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The diet delivery service for fussy healthistas – whether you’re paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free or all of the above!

A diet delivery service that welcomes fussy eaters with a catalogue of healthy diet demands sounds like pipe dream. But that’s what Total Diet Food claim to do. Anna Magee – paleo, gluten, wheat, sugar, grain (except oats) and dairy (except Greek yoghurt)-free – tried it out

I have never been one for diet delivery services. Even if I could afford one – which I can’t – I have always thought of them as a bit like eating yesterday’s food today. They fill me with anxiety – what if they don’t prepare as well as me? Where does the food come from? Did the animal have a nice life? Will they even get that I am paleo, gluten, wheat, sugar and caffeine free and only eat one type of dairy food, full fat Greek yoghurt? (I kid you not).

When I was asked to review Total Diet Food (TDF), I warned founder Ben Davidson that I would be a tough case. ‘We love a challenge,’ he said, adding that TDF specialise in my type of fussy healthy eater with not only one exclusion but a whole catalogue of them. He listened with relish as I described the nuances of my healthy diet – all clients get a long phone call with him  before they start.

I am grain-free. I eat yoghurt but no other dairy. I don’t have caffeine, except the odd cup of green tea. Oh and I don’t want any sparrow portions, thanks very much. I exercise, lift weights and need my protein. Oh and other than oats, which I have a couple of times a week on big training days, I haven’t eaten a carb since 1992.

We agreed I would try out TDF for three days. At TDF, Ben or his wife Maria will consult with users in the phone about their needs. Mine was weight maintenance, brain food and energy to get me through my crazeee long days. I don’t want to lose weight but I don’t want to put it on. I want better skin, more spring in my step. Surely his delivery service can deliver those too each morning in controlled portions?

The next day I received an email confirming the diet. It said:

‘As discussed and from the information you have given us regarding your height, weight etc and calculate that you need 1550 calories per day to lose weight at the optimum healthy rate. We will deliver a plan of within 150 calories of this level.

· Paleo Principles
· No Grains
· No Processed foods
· Legumes OK
· No Dairy – some yoghurt OK
· Oats OK’

The food was delivered each evening between midnight and 6.30am on my doorstep. The first day, the biggest surprise was the sheer volume of the food.

I forgot to take a pic of everything together on the first day but this is a typical delivery on my type of 1550 calorie-a-day plan
I forgot to take a pic of everything together on the first day but this is a typical delivery on my type of 1550 calorie-a-day plan – three meals and two portioned snacks

 

 

Herein lay the genius of TDF: they provide so much food within your calorie allowance that you simply don’t believe you’re on a diet. The best way to illustrate this is to show you some of my favourite meals from the three day trial

BREAKFASTS:

Blueberry oatmeal
Blueberry oatmeal

 

Delicious and sweetened only by the blueberries themselves – all of TDF’s fruit and vegetables are sources from local London markets.

Free range eggs with asparagus and sun-blushed tomato frittata and roasted tomato
Free range eggs with asparagus and sun-blushed tomato frittata and roasted tomato

This was my favourite breakfast and was probably the moment I began to come around to the idea of a diet delivery service like TDF. If it’s all cooked from scratch – every last bit of it – as this one is (by Ben’s wife, Maria who is a nutritionist) and calculated to the calories you need. Indeed, one of the key pluses was that TDF delivered the kind of proper cooked food most people would never dream of making at lunch or breakfast. Who makes a frittata at breakfast? I can barely muster up scrambled eggs and tend to boil my eggs the night before!

LUNCH

Marinated Turkey breast with julienne vegetables salad and spice yoghurt dressing
Marinated Turkey breast with julienne vegetables salad and spice yoghurt dressing

The lunches were generous and lush with the kind of prep that I would never go to the trouble of doing myself.

IMG_2174
Grilled chicken salad with mixed herbs dressing

SNACKS 

Raspberry yoghurt
Raspberry yoghurt

Nothing but raspberries (sweet ones) and yoghurt

Tomato salsa with vegetable crudités
Tomato salsa with vegetable crudités

DINNERS

Beef Strongaoff served with celeriac, cauliflower, curly kale and green beans
Beef Strongaoff served with celeriac, cauliflower, curly kale and green beans

 

There was also an Asian Pesto Chicken with bean sprouts, mange tout, broccoli and pak choi which I forgot to photograph (as I was at Kew Gardens watching Elvis Costello!) but its Asian pesto dressing was so delicious I stole you the recipe:

1 heaped teaspoon green chilli – chopped

8 garlic coves

2 tablespoon chopped shallots

2 cups ground nut oil

1 lemongrass – chopped

½ cup macadamia nuts

Juice of 1 ½ lime

1 cup fresh basil

1 cup fresh coriander

1 cup fresh mint

–        Blend all ingredients in food processor and keep refrigerated

My favourite meal in the series, Spiced sea bream with stir fried vegetables, tender stem broccoli and pak choi
My favourite meal in the series, spiced sea bream with stir fried vegetables, tender stem broccoli and pak choi

My favourite meal, this spiced sea bream illustrates two things that surprised me about TDF: the portions (look at the size of it!) and the sheer detail in the preparation. I would never have the patience to prepare food like this after work – it’s usually steamed something or other and vegetables with a few herbs if I am lucky. Having something proper gourmet at home ready to simply warm up was fabulous to come home to (most nights I wouldn’t be home before 8pm) and added more finesse to my dates with Jon Snow than my usual quickly prepared dinners.

Would I pay for it? This was a free trial but to be honest, the price (it starts from £29.99 a day) isn’t as exorbitant as I expected. If I could spare it and I was in the midst of particularly hellish time at work and couldn’t prepare my own food, I would. During the trial I felt cared for by Ben and the team and all my outrageous dietary needs were catered for in detail. I never felt hungry. The food was freshly prepared, local and ticked all my substantial diet demands. For fussy, picky healthista types (with reasonably deepish pockets) I would recommend it.

They deliver anywhere in London. Find out more at totaldietfood.com

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