Eating Right, Eating Safe
I found that you can eat out in Lebanon, stick to a budget and still eat healthy and stay relatively safe from food poisoning. Just order a healthy meal from one of the reputable diet centers that deliver. Although they do tend to give themselves an aura of exclusivity they are not as out of reach budget wise as you might think.
If you are fat and desperate enough to consider surgery and have actually started thinking of ways to pay for that life altering procedure (been there, considered it, no thank you) stop and think of what you are putting in your mouth. Your food can be healthy, low in calories (relatively) and most importantly tasty.
After all, who are we kidding, eating is a pleasure not mere survival and the right combination of food can give us just enough energy to function, release the right set of chemicals in our brains to make us happy and quell those hunger pangs.
I have been trying one of these places, its not by far the biggest one , but its not the smallest either, its right there in the middle and its quality, service and tasty offerings should give a clear idea about the high standard maintained by these centers.
Remember you are being catered to by qualified nutritionists and certified dieticians who monitor and survey their respective kitchens like hawks (or they should). Ordering a lunch-time meal over the phone to be delivered to your office is as easy as ordering from a the most reputable restaurants, only the food is ten times better, the portions of the ‘good stuff’ (the veggies) are much larger than you would get at the other eateries about town that tend to be stingy with the veg, and the produce is fresher.
They even let you have desert like cheesecake and tiramisu in the right portions. The other day I had a chocolate desert that melts in the mouth and immediately releases those familiar endorphins in the brain and take you to chocolate heaven, minus the guilt!
The salads are generous and the ingredients top shelf I must say, and the dressing enough to coat every green leaf in your bowl, unlike the case with the other penny pinchers about town. As for prices, pretty much the same as you would find at any good quality restaurant. You can have a satisfying meal for between LL13,000 and LL16,000, just order smart.
THE COFFEE HOUSE EXPERIENCE
I do not know why but for some reason the staff at a branch of an internationally renowned coffee-house franchise in Beirut blindfolded one of their colleagues the other day as he groped around behind the counter. I guess as he was feeling his way towards the coffee machine he wanted to prove he could make coffee blindfolded?!
While I admire his self confidence, I do not think it a very good idea. I did not hang around for long nor ask what was going on nor did much care, except it seemed to me a little strange for a leading coffee house brand to tolerate such tomfoolery. Plus the biscotti that day were stale and more than a day old.
In Lebanon they do love their fats and sugars, discreetly and surreptitiously stuffed into you drink or meal without so much as a warning to the unsuspecting drinker/face stuffer.
One thing to watch out for when ordering that coffee drink named after an order of monks is to always take it plain if you value your unclogged arteries. The other day I made the mistake of ordering mine with chocolate, moments later I observed the barista pumping out a generous layer of thick fluffy cream on top and slathering it with chocolate syrup (not chocolate flakes as I thought he would). While it was undeniably tasty, it felt more like a rich coffee desert than a cup of coffee.
If you are fat and desperate enough to consider surgery and have actually started thinking of ways to pay for that life altering procedure (been there, considered it, no thank you) stop and think of what you are putting in your mouth. Your food can be healthy, low in calories (relatively) and most importantly tasty.
After all, who are we kidding, eating is a pleasure not mere survival and the right combination of food can give us just enough energy to function, release the right set of chemicals in our brains to make us happy and quell those hunger pangs.
I have been trying one of these places, its not by far the biggest one , but its not the smallest either, its right there in the middle and its quality, service and tasty offerings should give a clear idea about the high standard maintained by these centers.
Remember you are being catered to by qualified nutritionists and certified dieticians who monitor and survey their respective kitchens like hawks (or they should). Ordering a lunch-time meal over the phone to be delivered to your office is as easy as ordering from a the most reputable restaurants, only the food is ten times better, the portions of the ‘good stuff’ (the veggies) are much larger than you would get at the other eateries about town that tend to be stingy with the veg, and the produce is fresher.
They even let you have desert like cheesecake and tiramisu in the right portions. The other day I had a chocolate desert that melts in the mouth and immediately releases those familiar endorphins in the brain and take you to chocolate heaven, minus the guilt!
The salads are generous and the ingredients top shelf I must say, and the dressing enough to coat every green leaf in your bowl, unlike the case with the other penny pinchers about town. As for prices, pretty much the same as you would find at any good quality restaurant. You can have a satisfying meal for between LL13,000 and LL16,000, just order smart.
THE COFFEE HOUSE EXPERIENCE
I do not know why but for some reason the staff at a branch of an internationally renowned coffee-house franchise in Beirut blindfolded one of their colleagues the other day as he groped around behind the counter. I guess as he was feeling his way towards the coffee machine he wanted to prove he could make coffee blindfolded?!
While I admire his self confidence, I do not think it a very good idea. I did not hang around for long nor ask what was going on nor did much care, except it seemed to me a little strange for a leading coffee house brand to tolerate such tomfoolery. Plus the biscotti that day were stale and more than a day old.
In Lebanon they do love their fats and sugars, discreetly and surreptitiously stuffed into you drink or meal without so much as a warning to the unsuspecting drinker/face stuffer.
One thing to watch out for when ordering that coffee drink named after an order of monks is to always take it plain if you value your unclogged arteries. The other day I made the mistake of ordering mine with chocolate, moments later I observed the barista pumping out a generous layer of thick fluffy cream on top and slathering it with chocolate syrup (not chocolate flakes as I thought he would). While it was undeniably tasty, it felt more like a rich coffee desert than a cup of coffee.
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