Healthy Eating in STL

Let’s face it, we all love to eat out, but not all of us love the calories involved. Restaurants notoriously use excessive amounts of fat and salt in their foods, which is delicious, but doesn’t help slim anyone’s waistline. If you’re looking for a healthier option so that you can still enjoy eating out with friends, stay tuned for a few of my favorite local spots.

Crushed Red

Crushed red offers craft chopped salads as well as flatbreads and soups. With a wide variety of salads to choose from, as well as the option to craft your own, there is something for everyone to enjoy here. They even offer over 10 different flatbreads if you aren’t the salad-eating type, but still want to stay on the healthier side. My recommendation: the Queen Margherita flatbread.

Billy G’s

Billy G’s in Kirkwood is the perfect spot to go if you want to have a regular night out with friends, but still have the option to pick something on the healthier side. They have a section on their menu titled “clean eats” where they offer four different healthy bowl options. They have two zoodle bowls and two power bowls and all of them are equally delicious. I typically choose the zoodle bowls when I’m trying to stay light on carbs or if I’m not very hungry. My recommendation: Grilled Chicken Power Bowl.

Fit Flavors

Fit Flavor’s owner, Jill, is a personal trainer who turned to culinary school to cook for her clients in order to improve their results. After receiving rave reviews, she and her husband decided to start the company and open its first brick-and-mortar store. Their prepared meals-to-go are very popular among fitness trainers and people who are watching what they eat, but aren’t willing to give up the flavors of the foods they love. You can order their meal-prep online and pick it up in-store or even have them ship it to you. My recommendations: Buffalo Ranch Turkey Burger, Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese, and the Chocolate Chia Pudding.

I Love Juice Bar

I Love Juice Bar is a company focused on making nutrition and nourishment accessible for everyone, anywhere. They are passionate about using the finest ingredients and pride themselves on never adding ice or any other fillers or artificial ingredients to their smoothies, bowls, or juices. They offer freshly pressed juices, smoothies, smoothie bowls with fun toppings, and quick snacks. My recommendations: Aloha Bowl (with almond butter instead of peanut butter and no bananas) or the Overnight Oats.

The Wolf Café

The Wolf Café is my all-time favorite healthy restaurant! They prepare their menu using wholesome foods and the finest fresh, local, and real ingredients. They are very particular about the farms and vendors that they get their produce and meat from. They only use meat from animals that were treated humanely and fed all-vegetarian diets with no antibiotics or hormones. Their dairy and eggs come from animals raised on local farms with organic certifications and free from artificial growth hormones. Finally, their produce is organically grown locally and free of pesticides. They use a combination of products from local vendors in order to keep money circulating in small businesses. They offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner consisting of a wide variety of nutritious options ranging from vegan and gluten-free to just plain healthy. My recommendations: Loaded Fries, Sweet & Salty Grilled Cheese, and the Black Bear Bean Burger.

If you love eating clean without sacrificing the flavor of restaurant food and you haven’t checked out any of these spots yet, please do and let me know what you think of them! Hopefully, you’ll love each of these local macro-friendly spots just as much as I do.