image courtesy of The Goods
Now that the warm weather is (finally) here, we bet you're craving healthy flavour-packed foods (like salads, wraps and superbowls,) more often than not. And your in luck. It used to seem an impossible mission to find fresh, healthy AND affordable food on the go. But, if you live in Toronto, you'll have been hard-pressed not to notice the fast and fresh take out joints that seem to be popping up everywhere, and joining the ranks of early innovators like Fresh (who we still are obsessed with BTW.) So, if your looking to get your fix of a cold-pressed juice or smoothie, a salad brimming with superfoods or a hearty but healthy wrap or superbowl for lunch today, these are our 6 favourite (mostly vegan) and supremely healthy take-out joints in Toronto.
What's the scoop: With the motto Eat. Energize. Freshii's aim is to provide fresh and nutritious meal choices that energize people on-the-go. Emphasizing the foods you should eat more of and less on those you should avoid, Freshii provides meals and snacks that help you live your best life. Their prep area is brimming with lean meats, cheeses, fresh veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds. The menu includes custom-made green wraps, salads, quinoa bowls, and fresh pressed juices. And with locations in over 60 cities across 12 countries, you can pretty much find one anywhere.
Why we love them: Fast, fresh and super healthy take out salads, wraps and quinoa bowls. What we love most about Freshii is that you can choose to order off their menu (items like the Meta boost - field greens and spinach, kale, mangoes, carrots, edamame, almonds, goat cheese, balsamic vinaigrette or the Ninja - spinach and romaine, cabbage, edamame, carrots, cucumbers, cilantro, crispy wontons, asian sesame dressing,) or you can custom create your own salad, wrap or bowl using their handy'make your own' sheets. Simply tick off all the items that you would like built into your meal, and they will whip it up in about 2 minutes flat. Looking for a healthy snack or breakfast before work? They also offer custom order fro-yo (which you can top with berries, chocolate chips or nuts,) smoothies and juices like the mighty detox juice and banana nut crunch smoothie and even other breakfast foods like a spinach, mushroom and cheese grilled egg pocket or cranberry almond crunch oatmeal.
What's it going to cost you: Salads, bowls, wraps start at around $10.00 and depend on what ingredients you choose.
What's the scoop: Fresh is Toronto's original source for modern vegetarian food and made-to-order juice. After almost 2 decades, and with 4 bustling downtown locations, they remain as innovators in the vegetarian restaurant scene. Their super fresh and tasty (mostly vegan) food is made daily in-house, from whole, natural ingredients, and their juices are made right before your eyes. The menu is totally vegan friendly, with dairy options available throughout.
Why we love them: Those who are looking for a fresh and healthy place to grab a salad and smoothie or juice to go or for those looking for a sleek and stylish place to sit in at one of their 4 restaurants (most of which have a patio.) Favourite menu items include juices and smoothies like the super-cleanse, lucky charm and the amazon warrier, tasters including quinoa onion rings and their much-loved sweet potato fries with miso gravy, tacos and burgers like the falafel tacos and mushroom onion burger, salads like mega life and ace of kales and finally fresh bowls including the dragon and the buddha. Looking to do a juice cleanse or get on the cold-pressed juice bandwagon? Fresh has recently launched a line of raw cold-pressed juices which can be purchased in any of their 4 locations or even at other cafes and shops like Darkhorse Coffee House.
What's it going to cost you: Smoothies and juices ranging from $7.00 for a 12 oz to $17.00 for a 32 oz | Salads, bowls tacos and burgers ranging from $8.00 to $17.00 | Cold-pressed juices $6 to $11.00
What's the scoop: The Goods, located by Dufferin & Dundas and created by co-owners, Catharine Parker and Lisa Labute, specializes in smoothies, salads, soups and cereal. It’s clean, delicious and super-convenient! Their 4-day-a-week lunch delivery service (“Lunch Club”) is definitely worth checking out. The best part? They not only do take-out but offer delivery too. So, grab a few of your colleagues and place one order and split the delivery fee between all of you. Or, if you're just ordering for yourself, they suggest ordering more than one meal (the food is made to order and super fresh so you can eat it over a couple of days.
Why we love them: Those who are after 'incredibly delicious + vegan + mostly raw + organic + free of gluten, dairy, nuts & refined foods' foods will be in heaven. Enough said!
What's it going to cost you: Smoothies $6.00 | Salad bowls $12.00 | Soup $8.00
What's the scoop: Kupfert & Kim is a vegan, gluten-free quick service restaurant serving delicious and sustainable fare in Toronto. Their menu features healthy meals, beverages & snacks adn they also offer catering for offices and private functions.
Why we love them: Not only do Kupfert & Kim they make amazingly delicious and healthy take-out food in a super cool environment, but they love good coffee (and so do we.) They have a full-service vegan espresso bar serving direct-trade, organic beans from acclaimed roasters, STUMPTOWN. So while your grabbing your salad, you can grab an expertly crafted americano, latte or cappuccino too. What about their menu items? Think breakfast items like quinoa porridge and house made granola, fresh rolls like thai peanut, boxes like their raw super salad and cauliflower tahini, burgers like hemp and sunflower burger and a host of additional daily specials.
What's it going to cost you: Breakfast $5.97 | Fresh rolls are $8.85 | Boxes $10.39 | Burgers $11.06