My top 5 favorite healthy and affordable “fast-casual” restaurants in LA by Certified Health Coach Sofia Klof!
LA makes use of locally-grown produce, quality meats, and seafood, there’s no reason to believe that sacrifice has to be part of being healthy. Long gone are the days of juice cleanses, small portions, and bland food.
For your clean-eating convenience, here are 5 fast-casual restaurants with delicious food that just happens to be healthy:
Fast Casual Modern Mexican Restaurant.
The mostly organic menu is made fresh to order by a chef team which, at the new locations, is visible to the front of house.
The Mexican-influenced menu includes salads, bowls, tacos, and burritos. All bases are vegan with the option of adding chef-recommended proteins or cheeses to each dish.
They have plant based and low-carb options such as the “cauliflower rice” and guilt-free cassava tortillas. Also, vegan picadillo and vegan chickn’ for plant based protein options.
Their meat and fish is locally sourced and 100% free of hormones, steroids, and antibiotics.
Vegan, Vegetarian, and gluten free options.
My order:
Keto Bowl (Spanish-style cauliflower rice, sautéed tri-color peppers, jalapeño-cabbage, avocado, black olives, and arbol salsa)
Plantain Chips & Vegan Queso
2. CAVA
Greek inspired fast casual restaurant.
Vegan and gluten free options.
Cava Grill started in the Washington D.C. area and has since expanded to 20+ locations around the U.S., thanks to raising $60-million in funding their first year.
They have Mediterranean favorites such as hummus, pita bread, and lamb and harissa honey chicken.
Cava delivers on that feel-good promise in a real and transparent way. On the back wall of the restaurant, the names of their local partner farms for both their produce and meat are displayed, along with the charities they’re currently supporting.
My order:
Build Your Own Greens + Grains Bowl
(Half Supergreens + Half “Right Rice”, Tzatziki, Harissa Honey Chicken, Shredded Romaine, Cabbage Slaw, Diced Cucumber, and Kalamata Olives with Lemon Herb Tahini Drizzle)
3. SWEETGREEN
Founded in 2007, sweetgreen is a destination for simple, seasonal, healthy food. They believe the choices we make about what we eat, where it comes from and how it’s prepared have a direct and powerful impact on the health of individuals, communities and the environment. That’s why they’re building a transparent supply network, why they cook from scratch, and why they’re building a community of people who support real food.
They’re committed to supporting small and mid-size growers who are farming sustainably, to creating transparency around what’s in your food and where it came from, and to creating more accessibility to healthy, real food for more people.
My order:
Guacamole Greens Salad
(Roasted chicken, avocado, tomatoes, red onions, shredded cabbage, tortilla chips, spring mix, chopped romaine, lime squeeze, lime cilantro jalapeño vinaigrette)
4. SWEETFIN
Sweetfin’s Mission Statement:
HEALTHFUL, CHEF-DRIVEN POKE MADE WITH LOCAL PRODUCE, SUSTAINABLE FISH, AND INNOVATIVE INGREDIENTS
Sweetfin was created with the goal of providing healthy, nutritious and flavorful bowls with premium quality ingredients and with approachability. Their fast-casual restaurant concept takes all the familiar flavors of sushi and puts them in an easy to eat, portable, customizable, and affordable bowl.
Their culinary philosophy is centered in their “Pole to Bowl” ethos which means that in sourcing their fish they aim to use the highest-quality and most sustainable raw fish they can find while still maintaining a reasonable price point. Their menu is 100% gluten free and they are vegan and vegetarian friendly.
My Order:
Keto Bowl
(Salmon, avocado, cucumber, jicama, kale, cilantro, creamy togarashi dressing, macadamia nuts served over cauliflower rice)
Co-Founders (and husband-and-wife team) Mario Del Pero and Ellen Chen created the concept in 2003, determined to lead through empowerment and build a thriving business from just a good idea and a lot of passion.
Whether you dodge dairy, shun soy, naysay nuts, or get around gluten, they are happy to accommodate dietary restrictions and food allergies
They serve chicken from Pitman Family Farms, the most respected family-run poultry farm in the country where the family’s commitment to their animals and their workers is self-evident. They also feature RWA (Raised Without Antibiotics) turkey, which is humanely raised on family farms without any hormones or antibiotics. Their prosciutto, salami, and bacon are all nitrate-free.
They are especially proud that a large portion of our produce comes directly to their kitchens from the fields at Scarborough Farms early each morning, with no distributor or middleman required—it’s simply picked, washed, delivered, and consumed.
My order:
Roasted Mushroom Shawarma Wrap(Shawarma-spiced roasted oyster mushrooms, grape tomatoes, red onions, with cilantro-jalapeno hummus, cucumber, shredded romaine, spicy zhoug sauce, garlic yogurt sauce in a panini-pressed whole wheat tortilla)
Or
Mama Chen’s Chicken Salad(Shaved, roasted chicken breast, napa cabbage & kale slaw with carrots & bean sprouts, baby spinach, chopped romaine, scallions, cilantro, toasted cashews, crispy wontons with miso mustard sesame dressing)
