Everything at this café feels good, tastes good and looks good too!

"To eat is a necessity but to eat intelligently is an art," said François de La Rochefoucauld, the man who was a great observer of human beings and their many faults!

Today, unfortunately, this art is getting lost in the world of artificial ingredients, flavours, stabilizers, preservatives, supplements and fast food. But there are a few people who've steadfastly hung on to their belief that eating intelligently is not just an art but a great pleasure too. That's something they're very sure of at the Vishwanand Nutrition Café, which offers healthy food to a range of people: from the younger generation looking for a quick snack, regular diners, those with specific nutritional needs, like diabetics, heart patients or those who're fighting fat.

Avanti Deshpande, nutritionist and GM of the café says, "We believe that even fast food can be absolutely healthy and delicious." Amongst other things, the café offers pav bhaji, pizza and bhel, but with a difference. The pav bhaji is made using pure cow-ghee and served with whole wheat bread; the pizza has a whole-wheat base topped with a nutritious cheese replacement while the bhel contains sprouts and low-fat namkeen made in authentic bhelwala style. "So you can eat these preparations without worrying about the kilos piling up or their ill effects on the body," Avanti promises.

The café has got experts from the field of ancient alternative medicines and dietetics to work on the menu. Nothing is deep-fried and non-stick pans are used. The namkeens are low fat (3% fat as against commercial namkeen with 40% fat); soya milk, curds and paneer are used. The other interesting feature is the use of ragi, bajra, rajgira and warai - traditionally known for their great nutritional qualities. Refined flour or maida simply does not feature anywhere. The café also uses a mix of three different oils in the proportion required by the body to increase its good cholesterol. The vegetables used are organically grown; refined sugar use is kept to a minimum.

The ambience of the café too is light and natural, with wooden furniture, open-air seating and a see-through kitchen. Medicinal plants form part of the décor, quietly creating an awareness of their numerous health benefits; warli paintings on the walls remind us of our robust, natural folk heritage.

The menu card has the entire nutritional profile of the dish/beverage/dessert, its health benefits and recommendations for a specific category of customers. All items on the menu card are priced between Rs. 10 and Rs. 50.

True to the promise of health, taste and variety, the café offers salads, sandwiches like the tofu sandwich, nachni (ragi) dosa, whole moong uttappam, ragi-bajra pulao, varai pancake, soya nuggets, paratha, misal and palak idli (prepared with wheat rava) among others. There are fresh fruit juices, herbal juices like the diabetic juice (Ramdevji Maharaj's recipe), tulsi adulsa juice, herbal tea, miscafé (coffee without caffeine) and milkshakes. The desserts include fruit salad and baked apple pie made from whole-wheat flour.

And if you want to carry some of the goodness home, baked namkeen, herbal tea, mouth freshener, soya biscuits, ragi cookies and miscafé powder are sold across the counter.

Vishwanand Nutrition Café, 44, Electra Chambers, Mukundnagar, opposite 3-D Destination Fun (Sujay Garden), Pune- 411 037, Phone: 24267331, Timings: 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Khursheed Dinshaw