Once considered off-limits for those watching their weight or blood sugar, guilty-pleasure foods are now being reimagined into healthier versions.
Think flavourful rice and succulent meat cooked to perfection with aromatic spices — but minus the dreaded insulin-spike a plate of biryani may cause.
Sweet tooths, there’s good news for you, too. Imagine a slab of chocolate that fits your macro intake, or a slice of melt-in-your mouth cheesecake that doesn’t crash your diet.
The culinary world is offering a variety of improvised dishes that the health conscious foodies can indulge in.
Guilt-free biryani for the diabetics
Biryani, generally considered carb-heavy, has long been a guilty pleasure for foodies and a complete no-go for diabetics. But Kolkata-based Awadhi dining chain Oudh 1590 is rewriting the rules. Their newly launched Diabetic-Friendly Biryani, introduced on July 23, offers the richness of traditional biryani minus the sugar spike.
Available in two options — Diabetic Murgh Biryani and Diabetic Subz Biryani — the dishes are made using parboiled rice, sweet potatoes, soya chunks, and other fibre-rich alternatives, as per certified diabetes expert Nidhi Prakash.
The Diabetic Murgh Biryani offers a lean, flavourful chicken biryani portioned at 400g per plate with a 200g recommended serving, offering a balanced macronutrient profile for mindful indulgence.
The Diabetic Subz Biryani is a fibre-rich vegetarian option, also 400g per plate with a 200g serving size, delivering nutrition without compromising on taste.
Chocolate that’s kind to your insulin levels
Ditch the Guilt, a farm-to-bar chocolate brand is making waves with its 100 per cent sugar-free, keto-friendly, antioxidant-rich chocolates.
Founded by Abhishek Shah and Lipika Inerkar Shah, the brand sources its cacao from Wayanad, Kerala, and produces bars using natural zero-calorie sweeteners without artificial aftertaste. Their secret lies in fermentation, careful roasting, and zero preservatives, creating a product that’s as clean as it is crave-worthy.
With a high healthy-fat and protein content, their chocolate works as a snack, dessert, or pre-workout boost.
Cheesecake can be healthy too
The idea of cheesecake might seem incompatible with any kind of health goal. But that’s changing fast, thanks to bakers developing low-sugar, gluten-free, and even vegan versions of the good-old dessert.
Take Ovenly, a boutique home bakery in Kolkata known for desserts made with ingredients like dates, oats, quinoa, and sweet potato. Their cheesecakes ditch processed sugars for natural sweeteners and often swap refined flours with almond or oat bases.
Bakeries like Bake My Wishes are gaining popularity for their diabetic-friendly cheesecakes, while Petit4s lets you customise your cake, with sugar-free, keto, or vegan options available.
Low-calorie ice cream scoops
Ice cream has been the ultimate comfort food since generations. But now, you can enjoy your favourite scoop without worrying about sugar overload. Major brands like Amul, Mother Dairy, and NIC are offering sugar-free ice creams in popular flavours like Kesar Almond, Tender Coconut, and Alphonso Mango, catering to both diabetics and the health-conscious.
Artisanal shops, too, are using innovation to churn out healthier options. Local Creamery in Ballygunge, for instance, crafts small-batch, dairy-free, and sugar-free ice creams with natural ingredients and sweeteners like stevia. Several branches of Bombay Kulfi now offer sugar-free kulfis without compromising on the creamy richness.
Rosogolla reinvented
No Bengali meal is complete without the serving of a rosogolla. But for diabetics, that sugar-laden syrup is often a no-no. That’s changing with the rise of diabetic-friendly rosogolla.
Several Kolkata-based sweet shops, including the big brands like Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick and K.C. Das, offer sugar-free versions of rosogolla, made using natural sugar substitutes like stevia or sucralose. These sweets retain the texture and lightness of the original but use a low-GI syrup that’s safer for those managing blood sugar.
