Dubai’s Eat Clean website makes ordering healthy food easier

Eat Clean is a new restaurant portal that makes it easier to search for and order from healthy food outlets in Dubai. Courtesy Eat Clean

There is no dearth of healthy food options in Dubai but sometimes finding gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free options can turn into a wild goose chase for health aficionados.

Dubai-based residents Elsy Azzam and Bassil Dibs have addressed the demand for a one-stop locator for healthy food restaurants in the country with their newly launched website eatcleanme.com. The online platform hosts more than 500 healthy eating choices from around town.

Users can customise the experience by including their nutritional requirements to access a curated list of restaurants based on preferences. The platform is backed by a call centre to handle customer queries about orders and allows them to track their delivery in real time.

The founders tell us why such a platform is the need of the hour.

Tell me something about yourself and your partner?

Elsy: Bassil and I are passionate about healthy living, and we both lead an active healthy lifestyle. We eat as clean as we can and work out regularly. He lifts weights while I enjoy Pilates.

How did the idea for the website come about?

The idea came to us out of pure frustration. Eating healthy in Dubai is not easy, and when you do want to eat healthy, you tend to order from the same places every single day. We believe that eating and living healthy shouldn’t be a struggle, and our platform serves that exact purpose. We designed the platform in a way that makes your healthy journey enjoyable and, more importantly, simple.

How is the website different from other restaurant aggregators in the UAE?

Some of the key differentiators Eat Clean enjoys is its curation of carefully selected food options and its advanced one-of-a-kind search capability. Customers can search according to their own preferences, be it by type of foods, dietary requirements, restaurants and any mix of the three. Moreover, another unique feature, unavailable anywhere else, is the ability to order from multiple restaurants at once.

How do you define clean eating?

Clean eating means consuming wholesome, nutritious foods. When you eat clean, you eat lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and lean proteins. It’s about balancing all food groups and not ruling any of them out. It’s about eating right, not eating less.

How do you decide what restaurants to collaborate with?

Bassil: We have screened the Dubai food scene to make sure the healthiest outlets, especially the more niche healthy joints, get uncovered by consumers and become more accessible to them. Furthermore, our team of nutritionists have not only handpicked each item sold on the platform from various menus but have also analysed their nutritional content which we have included on the site (calorie count and macronutrient breakdown such as the protein, carbs and fat).

When did you start your clean eating journey?

Elsy: I started my clean eating journey about three years ago. I have always aspired to eat clean to match my active lifestyle, but it was always challenging with so many unhealthy choices and absolutely no time to search for quick wholesome meals or better yet to prepare my own. I felt like my energy was low and I just wasn't feeling my best overall. This is when I started paying more attention to what went into my body and noticed that I was eating all the wrong foods. I changed up my diet and have seen amazing results since then.

Bassil: It all started when I began working and noticed that my eating habits were deteriorating as I would always go for the easiest and most convenient options. I started noticing that I was gaining some unhealthy weight in addition to feeling lethargic. This is when I started eating cleaner to boost my energy and mood overall.​

For more details, visit www.eatcleanme.com