Globally, people are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and the associated benefits both mentally and physically. Healthy lifestyle choices are being embraced into our everyday lives creating healthier habits that can ultimately lead to a longer, happier life with a decreased risk of disease, and discomfort.
Diet choices are a cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle, as what we eat directly impacts our physical health, energy levels, mental well-being, and longevity. A balanced diet provides essential nutrients, fuels the body with energy, and helps prevent a whole host of diseases. Dietary lifestyle choices refer to specific, often intentional ways of eating that align with personal health goals, ethical beliefs, or lifestyle preferences. These choices can include plant- based diets (like vegetarian or vegan), low-carb or ketogenic diets, gluten-free, diary-free, or whole-food-focused diets, as well as cultural dietary practices.
Maintaining a dietary regimen can be challenging when traveling, as it often means adapting to
new environments, unfamiliar foods, and limited availability of the foods you require to enable
you to stick to your healthy eating patterns. Holidays also prevent an array of temptations,
making it easier to indulge or deviate from healthy eating patterns.
Amilla Maldives’ ethos of inclusive and fully customisable travel helps ensure that lifestyle
preferences can be adhered to throughout your stay.
The customised lifestyle plan begins before you arrive. The resort sends an extensive preference form to each guest so that they can prepare a unique experience tailored to their lifestyle preferences. This includes questions on the type of pillow and how to make up the bed, to ensure a good night’s rest, beverage preferences, allergies and diet preferences and the type of holiday experience the guest is looking for. Each holiday experience can be curated down to the finest detail, with nothing overlooked setting the tone for a relaxing and rejuvenating holiday stay.
On arrival, your welcome begins with a fresh coconut (Kurumba). Coconut is 94% water, so this helps replenish fluids lost during your journey. Coconut water contains vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants which help neutralize oxidative stress, free radicals and boost the immune system, which means your holiday is off to a great start. The resort has an abundance of coconut palms making access to coconut water, and the goodness contained in the succulent flesh, an easy task.
In your villa, you are greeted with a tempting array of mouth-watering amenities and a well-
stocked mini bar which includes all your favourites, plus extras such as vegan and sugar free
chocolate bars and a selection of additive free nuts and crisps.
Offering a range of dining plans and seven restaurant options, guests have plenty of choices for both lunch and dinner selections, which feature authentic Maldivian dishes, locally sourced ingredients and international cuisines.
Fresh and local ingredients form the foundation of the carefully crafted lifestyle choice menus available in the resort, covering vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, and low-carb, keto, and paleo offerings. Dishes featuring homegrown to homemade items are selected from one of the island gardens. Fresh salad greens gathered daily from the hydroponic garden, coupled with fragrant herbs and spices gathered from beds in the central garden, an area of serenity and aromas that provide a restful interlude as you pass by. Take time to wander through the expansive aromatic gardens, which include beds of aloe vera that can be plucked by those who have received too many of the sun's warming rays!
Information on the dining options and dietary choices available at each of the outlets are easily accessible on the handy Amilla app. allowing guests to make informed choices throughout their stay. If moving from the memorizing panoramic view from the sun deck is too challenging, then there is a dine-in option that provides an all-day menu, plus all day vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and keto menus, so there is plenty to choose from whatever your dietary lifestyle preference may be.
The resort has seven dining options that take diners on a culinary journey. From homemade pizza and pastas synonymous to true Italian fare at Borolo and Joes Pizza, through to the rich pleasures and traditional Greek eating styles of Tessera, the enchanting and aromatic spices of East, and onwards to the scenic overwater deck of Feeling Koi, which brims with sea life both beneath the feet and on the plate, as platters of fresh fish, sushi and sashimi fight for attention against the darting fish below, and the stunning Maldivian sunset above, before it dips beyond the horizon to transform into a stargazers paradise .
Each of the dining outlets has separate menu tabs for the distinctive dietary lifestyle choice menus offered, covering vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, and low-carb, keto and paleo offerings. Dishes are made from homemade infusions, pickle and spice combinations, almond and flaxseed flour and konjac rice and noodles. Konjac is a popular feature on the gluten free menus due to it being a rich source of dietary fibre with a low calorific content.
The ice cream and beverage menus also have plenty of choices with sugar-free options, non- alcoholic concoctions, intriguing infusions, prebiotic sodas, and wine selections that include organic, vegan and kosher options.
Fresh is where the day begins, and where you find an expansive breakfast to fuel your day. Breakfast is served between 7am to 11am and is a sumptuous feast with superfoods and healthy elixirs in abundance. Start the day with a Charcoal elixir, choices of digestion and immunity boosters, homemade kombucha, fresh juices or smoothies, before moving on to nutritious breakfast pots of goodness, platters of fresh fruits, a never-ending display of salads, meats, cheeses and hot dishes, plus the temptations beckoning from the bread and pastry corner.
If temptation from the buffet proves too much, you can sit and sip your beverage of choice under the coconut palms as you select from the extensive a ‘la carte menu which includes eggs of all combinations, dim sum baskets and different congee.
No matter what type of dietary lifestyle you choose to maintain whilst on holiday, Amilla has it covered, allowing you to reap the rewards of a lush island paradise, crystal-clear waters and soothing rays of the sun that envelop you in a calming embrace, relaxing and rejuvenating from head to toe.
All photos; Amilla Maldives
Janet Smailes
With a strong hospitality background, Janet brings her operational expertise into everything she does; supporting, training, and encouraging both local talent and others within the hospitality field. Originally from Yorkshire in England, Janet has spent the best part of the last ten years in the Maldives, becoming attuned to the logistical challenges, climate implications, particularly within the food sector, and the fragility of the ecosystem.
