WITH more choice comes more temptation. And here in Manchester, we’re saturated with choice.
Whack in a choice of lean protein, wholegrain carbs and a ton of veg and off you pop...
With umpteen new restaurant openings and an influx of young professional upstarts, our swelling city is breeding a new generation of, for want of a less shuddersome term, 'foodies'.
But how on earth is anyone supposed to eat healthily when, for the past few years, there’s been burger joints popping up on every corner, filthy food banging down our doors?
Still, Body Confidential is determined to eat clean in 2016 (no really this time), so we've stirred our way around the city's vast cooking pot to pick out the places in which to eat healthily this year.
God speed.
BEST FOR: Body Builders and 'shredders' who are looking for protein packed meals and a clean refuel.
At the height of the clean eating trend last year, back when bright yellow Protein World posters were bellowing 'Are You Beach Body Ready?!' at unsuspecting commuters, Bosu Body Bar emerged in Chorlton providing healthy salvation. Ran by a trio of personal trainers, the tiny 'protein bar' takes the build-your-own format we’ve come to know in places such as Subway, but instead built it around post-workout sustenance. Pick your protein to repair muscles, a base of clean-carbs for energy and a choice of any sides – a colourful cacophony of greens, yellow and purples veg. All for £6.50. £8.50 if you want to go King Size.
559 Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton, Manchester M21 8AN / 741 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, Manchester M21 8AN
BEST FOR: those looking to lower cholesterol
Here you can fill your belly with hummus, tabbouleh salads, baba ghanoush and falafel. Middle Eastern cuisine, doused in olive oil (the 'healthiest fat on earth'), has long been considered healthy, and new Lebanese restaurant, Bakchich, offers a rich selection of low-in-fat and rich-in-protein dishes to keep your diet in check. Choose from lean meat dishes such as chicken shish taouk and samek meshawi (grilled salmon), or bypass meat altogether and opt for dishes loaded with grains and legumes, such as the quinoa and sweet potato salad.
Unit 4, The Quadrangle, Chester Street, Manchester M1 5QS
BEST FOR: those who are gluten and dairy free
We’ve been hearing a lot about the miracle properties of Vietnamese soups recently. Corn Exchange's new Vietnamese outfit, Pho, claim their large bowls of bubbling bone broth can aid detoxing and help soothe hangovers. What's more, the soups are mainly gluten and dairy free, low in fat and packed with vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C, B3, B6, folate, iron and magnesium. Try the spicy green pho with chicken breast, or go for the 'super green' pho with green beans, morning glory and pak choi if you’re vegetarian or vegan.
Unit 15, The Corn Exchange, 37 Hanging Ditch,Manchester, M4 3TR
BEST FOR: vegans, juicers and healthy lunchers
Cowherds has become a hit with the health conscious and die-hard vegans here in Manchester. Working from a 'lunch wagon' next to the Grindsmith Coffee shed in Greengate Square, Cowherds are a dab hand at creating flavourful meat-free and healthy dishes (that look extremely Instagrammable) from their modest van; think chickpea, sweet potato and spinach curries, mushroom stroganoff, raw taco salads and much more. For all the avid juicers, Cowherds also offer juice cleanse programmes to help with detoxing.
Greengate Square, Victoria Bridge Street, Manchester M3 5AS
BEST FOR: Paleo and Atkins dieters
I know what you’re thinking: doesn’t Well Hung sell fatty beef dripping chips? Yes they do. Don’t order those. Still, with the Paleo and Atkins diet - where you avoid carbs and eat as much meat as possible - remaining a popular choice amongst dieters, the key is to pick good quality meat with healthy accompaniments. New to the The Kitchens, Leftbank, Well Hung do great steak salads made with fresh seasonal vegetables. All steak used is dry-aged for 28-days, which has been proven to be easier to digest and promote the development of good bacteria, which acts like a probiotic. To keep it light on calories, choose garlic bearnaise over blue cheese sauce and you'll be right on diet. And we reiterate, don’t eat the chips.
The Kitchens, Unit 5, Irwell Square, Spinningfields, Leftbank M33AG
BEST FOR: those following a Japanese inspired diet
The indigenous Okinawa islanders, situated at the southern tip of Japan in the Pacific Ocean, are reported to have the highest life expectancy in the world, with the average Okinawan living up to 100 years old. It's no wonder us Westerners are looking to mimic their diet with a similar calorie restricted diet focused around fish, pork and vegetables. Sakana on Peter Street is a great choice for people wanting to give this diet a go. Serving up a good selection of sashimi, teppanyaki and robata dishes, they pay particular attention to freshness and only serve when you're good and ready.
Sakana Pan Asian, 23 Peter Street, Manchester M2 5QR
BEST FOR: those attempting the 5:2 diet
Wahu are all about healthy food - making the lunchtime healthy snacking debacle a little easier if you work in the Spinningfields area. Wahu serve boxes of fresh dishes daily to your specification. Whack in a choice of lean protein, wholegrain carbs (from pita wraps to brown rice) and a ton of veg and off you pop. Guilt free.
1 The Avenue, Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3AP
BEST FOR: clean eating vegetarians
It’d feel wrong to write any Manchester health food list without a mention for veggie and vegan co-operative, Eighth Day. Dedicated clean-eaters will be comforted by the store’s fervent commitment to selling ethical, organic and fairtrade friendly produce. Stock up on organic vegetarian goods, before sampling some of their 100% vegetarian dishes in their café. Dishes include 'speciality quiches', stews, currys and soups.
111 Oxford Road, Manchester, M1 7DU
