Simply Abu Dhabi XXIV

2 2 8 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I There are three menus presented at every meal time in SHA’s wonderful Shamadi restaurant. There is Kushi, Bio-light and SHA, with each menu specifically created to be in accordance with your aims, be it weight-loss, detox or just forming healthy habits. There is no meat (except seafood), no caffeine, no dairy, no sugar (which surreptitiously invades most food and drink these days) – and you don’t miss any of it! There is barley cereal coffee to replace the real thing or a huge range of tea. Everything that is harmful has a healthy alternative – and it all tastes amazing. The chefs are true artists. Some examples of the delicious haute cuisine dishes include marinated seitan mille-feuille with melon grille, sea bass with celery root purée and cashew nuts, tiger nuts, water cress and black turnip, or saffron risotto with mandarin and red prawns. The list could go on and on – the menu changes every day and meal times are filled with curiosity, learning and enjoyment. You lose weight and promote health while not feeling any sense of being deprived or missing out, which the legion of modern-day diets can provoke. The guests I spoke to all raved about the three diets – even the more restrictive Kushi diet, with relatively small portions, did not cause issues with guests and no one responded saying they felt hungry. As well as eating healthily, guests take advantage of the healthful activities and facilities at SHA. A typical day would consist of rising at 7am and doing some Nordic walking (walking with sticks for a full body workout) or taking a stroll to the El Faro Albir lighthouse – a great way to greet the day, watching the light change on the mountains and over the ocean until the sun is high in the sky and you feel full of positive energy.