A year ago, Banting was a concept only known by a few, but the diet hype has grown so big in Port Elizabeth that retailers have had to accommodate it - or risk losing customers.
Como Cafe owner Minas Mandis said he had decided to add Banting meals to his menu after he noticed the number of customers who had come in requesting food with no carbohydrates.
"I began wondering what it was about. So I started researching it and along with my butchers and Pro Natural shop [which carried ingredients] we worked on a menu.
"What was important was making sure what I was giving my customers was something they could trust."
He said he had had Banting meals on his menu for three months now.
"It's a small menu, two breakfast and two lunch items, but very popular and we have received reviews from our customers.
"We are planning to expand it but, currently, we are focusing on those four items but people can always chop and change things because we do make everything from scratch here so we can customise meals," Mandis said.
Andrew Broughton, of 2 Fat Butchers in Walmer, said they had originally started making small batches of Banting sausages for people.
"But now we have a section dedicated to Banting, including our full Banting sausage.
"Basically what it is is just meat and spice, and we use a bit of egg to help bind."
He said the sausage was slightly more expensive because there were no bread crumbs in it and it was all meat.
"It's actually our biggest selling line at the moment, our sausage. We also have burgers that are acceptable for Banting customers."
Lecia and Linda de Villiers, of the Pro Natural health shop, said when Professor Tim Noakes's book first came out, they already had started sourcing products.
"We've been ahead of it. We sell everything from the raw ingredients if you want to do your own cooking, to ready-made Banting meals. We have pizza bases, wraps and everything.
"People who are working are delighted when they walk in here and can find authentic Banting meals," Linda said.
She said the problem was people were still learning to read their labels and what they thought was authentic was sometimes not.
"So make sure with our stuff, there is no sugar, no stabilisers, no preservatives, no starch in our yoghurts. We have only got the pure products."
Lecia said the store, in Main Road, Walmer, had everything from Banting ice-cream to cheesecake and toasting bread.
Shelley Strimling, of Hedges Coffee Shop, also in Walmer, said adding Banting meals to their menu was not planned but necessary due to demand.
"We had a lot of our regular customers, who started Banting, asking us for Banting-friendly meals. Because we do meals to your door, and we deliver meals daily, we had people asking us to replace their starch by using coconut oil.
"So we adapted our existing menu to accommodate Banters. So, if they come here for lunch, we replace their rice or bread with either caulimash or a vegetable, whatever they prefer."
She said some of their current customers had been getting food from Cape Town and Johannesburg before.
"They said it was costing a fortune and asked us to put a monthly menu together for them. We feed them seven days a week, for under R1000 a month [one meal a day]."
Strimling said every second person was now asking for Banting-type meals.
Klinicare pharmacies in the city have also dedicated shelf space to Banting, selling a few ingredients as well as the book.
Source: Herald via I-Net Bridge
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