LONDONERS have been doing it for years, Brighton folk do it every day, and I hear even the Scots take a break from their deep-fried Mars Bars from time to time to do it.

So why have we Swindonians - not often left behind when it comes to embracing a trend - been so slow to pick up on the idea of healthy takeaways?

Yeah, we've had The Core in Old Town serving up its juices and raw food for a while now, and there's Roosters doing its nutritional best from the bottom of town (although it's far too tempting to choose the piri piri chicken and fries over the halloumi or falafel), but when it comes to takeaway food it seems the good people of this town would rather swallow their body weight in pizza dough or wolf down a foot-long sub than opt for a little bit of goodness.

Enter Healthy Lane, the Morley Street takeaway joint opened by former microbiologist Tembi Huna in February. With her scientific background - she has no fewer than three science degrees to her name - Tembi's mission is to "get as many ingredients as possible in each serving, and to make sure people get as a much as possible out of it... nutrients, protein, some good carbohydrates".

And if all that sounds as appetising as munching on a piece of cardboard it's probably time you got up off the sofa and had a closer look. Because the food Tembi is dishing out might be nutritious and wholesome and all those other off-putting words, but it also tastes amazing, and surely that's all anyone is looking for when deciding what to order for lunch or take home for tea.

Her menu isn't massive. There's an extensive list of smoothies and juices, a handful of breakfast suggestions like gold blitz granola (£1.95) and porridge (£2.45), a choice of five wraps, the same number of salads, and hot options including a chicken and veggie stew (£5.95) and freshly baked sweet potatoes (£2.45 for a large one).

My colleague and I tried two options from the salad menu. First, the quinoa and tuna tabbouleh (£5.45); a bed of quinoa and shredded kale with chunks of avocado, tuna and cherry tomato laced through it, as well as black beans and spring onions. It didn't have a dressing but it didn't need one, there were so many flavours mingling together. A pinch of salt and a grind of pepper might not have gone amiss, but such things are easily remedied.

Our second choice was the chicken and pomegranate salad (£5.45); a griddled chicken breast laid over a colourful mix of pomegranate, cashew nuts, blueberries, sun dried tomatoes and baby spinach. The chicken had a wonderful chargrilled flavour, which, combined with the intense sun dried tomatoes and the little bursts of pomegranate freshness, offered a combination which would be hard to beat.

It only seemed fair to try a wrap from the menu too (well, one and a half lunches can't hurt when the food is so good for you, can it?). The grilled beef wrap (£5.45) was stuffed with beautifully tender meat and a whole spectrum of vegetables drizzled in the cafe's signature herby sauce. It was also perfectly parcelled in a special box, designed to hold everything together neatly. Top marks for dining at your desk.

We completed our lunch with a Detox Delight smoothie (£3.45) for me - a zingy mix of kale, lemon, pear and ginger, which I loved - and a Alkaliser smoothie (£3.45) for my pal, a vibrant green combo of cucumber lemon, celery, kale and spinach, which, I won't lie to you, tasted a bit like a freshly mown lawn. Not the most popular of our purchases, but four of five thumbs-ups ain't bad.

So far, so much good food. And then we come to the service.

Tembi is offering a telephone ordering service, but initially there was no reply when I called. I was impressed when she called back five minutes later to take my order, but less impressed when I got down to Morley Street from Old Town to find my order was running 20 minutes late due to a staff shortage. To be fair, she had called to let me know, but had rung through my work phone and, of course, I was already on the walk down the hill.

It was also a little annoying, having waited 20 minutes for her to freshly cook the food, to find out her card machine wasn't working and I needed to then go in search of a cash point.

Gripe number three came when she couldn't find any plastic forks to give me so offered spoons instead. Have you ever tried eating chicken and spinach with a spoon? It's not the easiest.

I offer these niggles by way of constructive criticism. These things alone wouldn't stop me going back, but if they happened a second or third time it might.

I hope I just got unlucky service-wise on my visit because a business like this deserves some recognition and support, and a loyal fan base who opt for a healthy wrap or nutritious salad over Maccy Ds at least once in a while.

There's a long way to go until Healthy Lane can rival the likes of EAT, Leon's or Itsu, all of which are feeding thousands of Londoners every day, but who's to say this healthy eating lark won't catch on? Go on, I dare you to give it a try.

Healthy Lane

31 Morley St, Swindon SN1 1SG

Tel: 07825 156958

www.healthylane.co.uk

Parking: in the Morley Street car park

Disabled access: yes

Adver ratings:

Food: 9/10

Choice: 7/10

Decor: n/a as takeaway only

Customer service: 7/10

Prices: from £2.95 for sandwiches to £5.45 for wraps and salads

TripAdvisor rating: not rated