When it comes to convenience foods, it's all about maximum nutrient delivery in the easiest-to-eat package -- hence humanity's eternal devotion to smoothies and burritos.
Bowls are another all-star, and Della Bowls is planning to make their presence known here in Miami with a plant-based, fast casual concept, slated to open this summer.
See also: Vegan Pages, Plant-Based Professional Directory, Launches in Miami
The company is the brainchild of entrepreneur Della Heiman. She finished grad school in Boston last year, then made her way to Miami and fell in love with the city. Healthy food and easier accessibility have been on her mind for ages.
"The idea behind the concept is to make this kind of food more mainstream and more accessible," says Heiman. "I was really, really troubled by food accessibility in America, and for such a long time I was trying to think about different solutions."
"When I was in grad school I started playing around with this idea of developing a plant-based fast casual concept because as you can see fast casual is exploding in the states," she explains.
"So the question is, can you take those economics and that kind of assembly line format and operational efficiency and apply that to healthy food? That's where the concept came from."
The menu was developed with the help of consultant chefs, as well as blogger Gena Hamshaw of Choosing Raw and Jacob Anaya of Miami's OTC. Heiman and team have hosted several pop up events to garner feedback, and finalized the menu accordingly.
Heiman is also working closely with Miami's Juan Rochaix, owner of the foraging business Seriously Local.
Basically, the menu allows people to make their own bowls by choosing from five categories: base, protein, veggie, sauce and the optional boost. Bases are brown rice, quinoa and fresh greens; proteins are chickpeas, lentils, tofu and tempeh; veggies are marinated kale, crispy broccoli and sweet potatoes; and sauces are red (spicy almond pepper), orange (sweet citrus tahini), yellow (coconut curry cashew), green (walnut herb pesto) and gold (ginger tamari garlic). Boosts include raw roots, herbs, avocado, tomato, spicy sunflower seeds and toasted almonds.
Heiman is working to keep as many items locally sourced as possible.
There are also a selection of curated options, all internationally-inspired. There's a Green bowl with quinoa, lentils, broccoli, kale, herbs, avocado, almonds and green sauce; a Mediterranean bowl with brown rice, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, kale, raw roots, hummus and orange sauce; a Southwest bowl with greens, quinoa, tofu, sweet potatoes, tomato, sunflower seeds, avocado and red sauce and a Curry bowl with brown rice, tempeh, broccoli, raw roots, toasted almonds and yellow sauce.
The menu also includes desserts (the banana split with almond butter and shredded coconut flakes sounds like a winner), smoothies, juices and breakfast options, but the items are limited in number. The idea is to keep the concept simple, Heiman says.
"I think more than anything else, people are just surprised at how good this food tastes. Everybody wants to eat healthy, but they want to eat healthy in a way that makes sense with their lifestyle. They want it to be fast, they want it to taste good, they don't want to wait for a long time and they want it to be at a price that they can eat this way every day."
The price point is under $10, Heiman adds. The plan is to open their first location in downtown Miami, then expand to other locales throughout the city. They'll be open from morning until evening, and they'll offer delivery via app to Brickell, Wynwood, Midtown and the surrounding areas. They're hoping to open this summer.
From there, Heiman hopes to bring Della Bowls to areas across the country that are lacking in healthy, affordable food options. Because everybody deserves plant-based deliciousness in their lives.
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