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20th December 2016
12:10am GMT
Most of us try out best to eat healthily but it's not always easy when the convenient options are often the bad options. However, Dublin has been really embracing healthy and alternative food more and more in recent years, and the most recent addition is already one of my favourites.
Alchemy, situated upstairs in BT2 on Grafton Street, is the last word in healthy eating. It's another offering from Domini and Peaches Kemp (the ladies behind Itsa Bagel, Joe's Coffee and Hatch & Sons). Literally everything they put into the food and drink in Alchemy is carefully considered and you can rest assured that no matter what you pick from the selection of salads, snacks and drinks on offer, it's going to be highly nutritious and jam packed with superfoods. I had popped into Alchemy briefly before for a juice but wasn't aware of the lunch options on offer, it was only when I saw people tweeting pictures of their lunches from there that I decided to go back and check it out for myself.
The lunch menu had so many interesting options that I just decided to order a bunch of things and try a little bit of everything. I started off with a miso soup which is unbelievably good for your digestion, it's a light broth so is a nice add on to your lunch if you feel supercharging your lunch without spoiling your appetite. Honestly, this was definitely way nicer than any other miso soup I've had in Dublin before. It had a lovely gingery taste to it and was a little spicy so definitely a nice little winter warmer when you're perishing from the cold.
I decided to try the cabbage rolls stuffed with quinoa, mainly because I hadn't seen anything like them in Dublin before. Again this had miso in it so it had a sharp, almost vinegary flavour to it which I loved because I'm a big fan of sour foods. The cabbage rolls were packed with quinoa (which is a great source of vegetarian protein), veggies, sea vegetables and was sprinkled with sesame seeds. I really enjoyed this and felt so good afterwards, no 3pm slump! This and the miso would definitely have been enough for a lunch.
The Paleo Power salad with a nut loaf and beetroot slaw was DIVINE! I really liked this and would probably say it was my favourite of the lot. It's filling without making you feel sluggish, and honestly the nut loaf tasted almost meaty... It's definitely the dish to convert a dedicated carnivore.
I took a brownie to go with me, happy in the knowledge I that I could fulfil my chocoholic needs without the guilt. Their brownies are filled with the good stuff such as almond flour, chia seeds, eggs, dark chocolate and coconut sugar. However the brownies were really expensive at €5.50 a piece which most people won't be willing to spring for, but I think the price is reflective of the expensive ingredients used. And to be fair, it was one of the nicest, fudgiest brownies I've ever had... If only I could get my mitts on the recipe!
The juices are great with the beetroot one being my favourite so far, but I'm yet to try them all. I think Alchemy is a great addition to the Dublin food scene. Despite the seating available it's definitely more of a takeaway spot, as the canteen style seating isn't the cosiest and the salads are all prepackaged so if you're sitting down you won't be eating from plates, but from the boxes they're packed in. However, I was really happy with everything I tried and am already planning to go back this week for another boost of the good stuff. This is the place that die-hard health and fitness fanatics around the city have been waiting for!
