HYDERABAD: Finding good food is difficult. Now that most people understand the importance of eating well, they are on the lookout for healthy options but struggle to find the right place. This challenge inspired Sandeep Jangala, a young IT-professional-turned-entrepreneur, to start Yummy Bee, which provides delicious low-calorie food.
“Yummy Bee started with the goal of creating ‘Everyday desserts’ that are delicious, low in calories, and made using our ‘millet blend’. Whenever people think of ‘healthy’, the common perception is that it will be bad in taste. But here, we don’t compromise on that. Over the years, we have expanded beyond desserts to more food options like pizza, smoothies, pancakes, etc. We ensure that all our products are sugar-free, maida-free, and gluten-free. We also do not use any preservatives, artificial flavours, or colours,” he says.
Interestingly, Sandeep was part of the Indian under-19 cricket team as a teenager, which made him focus more on nutrition and fitness. “A lot of research and development happens around all our dishes before it goes on the menu. Each product takes a lot of time to develop, even 20-30 trials. We have a chef who is the ex-head of Magnolia Bakeries in India. We also have in-house nutritionists who help us understand the calorific value of a product,” shares Sandeep.
Yummy Bee opened its first outlet in Kukatpally a few years ago and recently opened its eighth location in Kokapet. The 40-seater place offers the best food but low on calories.
We started our guilt-free tasting session with Pan Seared Oats made with boiled oats, milk, cinnamon, and honey. Served with cashew cream blueberry compote, the dish packs a punch. Next, we enjoyed Paneer Poppers and Chicken Crisps. Both dishes, oven-roasted, were extra crunchy yet juicy inside. Their all-time favourite breakfast dish, the Avocado Smoothie Bowl, made with Greek yogurt, homemade cinnamon granola, sliced banana, and chia seeds, is a delight. From their mains section, we tried Coastal Prawns Curry Bowl and Chicken Tikka Pizza. The herb rice served with coastal-style prawn curry was delicious, and the millet-based pizza crust with juicy toppings was worth every penny.
We ended our guilt-free journey with tasty desserts. We had their bestselling Double Chocolate Brownies, Chocolate Truffle Pastry, and Mango and Cream. The highlight was the classic combination of mangoes and cream. The millet-based brownie made with their in-house millet blend and sugar-free chocolate was an absolute pleasure.
“We are moving forward towards guilt-free snacking options as well. We have just introduced Almond Rocks made with just two ingredients—almonds and vegan sugar-free chocolate—and Cashew & Oats Cookies, and Mini Choco Chip Cookies. Down the line, we want to expand around Kompally and then to other cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru,” concludes Sandeep.
