Introducing SkinnyFresh!

Can you please tell us more about SkinnyFresh?
Skinny Fresh Is a delivery service designed to help you keep in shape and stay healthy, with an exciting menu to choose from.- Fresh, healthy, low calorie meals at the consumer’s convenience.

What is your mission and what products and or services do you offer?
Our Service is based on the belief that our customers’ needs are of the utmost importance. Our entire team is committed to meeting those needs. The mission of SkinnyFresh is actually quite simple and straight to the point. SkinnyFresh is on a mission to 1st of all change people’s attitude to eating healthy meals. We want to be able to meet the needs of individuals and organizations who are conscious of what they put into their bodies.

What inspired you to start SkinnyFresh?
The inspiration to start SkinnyFresh started taking shape about 2years ago when I moved back to Lagos. As someone who has a constant battle with weight gain, I found out very quickly that I couldn’t just walk into a grocery store or supermarket and get a healthy ready-meal. At parties, I found out that the typical Nigerian Salad was usually laden with very tasty (but) quite high calorie ingredients… (Like baked beans and salad cream…lol!)
The few stores that I could buy a prepared healthy meal or drinks from had products that where a little bit overpriced, and to be quite honest, I like to be sure that what I eat is prepared fresh on the day.
I soon found out that quite a number of people like me, wanted to eat healthy meals, and were usually too busy to prepare these meals themselves. A lot of people, like me, were also concerned with the quality of the food they were getting…I mean, how many people you know who will tell you, “I don’t eat salad outside.” I already work in the food industry as a caterer; so naturally, the idea took shape and grew. The final inspiration came from a weight loss support group I started called SkinnyChicks. The people on this group range from age 18 – 40. We have people who are size 8 and people that are size 20. We have people who are students, mothers, business women, homemakers. People whose personalities range from the extremely reserved to the crazy exhibitionists but guess what? We were, and still are all on a mission to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, to look good and feel good, to exercise more, and to support each other in achieving these goals. Some of us had food allergies or intolerances which made us feel lethargic or bloated and ALL of us have a love/hate relationship with carbohydrates! As a SkinnyChick I found it easier to stay healthy when I went abroad on short breaks to when I was here in Lagos. I decided that before the end of 2010, by hook or by crook, I would start SkinnyFresh. With a lot of prayers and motivation from my husband & friends, I started SkinnyFresh in November 2010. To be quite honest, I wasn’t fully prepared to start, this was just meant to be a trial run before the big launch next year, but Thank God, the response has been astounding and my customers inspire me to keep doing this.

What need do you feel you can meet in the Nigerian market?
SkinnyFresh will meet the needs of people who need to get their Skinny On! Seriously though, In Lagos, Most young professionals are up at the crack of dawn to get to work – usually without anytime for breakfast
Lunch and dinner will usually be a typical Nigerian Meal – lovely, but usually high in fat, starch and/or carbohydrates. For those of us wanting to stay fit & healthy, there is very little to choose from, when it comes to fresh, healthy and convenient food. This is where SkinnyFresh comes in. We want to make it easy and convenient for people to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. The 1st step is by eating healthily. This would make you feel better, and motivate you to make other healthy lifestyle changes.
So many people are increasingly concerned with keeping fit and healthy these days. You notice people jogging or going for walks on the street, gyms are getting busier. People are also more concerned about medical conditions, and are trying to prevent or control these conditions. Gone are the days when being a parent and having a job meant you had to look ‘old’… everybody wants to look good no matter their age. I have seen quite a few women in their fifties outrun me at the gym!
SkinnyFresh is For those that love good food, for those that want to be healthy, for those that need a change, for those that want hygienic food, for those that want to look good, for those that want to be – SkinnyFresh!

