Healthy Restaurants in La Jolla
Foodies find San Diego tours a mecca—providing more Mexican, pan-Asian, and brunch-specific cuisine to taste test than there are meals in their trips’ duration. While those are three undeniably delicious cuisines, they can tend to the heavy side.
So, in order to balance the happy travel pounds and simultaneously help out our plant-based buddies, we’re going to shine a spotlight on healthy restaurants in La Jolla. Never fear; we won’t be sending you GPS coordinates to a nice patch of grass. Only quality healthy food and healthy cocktails in La Jolla here.
Tocaya Organica
Photo Courtesy: Tocaya Organica
A common misconception about eating healthy is that it translates to bland. You won’t have to worry about that here. For vegans and non-vegans alike, this Mexican restaurant serves up modern and traditional bowls, burritos, salads, soups, and tacos. Start with a vegan base and add whatever you like from there. Feel free to add meat and non-vegan selects!
Now, who said tacos weren’t healthy?
With indoor and outdoor seating, take advantage of the lovely decor, great dishes, and happy hour with some friends. Happy hour runs every day from 3-6 PM. On Tuesdays, Tocaya Organica offers happy hour specials all day long. Taco Tuesday and tequila? A match made in heaven. And while we may have rejoiced when Taco Bell was declared the healthiest fast-food chain in America, it doesn’t make it healthy… or Mexican food.
Eat Tocaya Organica instead.
Thank us later.
El Pescador Fish Market
Photo Courtesy El Pescador / John Schoeneman
Created by a young, ambitious 19-year-old surfer, El Pescador has been serving fresh fish for over 40 years now. Through the decades, the small shack has transformed into a renowned restaurant and market for local San Diegans to enjoy.
What’s the central component to their health-focused menu? Fresh fish caught that day.
The fish is locally sourced daily, and El Pescador ensures that every catch they provide their customers is guaranteed top-quality. So, if you’re hungry for fresh sashimi, char-grilled seafood, or any number of their fresh options, come enjoy some heart-healthy food in La Jolla.
True Food Kitchen
Photo Courtesy: True Food Kitchen
Despite the fact that True Food Kitchen changes its menu items quite frequently, the excellence of their food remains constant. Another spot with their hands in several different ethnic jars, they offer plates like turkey lasagna, Panang curry, and even edamame dumplings. You’re sure to leave feeling light but very full! For this, however, you can thank Dr. Andrew Weil.
Thank you, Dr. Weil!!
Dr. Weil, the founder of True Food Kitchen, is a distinguished physician and integrative medicine doctor. His goal was to create a restaurant with delicious food that makes customers feel better, not worse. He has even constructed a food pyramid that helps people incorporate healthy eating habits into their lifestyles. The Anti-Inflammatory Pyramid is a methodized way to prevent and counteract inflammation. The care and science they put into curating their menu is nothing short of admirable. Ingredients are consciously selected based on their health benefits.
These are a few of their fall fixings with their reasonings:
- Pomegranate – One of the most nutrient-dense fruits with potassium, Vitamin C, fiber, and Vitamin K.
- Brussel sprouts – Described as a “powerhouse vegetable” that aids in battling cancer and is packed with fiber.
- Kuzu root starch – Its use widely popularized by healers in the East for nearly two millennia, it’s proclaimed to balance sugars and heal.
Meals are highly personalized, with vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and completely customized choices. Their commitment to health might inspire you to adjust your lifestyle. Eat better and feel better at True Food Kitchen.
Now that’s what the doctor ordered!
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Trilogy Sanctuary
Photo Courtesy: Trilogy Sanctuary
In a similar vein, this next eatery was founded as an ode to conscientious wellness. Although there is no food scientist to be championed here, you could order your meal with a side of nirvana. We’re talking yoga here. Perhaps as a pre- or post-meal activity, you could sign up for a class at this yoga studio and then enjoy a healthy meal.
On the food end, you have a delightful selection of vegan and vegetarian bites. Pretty brag-worthy, their menu is entirely free of dairy, soy, gluten, and refined sugar. To achieve this, you’ll find innovative substitutions such as:
- Cauliflower eggs in their eggz benedict
- Pumpkin seed mole atop their take on chilaquiles
- Buns made of millet, quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat as the cradle of their avocado toast.
Also, to slate your thirst after your aerial yoga session, Trilogy Sanctuary is a full-fledged juice and smoothie bar. These beverages and even their desserts are made with organic ingredients. Contrary to popular belief, sweets don’t have to be bad if you do it right. And Trilogy does it right.
For more healthy food ideas, check out these 5 La Jolla vegan restaurants.
Whisknladle
Photo Courtesy: Whisknladle
At Whisknladle, you know you’re getting three things: Decadent comfort eats, local ingredients, and a plate of food your body will thank you for.
Chef Ryan Johnston believes in a simple culinary philosophy: Food does not need to be overpowered, overmixed, or over-presented. Food, in its optimal form, is a culmination of the ingredients inside. Allow the ingredients to speak for themselves, and you’ll never go wrong.
Whisknladle is open for brunch, lunch, and dinner, and each time of day comes with flavorful options to share with the whole table. Some favorite shareables include:
- Local mussels plate
- Kale and Goat Cheese salad
- Roasted sweet potato
- Spanish octopus
Be sure to try this fine dining experience when looking for healthy restaurants in La Jolla.
Beaming
Photo Courtesy: Beaming
Beaming is your textbook healthy restaurant in La Jolla. It’s got the best Paleo protein waffles, organic acai superfood bowls, fresh-pressed juices, and smoothies in San Diego. Want your meal low-glycemic? You got it! Need a booster shot? Wouldn’t imagine not having one!
That’s the upbeat, healthy mentality to find at Beaming.
Located just a hop, skip, and a jump from the golden, sunny La Jolla beach, this is a café to choose to plant a big smile across your face.
You Butter Back off the Butter
From a purely unprocessed level of healthy to simply just more health-oriented fare, San Diego is replete with healthy options. Even your pickiest or most carnivorous friend could find a restaurant that would satisfy them. While this might be a decision spurred by the need to offset guilt, you just might find food so tasty that it becomes easier to transition to a better lifestyle.
Here’s to greener pastures and plates. *clink*
Sources:
Business Insider. Taco Bell is now one of America’s healthiest fast-food chains. https://www.businessinsider.com/taco-bell-is-now-one-of-americas-healthiest-fast-food-chains-2016-10
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