in a decade that’s blessed with numerous healthy replacement snacks that can minimise or even put an end to your cravings and make your eating lifestyle better, healthier, and most importantly, guilt-free.
Enjoying your diet is a crucial factor in your eating habits, and to truly enjoy your ordinary meals, you need something extraordinary. You need a little bit of sparkle in your daily diet. For those who have a sweet-tooth, protein shakes are there to ease the struggle, but we can’t really have protein powder with our fire-kissed meats, so in this case, brands like Walden Farms and Nuts ‘N More come into play.
I found these two new-in-town brands at Fat Fit nutrition store where I met Al Moataz Al Hasani, a nutrition enthusiast and owner of the store that provides healthy snacks, condiments, sauces, dips, spreads, creamers, and a lot of other stuff. He introduced two of the world’s most popular brands for healthy replacements, as I entered his store in Al Khoudh. I was stunned by the choices that one could pick from, racks and racks of low to zero-calorie items that could be savoured with pretty much anything, and without sacrificing one’s health. So let’s explore these brands that should be staple items in your eating habits.
Nuts ‘N More
Let’s start off with my favourite treat, peanut butter. Nuts ‘N More is a USA brand that makes flavourful protein peanut butter and almond butter spreads in a variety of flavours, some of which you’ll be surprised they even exist, and the best part is they’re just like your typical peanut butter, only healthier and tastier. Essentially, this is a protein-based snack. It is of great nutrition value (7 grams of protein per tablespoon) and has very low carbohydrates, which makes it a treat that could be eaten daily without worrying on packing the pounds, although you have to be careful not to obsessively eat it, as I did with my Cookie Butter flavoured spread, which was superb. I forgot about eggs and enjoyed myself this creamy treat on a toasted brown bread for breakfast. Sometimes I would blend it with my protein shake, or even coffee, too. The brand comes with many flavours. The selection includes cookie butter, pumpkin spice, chocolate, salted caramel, white chocolate, toffee crunch, cinnamon raisin, chocolate almond, and of course, plain peanut butter among others. I truly recommend this treat.
Walden Farms
Walden Farms on the other hand is an interesting brand that’s been around since 1972, selling all types of condiments and dips alternatives. This brand came in to help those opting a healthier lifestyle the opportunity to push their potential healthy eating habits to the maximum, and they did so by developing items that could easily replace our daily favourites such as mayonnaise and ketchup, and most importantly, keeping the taste intact.
This innovative lifestyle choice is a must in everyone’s fridge. Their reduced calorie items are among the popular ones worldwide, and it is the only brand in the world offering items with zero calories. This stated fact triggered my interest instantly, and after asking Al Moataz, the calories are actually reduced to an unmeasurable number; according to the FDA, anything below five calorie is considered zero.
The brand has a massive selection of items in more than ten categories which include syrups like chocolate, maple walnut and caramel, condiments like ranch, honey mustard and chipotle, coffee creamers like French vanilla, sweet cream and mocha, salad dressings such as creamy bacon, bleu cheese and Caesar, fruit spreads like cranberry sauce, apple butter and strawberry, as well as pasta and barbecue sauces, dips, and on-the-go packets.
I got myself a few items to ease the struggle of dieting, and I was blown away. Some items taste better than others, but in the end, something is better than nothing. And, now you can enjoy your pancakes and grilled meats without feeling super guilty.
Barbecue sauce is one of the popular items at the store, I’m not a hardcore fan of BBQ sauce in general, but the taste was great and smoky, but having too much of it creates an unusual aftertaste, so what I like to do is, marinate my proteins with it. I cut my chicken, season it, add some Walden Farms sauce, and let it sit before grilling it, or I would simply brush it over my already-grilled steak.
Another sauce that I loved was the chocolate syrup. It was quite delicious and creamy, fits perfectly well with pancakes, and I did not feel the sourness that online reviews state, it was rather delicious with a dark chocolate flavoured taste. I cannot wait to hit the Fat Fit store and get me more items from this brand; I already eyed the bleu cheese salad dressing and caramel coffee creamer.
Healthy eating culture in Oman is growing by the minute and with the rising trend these kind of stores are here to give us that push towards making it to the finish line. Prices vary for protein products. Nuts ‘N More products are priced between OMR6.500 and OMR8.500, and Walden Farms items cost around OMR2.500 to OMR2.700 each. Fat Fit rates are quite reasonable, and it’s worth every penny. —[email protected]
Fat Fit
Azaiba; Al Khoudh
+968 9191 1488; +968 9669 9664
Instagram: @fatfit_om
