Dumbbells and Drama

There has been a sudden influx of health brands, with each one claiming to be healthier than the previous one. The time is right, seeing how everyone is taking up the fitness journey. But wait a minute, how healthy is your mayo and cheese loaded salad? How healthy is that multi grain bread? I’m not pointing fingers at anyone, but I feel there’s a lot that the customer today needs to know. Did you know the highly processed wheat grain today is not recommended in your diets? Did you know salad sauces end up making your salads unhealthy?All that I’m saying is, “healthy” is easy to fall for; there’s a lot that one needs to know.

Nudo is a new entrant in the ‘health food’ market, and we recently went over to TJs Brew Works to see what this brand duo has in store for us. Was it really health food? But what about the taste, isn’t healthy food bland and boring? Did you say healthy dessert…what sorcery is this? Ladies and gentlemen, the verdict-

What We Ate

French Onion Soup with Spent Grain Toast, Warm Potato Salad with Beer Mustard Dressing, Spent Grain Crusted Jalapeno Poppers, Spent Grain Crusted Onion Rings, Beer Braised Chicken, Spent Grain Crusted Calamari, Beer Braised Lamb Shack, Four Cheese Spent Ravioli with Roasted Tomato Sauce, Pizzas with the following crusts- quinoa, buckwheat, almond, amaranth & waterchestnut and cauliflower & whey protein. This was followed by Passion Fruit Cheesecake & Grain Free Chocolate Buckwheat Cake for dessert.

We also drank the quinoa and buckwheat brews, 2 new additions to the menu at TJ’s Brew Works.

tjs and nudo

How healthy is healthy?

  1. Spent grain is the residue left over after the Wort which is the liquid extracted from the malt during the brewing process. This residue which is often thrown away is very healthy, super rich in protein, fiber content and a lot of macro-nutrients.
  2. Buckwheat is a great source of proteins, good carbs and vitamins. It’s unique amino acid composition helps improve heart health by lowering cholesterol.
  3. Almond flour is gluten-free, low in carbohydrates, high in fiber, a high source of protein, rich in vitamins and minerals, and compared with all other nuts, almonds have the highest calcium content. They also help lower cholesterol.
  4. Quinoa is gluten-free, high in protein and iron, and contains all nine essential amino acids. It is also high in fiber, magnesium, B-vitamins, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E and antioxidants.
  5. Amaranth is a great source of protein, fiber, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. It’s an ancient grain that can be traced back to the Aztecs, and this gluten free grain can still be found in parts of India, China and the Americas.

What does this mean?

This means that you are ingesting superfoods that will not only give you the required nutrition, but also help regulate your digestive system if adopted as a lifestyle. Here’s the beauty of this – this isn’t “dieting” It is what you call clean eating. Once you get used to clean eating, you enjoy overall health benefits, right from an improved cardiovascular system to great digestion, not to mention a healthy looking body. Here’s the best part- no matter what your aim is-whether you’re trying to lose weight or are aiming at muscle building, you can eat all of this protein rich food! It also helps you stay full for a longer time, so you might not feel the need to snack.

cauliflower whey protein pizza

Most of the food here is 55% and below on the GI (glycemic index) thanks to the alternative ingredients being used. This means that this food helps reduce large fluctuations in your blood sugar, and limits the release of insulin. By adopting the clean eating lifestyle, you’re cutting down the risk of developing diabetes and metabolic syndrome (which increases your risk of having a heart attack or suffering a stroke)

onion rings tj nudo

When do we eat it? 

After a killer workout, lunch, dinner, snack, during gains, during weight loss, ANY TIME THAT WE WANT TO!

Do we approve? 

Girish Monie, the man behind Nudo, started this as a personal project when he realized his health was at an all-time low years ago. From concentrating on eating whatever he wanted to and working it all out (and not seeing results) he reversed the process and saw results immediately. He concentrated more on the diet, less on the workouts. He was amazed at the results, and decided to share his story with the world in the form of Nudo.

We have been regulars at TJ’s Brew Works since 2012, and the introduction of a healthy menu only increases our reasons to visit 🙂  We enjoyed each and every dish that we ate; I struggle with eating clean, and it takes me a lot of will power to avoid junk food. Mostly because I assumed that healthy food isn’t tasty. I request you to give this food a try and you’ll see how healthy can be super delicious, and you’ll realize you don’t miss the maida based pizzas at all (true story!) Everything from the gluten free food to the homemade cheese dishes is worth a try.

healthy cake nudo tjs

Healthy food that melts in your mouth and does not make you miss maida (or junk), Nudo at TJ’s Brew Works has our stamp of approval.

One of Pune’s first and, now iconic microbreweries, TJ’s Brew Works has introduced this menu as a collaboration to celebrate their 5th year. TJ Venkateshwaran, fondly known as TJ, founder of TJ’s Brew Works and partner Girish Monie met sometime back, and in a casual conversation discovered they shared similar ideologies about the healthy way of living. With Girish in the kitchen and TJ in the brewery, TJ’s Brew Works is here to spruce things up!

The 5th year anniversary celebrations at Tjs Brew Works on 1 July 2017.
The 5th year anniversary celebrations at TJs Brew Works on 2nd July 2017.

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