Healthy Eats in Singapore

Tiann's prides themselves in their menu catered for the special, healthy diet. All the food, including desserts, are both sugar-free and gluten-free (some can even be made dairy-free) - it's pretty cool I'd say!

Ordered their signature waffles, which contain a secret mix of almond, chia seeds, coconut, eggs, and rice. Don't expect a crisp exterior with a fluffy interior from this gluten-free variant; in fact, it's soft and moist, almost gummy but not rubbery, all over.

The whole portion ($16) allows you to pick 2 toppings, of which I took Avocado with smoked trout and dill yogurt, and Scrambled Eggs with house-made sun-dried tomato paste. The smoked trout took limelight in the former, with its saltiness and smokiness being striking. This, however, made the smashed avocado redundant as it didn't help in flavour nor texture contrast. What really impressed was the scrambled eggs - they are fluffy and creamy, just how scrambled eggs should be done.

From Fresh Beets, this healthy grain bowl is pretty darn delicious. The large bowl comes with a base, 2 cold veges, 2 hot veges, and 1 protein, while the regular portion gives just 1 cold and 1 hot vege.

I loved both my cold deli - beetroot and eggplant (sorry I forgot the exact names) - but the tofu (protein) wasn't quite as impressive.

Living in the heartlands, especially mature estates, it gets pretty annoying to have limited access to healthy food options. But I'm glad I've one close to home - just above Bishan bus interchange!

The Wholefood Kitchen works by a simple DIY concept - simply select a base (brown rice, onion bagel, leafy salad and wholemeal wrap) to go with a protein. I loved that my salad was fresh and generous in amount, but the Lemongrass Grilled Tofu ($8) lacked flavour. The wholemeal wrap with Maple Mustard Tempeh ($10) fared better in terms of taste, and was equally wholesome.

Do check the opening hours for the week on their Facebook page as the cook-cum-owner runs on a hectic schedule, and get ready to wait for it least 20 mins because there's only one person doing everything!

The only sushi thing about this popiah is just the seaweed, there's no rice or fish whatsoever; in fact, it's all vegetables but I must say that it's still a pretty good dish. The vegetables are crunchy, the coleslaw is refreshing, and the crispy bits are fragrant. Paired with mild sweetness from the terriyaki sauce, this makes a good starter for two or a very light meal for one.

This actually makes the cut for one of the better poke bowls out there. Although I opted for salad, the marinated salmon, jellyfish, and furikake seasoning were sufficiently briny to make this a flavourful meal. Not forgetting the onsen egg and sesame dressing that bring everything together into a creamy mess of goodness. Just a little unfortunate that the mango cubes given were still unripe, otherwise they'd have added a nice touch of sweetness.

Smoothie bowls as a meal replacement doesn't sound so bad when it's packed with fruits and all things nutritious. Unlike certain outlets that have their smoothie base watered down and hence tasteless, Coocaça's blend is decently thick and pretty satisfying. Fruits toppings were sweet, nuts and granola were crunchy - I've nothing to complain except the price, which I could've eaten four hawker dishes with.

In line with their concept of providing healthy foods, Nature's Nutrition started a grain bowl take-out alongside their retail corner selling organic, nutritious food products (e.g. manuka honey and chia seeds). Choose from one of the three proteins (chicken/salmon/tofu) to go with the standard base (quinoa & brown rice) and toppings (lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, apples, and pumpkin). I love that they mixed seeds and dried fruits into their base for an added crunch and sweetness, and the oh-so tender chicken that was prepared sous-vide. Top up $3 for a refreshing bottle of their made-in-house kombucha to complete the meal.

Healthy meals get boring when they're simply filled with romaine lettuce, so I'm glad that Lean Bento does their bentos slightly differently (and deliciously too!).

Select a protein (salmon at an additional $2), a staple, a premium topping and two regular toppings to form your satiating bento. The honey miso salmon and truffle edamame were slightly disappointing, with the former being mushy and the latter lacking a truffle taste. My favourite component has to be the air-fried sweet potato balls - absolutely crunchy on the outside and sweet on the inside.

Wash it down with a refreshing Iced Black Coffee ($3.55), or end off on a sweet note with the Protein Gelato ($3.50), available in honeycomb and matcha flavours.

Just a 5 mins walk away from Buona Vista MRT lies Lean Bento, a halal-certified cafe dishing out healthy bentos, protein-packed desserts and a decent selection of coffee.

The combination of roasted chicken with scrambled eggs and waffles (as pictured) may be new, but don't be put off by this novelty. The herb-rubbed chicken was incredibly flavourful and succulent, but the seasoning may be too overwhelming for some as the taste of herbs and spices lingered on my tongue for too long. I'm also confused as to why they chose chicken thighs over the leaner breast meat (well they're called LEAN Bento right).

But I was more pleasantly surprised at the protein waffle. Initially disappointed with the soggy exterior, I found myself enjoying the cakey, slightly dense interior that exudes a strong buttermilk aroma. Yes, literally like a buttermilk pancake with abs that gives you abs 💪

Almost all cafes selling poke bowls open only on weekdays, so I was left with not much choices when I wanted a poke bowl on a Sunday night. Sweetfish Poke takes up a small space in Capitol Piazza, serving mainly as a take out because it only has 4 bar counter seats. There are 3 sizes (S - $9, M - $14, L - $18), 3 bases (Japanese rice, brown & red rice, and romaine lettuce) and 6 flavours to choose from, of which my bf and I chose the sweet yuzu cream with salmon and kimchi tuna. The former came with bits of fried garlic which gave each bite a burst of crunch and aroma, but this also masked the yuzu flavour which was unfortunate. The latter had nothing to rave about, but I just felt that the combination of kimchi with tuna didn't work so well.

Compared to (my favourite) A Poke Theory, the amount of toppings given here is much less generous, with only a few slices/pieces of vegetables with the fish. A Poke Theory is also one of the few, if not the only, cafes that offers sushi rice (aka vinegared Japanese rice) instead of just plain rice.

They have officially closed on 14 June 2018 😟 How fortunate for me to be there on their final day of operation, but unfortunate for those office workers in the area because they'll no longer be able to enjoy these $15 bowls of healthiness filled with greens, quinoa, tofu, some other toppings, generous scoops of guacamole and hummus and crispy shards of tortilla chips. And the best thing is the feeling of satisfaction (rather than uncomfortably stuffed) after you finished your meal.

A very, very clever move by A Poke Theory for opening an outlet at Kent Ridge, catering to the health-conscious medical professionals from NUH and hipster students from NUS. What's more, NUH staff and NUS students get to enjoy their bowls at only $8.50 instead of the usual $11.50/$12.50! Smart, very smart.

Their salmon comes in 4 flavours (original shoyu/spicy mayo/avocado miso/ginger miso) and their tuna comes in 2 flavours (original shoyu/spicy garlic sesame). Pick your base, toppings, and dig in to the freshness of the ingredients that gel together nicely. They also have a vegan avocado bowl (pictured) which comes with slightly more than half a perfectly-ripe avocado, making this a creamy and healthy indulgence.

Cherishing the last few perks I have as a student...