Ever since my taste buds fell in love with a rather delicious
pumpkin shake at the WOW: Women of the world event (Please read: http://letsstalkfood.blogspot.in/2016/06/wow-what-evening.html),
I have so been looking forward to catching up NIDHI BHALLA, the woman behind
the vision turned successful reality BLEND!T.
Now I’ll have made this clear right in the beginning.
BLEND!T-Juice Bar, is no ordinary juice bar. We’re leaving behind the same old
juices and moving on to a totally new concept of fruit and vegetable
concoctions. Good for your health and happy time for your taste buds! I kid you
not!
To most people healthy eating means an immediate compromise on taste. This is where Blendit throws in a rather interesting twist! You get loads of nutrients power packed with a punch of yum! Take me for instance…even when I diet I do not want to give my taste buds on a one way ticket to snoresville. I want variety. I want good taste. At Blend!it you get an array of slurpalicious juices, smoothies, shakes, energy bars and shots that have you wishing every day was diet day! Their motto is “Health on the go” so even if you are a busy individual, you can make a little time to pick up your daily dose of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to go!
So we chat up right next to their colourful outlet in Carnival food court near Infopark.
There is an eye catching display of fresh fruits, veges and of course
a couple of trays of the latest addition to their menu. "That's wheatgrass"
explains Nidhi "We have introduced Health shots or shooter shots as we
like to call it, as part of our menu. We have wheat grass, bittergourd, turmeric
and others; each with their own special benefits. In fact, 30 ml of freshly
squeezed wheatgrass juice gives you the health benefits of 1 kg of green leafy vegetables!"
I vow to try out the shot asap!
To those of you who have their doubts
about what wheatgrass is, it is nothing but the young grass of a wheat plant. It
is extremely difficult to grow as it is quite prone to fungus attacks but in
controlled temperature and moisture conditions, it can thrive very well.
Blend!t has 100% home grown wheatgrass. “It was tough growing them in the
beginning. We had to throw away five to six trays of spoilt crop initially. But
now, we have got the hang of it” says Nidhi.
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| My favorite Pumpkin aka Ladoo shake |
A two month break from her hectic work schedule resulted in
plans for this unique concept finally coming to brick and mortar. A post
graduate in Tourism and Travel Management in IITM, work meant quite a lot of
travel. Both Nidhi and her husband love to travel and explore new places, delve
into their culture and experiment with their cooking concepts.
“Cooking is a
passion and creativity is in my blood. The idea of a juice bar with unique
concept was born a long time ago when my husband and I were travelling. We ‘ve
always had a passion towards bringing a new concept offering to Kochi and try
something interesting” she shares.
Scores of analysis came to point out that for the kind of
idea they had in mind, proximity to a large working crowd with busy schedules
and disposable income would be their best choice of location. And thus,
Carnival Food Court saw the launch of Blend!t’s first outlet on 11th May
2016. Nidhi and her husband made sure that the interiors of the outlet were
done up in bright colours and they have done justice to their project. When I
entered the food court, that neon green just stole my attention!
Nidhi is an all in all Travel and Tourism professional. “Blend!t”
she says “is my passion. It was an exciting process, setting up the outlet. There
was a lot of experimentation. A lot of learning. Sometimes, my husband and I would
skip dinner after trying out 6 or 7 large glasses of juice concoction
experiments!”
With all this talk of health, of course the topic turns to
how I can never get myself to diet and Nidhi offers a simple, yet effective
solution. This is another brand new product offering added to their health
bouquet: Detox Water.
Blend!t offers a weekly and monthly subscription
of ready to drink detox water with whole fruits, veges and herbs in a green tea
and/or water base prepared as per the needs of the customer. From weight loss
to boosting immunity and increasing metabolism, each detox water comprises of unique
ingredients, each with their own special nourishment to offer. “This does not
mean you skip out on your meals” advices Nidhi “You need to have your detox
water for a week at least and without pigging out on junk food replace it with
healthy, nutritious foods that compliment the healing process of the detox
water”.
