NOT only business partners but also partners in life, Chingkay Alix Omega-Floro and Mark Wayne Noel Floro are working hand in hand to reach their goal to empower everyone to live a healthy lifestyle, one counted-calorie meal at a time.
It all started when Chingkay obediently followed her doctor’s advice to go on a diet or suffer a lifetime of medication due to her high cholesterol. Though she was obliged to eat healthy, as a gastronome and culinary arts graduate, she still wanted her food to be mouthwatering and presentable. So, she recreated some healthy recipes and added some twist to them that suited her palate.
After a month of clean eating, Chingkay’s cholesterol went back to normal and she even lost 30 pounds. It made her fit and healthy. Because of clean eating’s positive results, Chingkay’s friends then asked her about her secret. This encouraged her to start offering counted-calorie meals through her Instagram account back in 2016.
With good feedback, an overwhelming number of orders and a growing clientele, the couple decided to take the diet meal delivery business to a new level, thus, opening their first kiosk and naming it LowCal Salad + Wraps in Robinsons Cybergate in 2018. This was followed by the opening of their first store in Robinsons Fuente just recently. The brand offers quality and affordable calorie-counted meals, thanks to Chingkay’s cooking and food preparation skills and Mark’s expertise as a former cruise ship food and beverage supervisor.
“We want to make healthy food available and affordable to everyone. We’ve seen people exercising at the Cebu City Sports Complex but end up eating at fast-food chains after, which completely defeats the purpose of exercising. That’s why we’re offering our products as affordable as possible, with a fast-food kind of service to keep up with today’s fast-paced life,” explained Chingkay.
LowCal Salad + Wraps’ first store in Robinsons Fuente features colorful murals both inside and outside. There’s a little window for orders to go, and a black and white striped overhang. Because of its grab-and-go concept, the store is just narrow but spacious enough for those who are waiting for their orders and for those who prefer to dine-in.
One must try its Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, Beef Taco Salad, Grilled Chicken Teriyaki Wrap, Roast Beef Wrap and Fresh Vietnamese Roll. A meal would not be complete without a dessert, so give its Choco Chip Oatmeal Cookie, Banana Bread and Lowcal Fudge Brownies a try. Of course, the desserts are also calorie-counted. To add, there are also rice bowls utilizing brown rice instead of white rice since customers have requested for it.
Chingkay made sure that everything the brand offers are healthy, as the food aren’t fried or prepared with artificial flavorings, MSG and even cooking oil.
“For our meat, we only either sear, bake or grill,” she said.
Clean eating is the way to a healthier lifestyle. According to Mark, “eat healthy, live happy.”
LowCal Salad + Wraps branches are open every day from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m.