Chipotle was fast food gold for the healthy eating set. Sure, you could grab a gut busting burrito with all the gooey, cheesy, fatty toppings -- and, hey, who among us hasn't? -- but the most disciplined could also order up a high protein, vegetable-forward bowl or salad for a quick, guilt-free lunch.
As you've likely heard, Chipotle's got problems. And, I don't think we can solve them. Despite efforts for a food safety overhaul, many aren't ready to hop back in line anytime soon.
So what do you do when you've got bad blood with bowls? Try out a few alternatives and seek a new favorite in D-FW. Keep in mind, many of these items aren't low calorie. They do, however, feature healthy fats or optional sauces and toppings to customize as you see fit.
Freebirds World Burrito
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True, you can get a "Super Monster" sized burrito, as well as quesadillas, nachos and other caloric heavy hitters, but Freebirds World Burrito has also just launched a new "Six Under 600" menu featuring, you guessed it, items with fewer than 600 calories. Each is helpfully named with its calorie count first, like the 575 Steak Bowl, the 489 BBQ Chicken Salad and the 435 Vegan Bowl, to name a few.
If your focus is less on overall calorie count and more on quality nutrition, they also offer a variety of lean proteins and choose-your-own toppings for salads and bowls like house-made salsas, roasted veggies, black and pinto beans, and avocado to do it up how you like. Find a North Texas location near you.
HG Sply Co.
This Greenville Ave. favorite takes its mysterious moniker from a core food philosophy: Hunting and gathering. Another philosophy? Take the 80/20 route where the majority of a meal is high on health with a dollop of sexy pizzazz to keep cravings at bay. That can mean dressing up a healthy lunch with bacon jam or siding your salad with a house-made cocktail. Whatever it takes to keep your body goals sane.
HG Sply Co.'s vast menu includes brunch, lunch and dinner options, the majority of which would tick most boxes on a healthy eater's list, primarily due to the amount of fresh vegetables and whole grains used for each item. It's one of the pricier options on our list, but for good reason: Salads, bowls and entrees are made up from kale, quinoa, Bragg Aminos, hemp seeds, sweet potatoes and practically any item that's ever been dubbed a "super food." Skeptical that zucchini pasta or poblano cauliflower cashew "grits" could satisfy like the original? Fair, but trust us -- it's worth keeping an open mind.
Bbbop Seoul Kitchen
Bbbop Seoul Kitchen's original location on Upper Greenville offers a vegetable heavy list of kitchen favorites as well as a "build your own bop" option, which couldn't be easier. You choose a protein (tofu and veggie options included), plus a carb such as sesame brown rice or salad greens. Then add on three vegetables from a constantly changing selection. Top it with fresh lettuce, extra meat or a fried egg -- hey, even fried eggs have high quality protein -- and add scratch sauces to taste.
Each location offers a slightly different menu, so check before choosing where to go. For instance, you could also grab a portion of high protein "Heavenly Kalbi" (that's short rib with rice and two sides) at the Lowest Greenville outpost or lettuce wraps with short rib and kimchi in Oak Cliff. Though, may we recommend steering clear of the Oak Cliff's highly praised fried chicken to-go window, unless you and your metabolism are ready to fully commit.
Taqueria La Ventana
Whether you go with street tacos or bowls, it's easier to make better choices at this taco stand. Locations near the Perot Museum, off Belt Line in Addison and in the new work-in-progress food court at Dallas Farmers Market offer proteins like steak, chicken, fish and shrimp -- to name a few, which vary by location -- or grilled vegetables as a base, if you prefer. Bowls are dressed with mixed greens in Uptown and rice, beans, lettuce, cheese and tomatoes in Addison. The northernmost outpost also offers salads with additional vegetables, avocado and charred cilantro vinaigrette.
VertsKebap
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If you don't typically associate German street food with "fast-casual" or "health consciousness," you're not alone, but VertsKebap nixes those stereotypes all over the state of Texas. The aggressively growing chain has locations in Preston Hollow, Addison, Lewisville and Southlake, so far, and fans flock to it for its advertised "294,912 combinations, most under 550 calories."
Go for a salad, a wrap (on tortilla) or its namesake Kebap -- that's "partially leavened" bread that's "vegan, low calorie and trans fat free" -- and go to town with toppings including a beef and lamb mixture, chicken or falafel with your choice of vegetables, sauces and extras, like feta cheese.
Tokyo Joe's
This newish to Texas chain serves build-your-own-bowls, soup-noodle bowls, salads and made-to-order sushi, and its focus is on "healthy preparation," a representative said in 2014. What does that mean? Nothing is fried.
For bowls, you can choose from grilled chicken, steak, salmon or tofu, and add on a carb option like brown rice, if you wish. If not, you'll get double vegetables like bean sprouts, edamame, broccoli or jalapenos, to name a few, and can choose a variety of sauces with vegetarian, sugar-free and gluten-free options. More into salads? The solid variety features good-for-you items like avocados, almonds, and sunomono -- that's tangy cucumber salad -- or lettuce wraps with optional dipping sauces.
Mudhen -- newly opened
Also at the work-in-progress food court at Dallas Farmers Market, Mudhen Meats and Greens offers build your own bowls with "any combination" and "as much or as little as you want." In other words: Come ravenous or not, it's up to you. Proteins, vegetables and add-ons each come with their own price that add up for the final cost once you're through creating.
The bowls include meats like poached fish, flat iron steak and Green Chili Duroc Pork, to name a few, with daily rotating fresh vegetables and optional starches like sweet potato mash, whole grain salad or parsnip puree. How about salad? They'll serve up five with varying degrees of healthy-to-less-than-healthy toppings, which you can browse here.