Mandatory Suggestions For Eating Well In DC

Our Savior is intent on collectively improving health by banning popular foodstuffs that are bad for us (we can call it “prohibition” since that has a great ring to it). If Obama can keep his BMI index thing so low and smoke all he wants, certainly you can do your President proud by picking up the habit, or at least by eating a salad or some tofu at one of the many restaurants here in the Land of Arugula that serve healthy food.

By mandate or free will, you can eat healthy in the District at any of these locations:

• Sweetgreen: Salads are not only healthy, but thanks to the kind folks at Sweetgreen, they’re now the cool thing to eat for lunch. The salads at Sweetgreen range in price from $6-$12, are made with locally grown, organic, happy produce, and come with a slice of hearty bread.
• Teaism: There’s a lot of tofu on the menu at Teaism and this automatically qualifies the restaurant as healthy (even if most items have the tofu sitting in coconut milk). Their Seitan Stir Fry is especially good, as is their Tofu Shiitake Burger, and Udon Noodle Soup with chicken.
• Juice joint: This popular downtown lunch destination serves healthy food, and, calling all carnivores, this includes meat! Huzzah! They boast a wide array of sandwiches and soups as well as smoothies made from fresh fruit, and best of all, the food’s not that expensive.
• Cafe Green: Have you ever had “raw bread”? Whatever it is, it’s healthy, and it certainly aids in digestion. It’s one of the many items available at Cafe Green, a new vegan restaurant in Dupont Circle. Pictured is the vegetable chili which, if eaten with the raw bread, will provide you with your fiber needs for life. If you’ve ever wanted to try soy meat or soy cheese, or if you really like tofu, you will certainly enjoy Cafe Green’s vegan options.
• Maoz: Sure, fried falafel isn’t that healthy, but when you top it with cabbage salad, carrots, tabbouleh, beets, cucumber and tomato salad and other green things, the presence of vegetables negates the fried aspect, and, look at that, a healthy meal! For what it’s worth, the falafels aren’t that greasy, they do have an extensive salad bar, and everything is kosher, which some people interpret to mean “healthy,” but this is false.