Diets never fail to fail.
You know what I’m saying, because it’s happened to you, too: You make a big deal out of your new commitment to plan out meals and pack healthy lunches for work. Come noon on Monday, you pop the lid off your food container to a reveal a bed of crisp greens, colorful veggies, and roasted chicken. You sprinkle your favorite dressing on top, take your first bite, and break into a satisfied grin, like you’re gonna kick this diet’s ass.
At this point, you’re scoffing at all the non-dieters out there. Whoever said eating healthy was hard, anyway?
But by Friday, your routine grows dark. You tentatively peel back that container’s lid and cringe at the slightly soggy salad beneath it—the same salad you’ve eaten for lunch every day all week. You drench the stuff in that fatty dressing your coworker left in the fridge last month and sob uncontrollably as you guide the first forkful toward your mouth—but then you remember: the doughnuts.
Those doughnut Patrice brought to the office on Tuesday morning, the ones you passed up because of your new “healthy lifestyle”—you saw Patrice stick a leftover maple old-fashioned in the fridge before she left work on Tuesday, and now the three-day-old pastry is calling your name.
You dig through the fridge for a while, and finally, there it is: rock-hard and devoid of all the warm fluffy goodness a doughnut should have, but hell, at least it’s not salad. You inhale the thing and spend the rest of your afternoon sad, because not only did your diet fail, but it failed at the hands of an old crappy doughnut.
Yeah. Eating healthy is a bitch.
It’s a bitch because it’s boring, and it’s boring because it’s repetitive—but it doesn’t have to be that way.
If you’re trying to get healthy and stay healthy, you’ve got to make sure to change things up. And sometimes that means skipping the soggy salad and hitting the town on your lunch break. It does not, however, mean stuffing your face with empty calories, and that’s why I’ve compiled for you a list of healthy lunch spots in Santa Maria.
1. Natural Café
If you hit up Natty Caf for lunch, you’ll probably find me there as well, attempting to read The Brothers Karamazov and devouring a Natural Salad topped with sautéed tofu. Don’t interact with me. I’m an unpleasant person.
Do, however, comb through the menu (I highly recommend the roasted eggplant sandwich or Mt. Fuji stir fry), including items listed on the special board (keep an eye out for the black bean tostada or Thai chicken noodles). Even the less-healthy stuff you find is still wholesome and nutritious, and I can pretty much vouch for the taste factor in any Natural Cafe meal. Plus the place is moderately priced.
So if your diet’s got you feeling cooped up and you’re considering a brief escape, Natural Cafe is a safe and delicious option.
• 2407 S. Broadway, Santa Maria, 937-2735.
2. Moxie Café
We’ve all heard the story: Moxie started out as a healthy cafeteria for nearby workers but has since grown into a flourishing health food cafe. It has its downsides, like steep prices and sometimes-slow service, but I’ve never been disappointed with a meal there.
I usually opt for the salmon sandwich at Moxie: wild-caught Keta salmon, lemon dill sauce, red onions, tomato, and a grilled ciabatta roll, accompanied with fruit. It’s delicious and hits just about every food group. You can’t go wrong.
• 1317 West McCoy Ln., Santa Maria, 361-2900.
3. Lassen’s Natural Foods and Vitamins
“But isn’t Lassen’s just a health market?” No. It’s a health market with a deli, which makes it awesome.
They’ve got salads, which I know you’re sick of due to that whole chicken salad meal plan thing, but don’t worry: They’ve also got hot and cold sandwiches, breakfast foods, wraps, smoothies, and juice—and, believe it or not, it’s fairly priced. You can also build your own smoothie or juice drink, and if you’re a vegetarian, Lassen’s definitely has options for you.
Plus all the produce going into their deli foods is organic, so that’s pretty cool, if that’s something you care about.
• 1790 S. Broadway, Santa Maria, 925-3432.
4. Pure Natural Juice Bar
I’ll be real: I’m not personally the biggest fan of juice, on account of juice is not food. But Pure Natural Juice also has smoothies! And I do like smoothies, even though they’re also not really food.
So if you’re into the whole juice/smoothie thing, Pure Natural is pretty much your only option in the Santa Maria area. Their smoothie menu includes titles like the “Lean Machine” and the “Muscle Builder” so there’s a good chance you’ll leave the place looking like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, which is always a plus. And you can watch the juicing happen while you’re sitting at the bar!
• 3480 Orcutt Rd., Santa Maria, 361-0250.
So there you go. Four solid options for healthy meals you won’t find in the office fridge. So put down that old doughnut and go nourish your body the way it deserves.
Brenna Swanston doesn’t understand why every character in Russian literature has to have like 17 names. Send explanations for this to bswanston@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 14-21, 2016.