Summer bodies are made in winter apparently, which means I'm approximately three months too late for getting started on my Ibiza figure for this year. Whoops. Luckily there's a helping hand in the form of a new food-to-go company with a difference.
Pollen + Grace was founded by two friends - Stephanie Johnson and Kristina Komlosiova - from a frustration at a lack of lunchtime eating options, something I can get on board with given my bank statement at any given point looks like I have shares in Pret. The plan? T
To make food that would help Londoners heal, thrive and feel the best they possibly could.
An anti-diet if you will, Pollen + Grace are big on long-term, sustainable, healthy food choices to enrich the body. All of their products use only 100% natural ingredients and are free from gluten, wheat, dairy and refined sugars and approved by an in-house nutritionist. Sounds too good to be true, sounds a like if I attempted to make such grub it would be tasteless rubbish, but they've hit the nail on the head.
Each product is handmade at their Vauxhall kitchen before being delivered fresh to over 50 stores across London including Planet Organic, Harrods, Selfridges & Co, SOURCED market, Simply Fresh, PSYCLE and As Nature Intended. They also deliver straight to home or work Monday-Friday across zones 1-3, with sweet treats available nationwide.
I recently tried a few dishes from the range and elicited some major lunch envy from colleagues. The Alkaline Box of grilled organic prawns, creamy pea mash, detoxing courgetti and mooli salad with a wheatgrass salsa verde packed in the flavour punches whilst being surprisingly filling. The Power Pot of spinach and quinoa falafels with a creamy beetroot hummus is definitely something I'll be trying again, and would make a great summer BBQ snack - definitely a healthier alternative to what's usually served... Meanwhile one of their Beauty Bars - an antioxidant packed raw tahini bar enriched with acai and acerola superfruits - SAVED me from a mid-afternoon sugar slump.
With a new summer menu featuring delicious dishes like the Mango + Turmeric Chia Pot, the Mojo Bar (a deliciously, sweet caramel fudge crunch bar including maca, lucuma, ashwaganda superfood ingredients) and two new lunchboxes, including The Balance Box of crispy millet falafels and a deliciously tangy Thai basil dressing, it's worth seeking them out if you too are stuck in a lunch rut.
Check them out at www.pollenandgrace.com
Love Laurel x
