Today’s corporate employees find it hard to eat healthy given their strenuous lifestyle. So Tapan Kumar Das, co-founder of Qua Nutrition (a nutrition clinic) and a couple of friends have got together and founded iTiffin, which delivers tasty but nutritious dishes in the form of a complete meal.

iTiffin focuses on providing customers with a tray of gastronomic delights  which is cooked in olive oil, high on proteins, minerals and the recommended value of fat. The food that is sent out every day is scientifically designed. In the month since their launch, iTiffin has 100 customers.

Their clientele, from all over the city, include senior citizens and employees from the banking sector such as HDFC Bank and Goldman Sachs. Robin Uthappa is also one of their clients.

"I often get calls early morning asking if we are 'tiffin box' or 'dabba wallah' and I find it hilarious," said Deepa Prakash, food technology head at iTiffin and who is responsible for 'designing' healthy yet tasty food. "The average corporate employee does not care what goes into his or her stomach as long as it is filling, so my main job is to blend essential ingredients in one complete meal and come up with yummy products," said Deepa who has a Masters Degree in Quality Assurance and Food Analysis from the Defence Food Research Lab (DFRL).

While counselling clients, Ryan Fernando, chief nutritionist at Qua Nutrition and co-founder of iTiffin, found that his clients were utterly confused about what to eat. "Although we give clients lists and charts, half of them would not be able to follow it because of their busy lifestyles," Fernando said. "Some told me that the charts we draw up confuse their cooks, who would then prepare what they know best. I think that if a person can have at least one healthy meal a day, they will not only have a healthy body, but will also have a happier mind. Even doctors who pursue a course in MBBS learn about food and nutrition only for two days in their entire five-year course. So we have designed two different kinds of lunch - one 500 Kcal and the other 600 Kcal - to suit the needs of people having a different pattern of eating."

Das and Deepa reveal that they try to be as inclusive as possible. "People with diabetes are reluctant to eat anything, yet share space at the table with their colleagues. We are building a new diet for diabetics where they can enjoy the same food as others, but one that will help keep their condition in check," said Das.

An average iTiffin tray consists of dal, a sabji, three chapattis, brown rice and salad. Each meal costs an average Rs 88. Supplied five days a week, it amounts to Rs 1,750 per month for 500 Kcal and Rs 1,850 per month for 600 Kcal. "We wanted to make the meals as economical as possible. Providing balanced food, enriched with minerals and using natural ingredients is our top priority," said Deepa.

Reproduced from Bangalore Mirror