HIIT Kitchen Food & Nutrition Review

I've been wanting to try this place for ages since they opened up in my town, as it's meant to be a healthier option! I've seen HIIT Kitchens pop up in London and is quite a popular place to go for lunch; these days, who doesn't want to have a healthier lifestyle? It offers healthier meals that apparently have been approved by nutritionists. So I went to check it out!

They offered a few meals such as Teriyaki Salmon, Chicken Caesar Salad, BBQ Chicken, Jerk Steak with Cauliflower Rice and Vegan Falafel, all of which are available to eat in or take away. There were also wraps such as Coronation Chicken Wrap, Halloumi Wrap and Salmon Wrap, and some light snacks such as Chickpeas & Halloumi, Protein Overnight Oats and Coconut Chia Pudding. Drinks that they offered included coconut water, sparkling energy water, protein water, Nocco BCAA caffeinated drinks and a variety of protein fruit smoothies.

You can order tea, coffee or smoothies at the counter, and they also serve different acai bowls and 'build your own' bread with toppings of your choice.

For me, I chose the BBQ Chicken meal, which had a few slices of chicken breast, sweet potato, broccoli, cabbage and sweet chilli sauce. In my opinion, it was a light and lean meal but not very filling, and the sauce was not like sweet chilli at all but it was nice and without the sauce the meal wouldn't have been as nice.

The nutritional values on the front of the pack state that the meal contained 658kcal, 9.5g of fat, 3g saturates, 41g sugar and 1g salt (in a 590g portion). From a nutrition graduate perspective, I somehow think that 658kcal is a bit high and doesn't really reflect the meal, as there wasn't that much carb in there - there was less than 100g of sweet potato in there, so that would only be about 70-80kcal, and a few slices of chicken breast would be about 80kcal, and vegetables are so low in calories. So I don't see how that adds up? 658kcal is like more than the amount of calories in a chicken curry with white rice! Anyway, it is a good meal if you're looking to lose weight for sure as it is quite balanced in terms of the amount of carbs, protein and portion of vegetables, but it's not really sustainable as you'd get hungry quite quickly - that's probably why there's healthy snack options next to them, like chia puddings and fruit smoothies as they know you'll get hungry! It was also quite pricey for the amount you get - £6.50 (£6 if taking out), but that's expected from these healthier cafes.

Overall, it was a healthier meal in general as there was less fat and carbs and the portion size was smaller, so suitable for people who want to lose weight or consume less. Sweet potato is a good alternative to carbs like rice and white potatoes despite having a slightly higher sugar level as it still provides energy, contains more fibre which is good for the gut, and it has a lower GI (the sugars are broken down slower to prevent a high peak in sugar levels). It also contains vitamin A which is good for your vision and immune system. Having chicken breast instead of chicken thighs or legs is a healthier option as it is the leaner part of the chicken, so reduces the fat content of the meal and provides protein (although they were a bit stingey with the chicken). There was a good amount of vegetables to get some vitamin Bs and minerals like potassium and magnesium in the diet.

I probably wouldn't buy the meal again (it would be more cost-saving to make my own healthy meal), but I would like to go back to try their acai bowls, coffee and maybe a protein smoothie! :) Thanks for reading my review, I hope you enjoyed it!

Carissa xxx

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