When was the last time you enjoyed a dessert and it was
‘healthy’? Do the words ‘healthy’ and ‘tasty’ go together? Can something
healthy be tasty? Are you wondering! Well, don’t think too hard since you have
got the answer right here in front of you. You can get all these answers once
you finish reading through this blog post. Recently I received an invitation at
the launch of ‘Lite Bites’ a product from the bakery called Melete where I was
introduced to some products which had the answer to our well-being and the
secret to our good health in the coming days. Well, I’ll come to the
description of the food items later but let me guide you through this unique
concept that can transform the way we eat and live.
Do you use sugar-free products or artificial sweeteners? Are
you well aware about their side effects? I only can tell you it has got loads
of side-effects and I hate talking about the extreme ones. Instead you can google
about ‘Stevia’. Stevia is a natural sweetener or sugar substitute extracted
from the leaves of a plant (species - Stevia rebaudiana). Stevia has ‘steviol
glycosides’ which have up to 150 times the sweetness of sugar and has
negligible effect on blood glucose. Isn’t that wonderful? Here at Melete
you get cookies and brownies prepared with stevia that is healthy, has no
ill-effects and is tasty at the same time. Melete, in partnership with Janus
Lifesciences, has launched Lite Bites. True to its name, Lite Bites is a
healthier cookie made with multigrains like suji, maida, wheat along with stevia
in it. Indeed an amazing product for diabetics with sugar craving.
By the way, let us come back a bit to the introduction of
Melete. It is a six months old bakery based in New Alipore and specializes in
brownies, cookies and pastries having some interesting flavors. They have a
range of interesting brownie flavors including coffee, butterscotch, peanut
butter, and jam swirl. Also the products from Melete are mostly eggless and
they use the natural Stevia as sugar substitute. Though they do not have
dine-in facilities but you can order from this place or opt for take-away from
the address mentioned in Zomato.
Their new product ‘Lite Bites’ helps you indulge in some
dessert without consuming loads of sugar. One box of Lite Bites 300 grams is priced
at INR 150 and 400 grams is priced at INR 300. It is manufactured in Kolkata
and will be available in stores in some time. Now let us discuss about these
Lite Bites food items and other snacks items which were tasted on this visit of
mine along with other Panch phoron members.
First let us list down the food items in the ‘Lite Bites’
package of healthy cookies which had 3 types of variants prepared with various
grains like Suji, Whole Wheat and Maida.
a) Whole wheat cookies – Nicely shaped cookie with a bit dry
texture and taste of aata in it. A bite of it will let you know how healthy it
is. It has got a lovely fluffy texture and should go well along with some tea or
coffee.
b) Suji cookies – As the name says, the cookie is made with
suji or semolina. The cookie has got the overall typical coarse middling
texture to it that is derived from the semolina grains. Tastewise it can be a
bit sweeter for my liking, guess a bit more stevia will do the trick.
c) Maida cookies – In the pack of Lite Bites, this cookie
looks a bit different. It has got some sesame seeds sprinkled over it and can
be distinguished easily. Taste-wise I felt it tasted tad better than the other
two cookies and had a subtle hint of sweetness which was just perfect for my
palate since I try to avoid overtly sweet stuffs.
Also we had tasted:
a) Peanut Butter brownie – To start with, I honestly loved
all the three brownies. The peanut butter ones were very soft and fluffy and
they were really tasty. Peanut butter in any case is a healthy nutritious
eating option and these cookies were bursting with healthy elements, goodness
and flavors to be true. It had some little bits of crushed peanuts and a nice
glazed coating on the top.
b) Coffee brownie – The brownie was again fluffy with a mild
coffee flavor, that’s not too bitter or strong. There is again a thin ganache
on top to make things perfect.
c) Butter Scotch brownie – I loved this the most; maybe it
perfectly suited my taste buds! It had a subtle butter scotch flavor to it and
yes, overall the brownie was very soft and that just melts in the mouth, just
packed with all the goodness.
d) Coconut bread with Lemon Curd – Again this was very well
prepared (topped with a cashew nut) with that aroma of coconut keeping you
glued to the dish, though I felt it was tad dry but that’s why you have that
awesome lemon curd to go with it.
e) Cheese Tarts – The tart was nice and freshly baked, the
cup was perfect and shallow though the crust seemed not that light brown in
color. The cheese filling was nice but it did not taste that great as it was
not warm, so make sure you have it when it’s warm.
f) Focaccia with Yogrut Dip – The focaccia bread was nice
and soft, surely the dough was prepared well and mixed well with all the
ingredients (like flour, salt, sugar, oregano, etc) in there. Had the toppings
of cheese, bits of onion and bell peppers. Though again I had this not so warm
and realized it would have tasted great if I had it warm.
Now that concluded the tasting session for the day and in
the end we realized the importance of healthy eating and that it can be paired
with tasty dishes as well. I was glad that I was introduced to some healthy
desserts and surely this can be such a boon for many I know, who crave to have
some brownies but can’t since they are diabetic. Surely here you get the healthier
versions of those sinful brownies. In the coming days, Melete will come up with
more and more flavorful yet healthy food products and items and hope we all will
be benefited from this endeavor. I would like to thank Anjee and Pritha for
this invitation. Wishing Anjee and her team all the best, hope Melete will
bring in more smiles to so many faces out there in the coming days.
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