I have been trying to lose weight for as long as I can remember. I am still my own enemy as I always veer away from the tracks, but the thing is that, I refuse to give up completely, so even if I haven't reached my goal yet, I am always trying my best to keep up and start again whenever I stumble.
Part of managing the weight is to find ways to eat correctly. I admit, it is difficult for me to do because I have always had a hearty appetite since I was young, but I am happy that as more and more restaurants open, some of those cater to healthy eating - like the newly opened Zigla! at Robinson's Place Magnolia.
Last Saturday, together with some blogger pals, we attended the opening of Zigla! and of course, that included sampling their dishes, too!
One thing to take note of is how open their space is. Every food is prepared in front of you, and even if some ingredients are already prepared beforehand, the meats are still raw to ensure freshness.
Speaking of freshness, Zigla! only uses beef from grass-fed cows, free-range chicken, and farm-fresh organic vegetables.
The food are cooked en papillote - a method of cooking in which the food is placed and sealed in parchment paper before baking.
Zigla!'s menu are divided into three categories - rice, pasta, and classics (bread). Here are the dishes we tried:
E.C. Rice 
e.c. ChickenHigh-fiber gluten-free black rice + free-range chicken + barbecue sauce with EFA and fiber (300 cal)The only time I got to taste black rice was when someone gave us some "pirurutong rice," but we don't cook and eat it as is, what we did was add a handful of this black rice into the regular white rice. I have tasted brown rice and found it to have a nutty taste, so tasting this I was already prepared to taste the same. Surprisingly, I found the black rice much better than the brown rice because it was softer - kinda like eating binatog. Anyway, the barbecue sauce was a tad sweeter for my taste, but my companions loved this so much.
e.c. SalmonHigh-fiber gluten-free black rice + salmon + pesto with EFA and fiber (300cal)I was blown away by this dish. I didn't know pesto and salmon would taste great together!
e.c. BeefHigh-fiber gluten-free black rice + grass-fed beef + teriyaki sauce with EFA and fiber (300 cal)I loved the salmon, but this was the best dish! The beef was tender and flavorful and the teriyaki sauce just went well with the rice, beef and the veggies.
E.C. Pasta
e.c. Spaghetti with Salmongluten-free spaghetti + salmon + pesto with EFA and fiber (300cal)It's practically the same with the e.c. Salmon except that this one had spaghetti instead of rice.
e.c. Spaghetti with Meatballsgluten-free spaghetti + meatballs + pomodoro with EFA and fiber (300cal)I forgot to ask what meat they used for the meatballs, but it tasted a little different for me because it didn't have any salt in it. Not my favorite dish, but it was okay.
e.c. Spaghetti with ChickenGluten-free spaghetti + free-range chicken + pesto with EFA and fiber (300cal)We all know that chicken and pesto is the usual food pair, and this tasted pretty much the same, but the raisins, chia seeds, and goji berries added some texture and taste.
E.C. Classics
e.c. High-Fiber Burger SliderHigh-fiber slider bun + beef patty + homemade catsup and mayo (269cal)The patty tasted the same like the meatballs. This is a small sandwich (of course, it's a slider), but it was surprisingly enough to satisfy the tummy.
e.c. Chicken SandwichWe forgot to ask what bread they used for this sandwich, and because I opted not to taste it (as I had the burger), I have no comment for this sandwich.
e.c Juice BlendsBlended with fresh veggie-fruit fiber, pH-adjusted, non-acidic.
To quench the thirst, they offer freshly made juices in different combinations
- Yellow - pineapple + apple + celery + lemon (100cal)
- Orange - orange + carrots + celery + lemon (100cal)
- Green - kale + parsley + apple + lemon (100cal)
- Red - beets + turnips + carrots + ginger (100cal)
They also offer
Kombucha Tea (13cal) and
Kombucha Ginger (30cal), but both Kombucha tea drinks tasted too sour for my taste. To go with my food, I went for the Green Juice Blends, which at first tasted bland. These juice blends don't have added sugar, and it only relies to its natural sweetness. Well, my drink did start tasteless, but as I sip more and more of it, I got to appreciate the natural sweetness, which I think came mostly from the apples.
Classic Chocolate Cookiessugarless, gluten-free, high fiber cookiesOne of the people behind Zigla! is Annabel Tanco, who is the owner of Bizu Patisserie. Because of that, Zigla! also offer different kinds of breads and cookies, although the ones sold at Zigla! are high-fiber, some even sugarless and gluten-free. I got to taste the dark chocolate cookies and the classic chocolate cookies, which are totally different from the usual chocolate cookies I have tasted.
Zigla! combines three essential things to promote healthy eating - high-fiber carbs + lean protein + essential fats. The people Zigla! wants us to take care of our bodies just like we take care of certain things we own (like a car, a pet) - that if we care so much to the things we own by buying only the best accessories and whatnots, we should also take care of our bodies by eating correctly. Zigla! follows a paleo-esque way of eating, because they believe that to eat correctly is to eat paleo.
By the way, the combinations for the dishes can be altered to your taste. Basically, the e.c Rice and e.c. Pasta dishes all have 300 calories, which are broken down into three - 100 calories for the carbs, 100 calories for the meat, and 100 calories for the sauce and the veggies. Now, if you want to go for beef but prefer to have pesto or barbecue sauce instead of teriyaki, you can just request it and they will prepare it for you. One thing to know, the protein used in the dishes don't have salt, so don't get surprised if it would taste bland. If you want to have your protein seasoned, please request for them to season it for you.
Zigla! is located at the food court of Robinson's Magnolia, and next month another branch will open at Zuellig in Makati.