What I liked the best however was the “Blend
your own” concept. Well, it means exactly what is says. If for some reason, you
have something different in mind from all the products on the menu, just say it
and it will be done! Your choice of fruits, veges and bases, all blitzed together
to form a drink that screams “YOU”!
All the chit chat parched our throats and the
ever wonderful host that Nidhi is springs into action. She orders up a number
of special drinks. I make a special request. You guessed it…the pumpkin shake! I
had to wait for my magic drink though because Nidhi approaches me with a shot
glass filled to the brim with a drink that looks like it might turn me into the
Incredible Hulk.
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| Wheatgrass shot |
It is bright green with a light foam on top in the palest
green and I squirm with nervousness. “Freshly squeezed wheatgrass juice! Just
chug it. Most people take it in sips but I would suggest you chug it like a
shot” says Nidhi with a smile. I force myself to think of the power of 1 kg of
green leafy vegetables and chug it. Now if you were a fan of eating grass as a
child…you are going to love this. Yes, I did enjoy eating grass as a child and
yes I loved the wheatgrass shot. It was light and sweet and had a pleasant grassy
smell and taste without a bitter aftershock! It totally reminded me of my grass
chewing days and of how Remy from Ratatouille squeezed juice from a blade of
sweet grass onto his special mushroom! All that anxiety for nothing! I do
recommend this shot!
We move onto the “Carrot Sin”. For such a name,
the drink looked innocently orange! Thick and luscious too I might add! The first
slurp hits you square in the tongue with fresh carrot and then the carrot
slowly dissipates into the smallest of nibbles from Cinnamon.
 |
| Carrot Sin |
This was quite an
enjoyable drink. I wouldn’t say no to it chilled or warm. On a rainy day, a
steaming bowl of sin would work out fine for me!
And then I see my favourite drink approaching!
The Pumpkin Shake. I just don’t understand how a modest vegetable like the
Pumpkin could taste like an ethnic DJ night! One sip and I get a mouthful of
what surprisingly tastes just like BOONDI LADOO! I am telling you I close my
eyes and it feels like I am sipping a glass of blitzed ladoo! This drink is
undoubtedly my utmost favourite from the lot! Pat on the back Nidhi!
We taste an energy bar in between and I must
say, the fantastic dance of flavours made me focus on the fun more than the
actual tasting! I tasted a post work out energy bar. Nidhi suggests energy bars
with oats and wheat base for pre work
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| Post work out energy bar |
out. This helps boost metabolism. Nuts are
best post work out. The energy bar was nutilicious! I took a sip of carrot sin
and then a bite of the bar and it tasted like brinjal!! A sip of ladoo…erm…I mean
pumpkin and it tasted like bananas! The wonders of the human tongue I tell you!
So much fun when it’s confused!
We ended the evening on a light note with a
Strawberry Mojito. I have to say pink is a weakness for me and this drink was
so pretty! Candy pink strawberry syrup comprised the bottom layer and the
sparkling soda the top. There were wedges of lime and a smattering of mint
leaves. It was a refreshing sip of happy pink (yes, I can go on and on about
that colour!). The only suggestion I had was to add in a few more lime wedges
because I love the acidity of the lime cutting the sweetness of the syrup and
more mint leaves that bruised rather than chopped. This releases the aromatic
oils better and a fresh hit of mint of at the end leaves the mojito lover
completely refreshed!
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| Pretty in Pink Strawberry Mojito |
I see a big future in store for Nidhi and
Blend!t. Apart from expansion, she plans on introducing a medley of unique
items ranging from fruit ice pops to fruit based snacks and several more
blended juice concoctions. With Nidhi’s ever active taste for unique concepts,
there is a tea boutique in the pipeline. We can’t wait for more from you Nidhi…in
the meantime, I’ll have another blitzed ladoo!
Contact Blend!t at: 09645360114
Check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/blenditbar/
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