What do you think are Nigerian’s greatest dietary challenges?
I would say this. I am Nigerian, and I can tell you that we Nigerians….we like food too much! I mean Yam and egg in the morning? 3 wraps of Eba and Okra for Lunch? With maybe one gala sausage roll bought on the road washed down with a maltina, and then one would wack some more at a meeting or ‘branch’ on their way home for a drink and have small chops with that Star beer, and then go home and eat small rice and stew again. I see this everyday because my restaurant does corporate catering with quite a few companies, and sometimes we serve breakfast as well as dinner to the staff canteen. There’s only one way to put it, we like to WACK and I am guilty of the same.
A typical party in Nigeria must have more than one caterer. From my point of view as a caterer or a guest at a function, I have never understood why it is necessary to have so much food at these events. It’s like an all you can eat buffet! I could sit down at one table and wack deep-fried puff puff, Mosa, spring rolls, samosas, and then eat the typical plate of rice, moinmoin, meat, chicken, fish, a little Chinese on the side and of course the ‘o wanbe’ salad with baked beans in it. After this, I will be offered a variety of desserts, and then in an hour’s time, I will be offered snails, asun, barbecue, pepper soup, asaro, ofada rice and stew…
Our greatest dietary challenges (apart from our natural love of food) would be the following
• Our food is usually over cooked…over cooked food will lose most of its nutritional value
• We eat a lot of deep fried foods, and these days a lot of people are buying frozen or processed chicken meat or fish, which is usually preserved with chemicals. I can’t even begin to imagine what the long term damage of this would be.
• We don’t seem to exercise portion control; this may be for a number of reasons. Most of us are raised to finish what is on our plate. Some of us will eat too much because we don’t know where our next meal is coming from.
• We are a nation of go getters, and as a result a lot of people rely on fast food to keep them going through the day
• Even though we are blessed with a lot of delicious and nutritious fruits and vegetables, we rarely eat them. The lack of electricity also contributes to people not being able to store fresh food at home for consumption
• Our diet is very high in starch in carbohydrates

Since you are the woman behind skinny fresh, can you tell us about your wellness philosophy?
My philosophy is to love yourself just as you are. If you love your body, then you would be good to it. I generally try my best to eat healthy, and exercise regularly.

What if anything are your health and wellness routines?
On a good day, I would have a fruit smoothie or juice for breakfast, and then a healthy snack before lunch. For example, a piece of fruit, some nuts, an oat cookie or some Goji berries. Lunch would usually be a stir-fry or salad. I generally try to eat before 7pm but this is not always the case. I also prefer fresh food. The closer the food is to its natural state, the better. If I need to eat my favourite traditional foods, like Efo, okra and so on, I just make a healthier version, and we all enjoy this as a family.
I also avoid dairy and wheat as I find that they make me lethargic, and leave me feeling bloated. Cutting down on carbohydrates is a constant battle. I also work out. Currently I see my personal trainer for a 1hr kickboxing session at least twice a week. I also try to remain active by swimming, dancing, and running around with my kids.
Having said all this, it is never easy for me to exercise will power, but I realize now that if I do have a bad day, I can just start again. I take it one day at a time, knowing that this is a lifetime and a lifestyle decision, as opposed to a quick fix solution.
Have you ever personally struggled with a poor diet or have you changed your diet and seen results?
Of course I have and still do struggle with my diet! It’s not easy, especially as I am a real ‘foodie’, I am not crazy about exercise, and I love all the things that are bad for me! My weight has fluctuated over the last 10yrs from a UK size 22 to a UK size 14. I have tried all the fad diets, and finally I have come to a stage where I have learnt acceptance. I love the way I look, and I strive to be healthy, rather than striving to lose weight. I have lost about 10kgs since July from eating healthily and exercising more often.

How can people get Skinny fresh products? Will they be available in stores?
Currently, people can log unto www.skinnyfresh.com for more info on SkinnyFresh and to see the menu. Orders can be placed by calling 08050381937. We deliver on Lagos Island, VI, Ikoyi, and Lekki. We aim to deliver to the main land very soon. At the moment we are only offering a delivery service. We have plans to expand our products and services to the next level…I won’t divulge these plans now as I believe actions speak louder than words. What I can say for now is this – check SkinnyFresh out again this time 2011 and see just how far we’ve gone!