I grew up in the east suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio.  While Cleveland isn’t known for its health food scene, it’s a sprawling metropolitan area with a lot of options, so during my last visit I made it my mission to uncover new healthy restaurants.  Grandma’s house was home base, so she and my cousins accompanied me on several of my culinary adventures.  While a few restaurants missed the mark, I found some great ones to work into my rotation the next time I’m home, and more importantly I created new memories with my family.

CoreLife eatery

Grandma and I first stopped at CoreLife Eatery, a franchise that first opened in Syracuse.  CoreLife focuses on whole food-based meals like green bowls, rice bowls, broths and soups.  You can order a meal off the menu or build your own bowl, Chipotle style.  Overwhelmed by the options on the menu, I decided to build my own bowl with a base of purple rice and kale, topped with scallions, avocado, jalapenos, corn, grass-fed steak, some rice noodles for a little texture variety, and lime cilantro jalapeno vinaigrette.  Gram enjoyed a Chicken Cobb bowl.

My meal was filling but it lacked flavor, which surprised me given the usually flavorful ingredients I selected.  The kale tasted like water, the dressing had no zest, even the avocado was bland.  The steak, absent of seasoning, was more rare than I prefer. I did like the purple rice, and knowing it has more antioxidants than other types of rice made me feel better about loading up on carbs.

Overall, my first attempt at healthy eating was a bit of a disappointment—I might go to CoreLife again, but I’d choose a double base of purple rice and different toppings. Maybe it’s too much to ask for an avocado to still taste fresh after traveling all the way to Ohio. Better luck at the next stop, I hoped.

Clean Eatz

Next we stopped at Clean Eatz, which offers healthy microwaveable meals.  I don’t mind the idea of pre-packaged meals since I’ve found healthy and great-tasting options at Snap Kitchen in Austin.  However, when I read the ingredients on the meals at Clean Eatz, I found phosphate additives and artificial sweeteners, not to mention the meals were packaged in plastic containers (when heated, plastic releases BPA and other harmful chemicals into your food).  For a frozen meal to be appealing to me, it’s got to be free of garbage, look delicious, and be packaged in a container that’s truly safe to microwave.  Clean Eatz meals just didn’t appeal to me, so I skipped on their entrees.

However, when I passed the register I saw a package of cake batter fudge at the counter, made with simple ingredients like whole milk powder, peanut butter, coconut oil, and honey—so I bought a pack of those to snack on throughout the week.  They were charmingly decorated for Halloween (in case you can’t tell, those are bat sprinkles!) and they tasted delicious, so the trip wasn’t a total loss.

Overall, Clean Eatz seems like a decent option for someone who needs convenience but wants to avoid fast food, or for someone who wants help with portion control.  But the ingredients aren’t what I would consider “clean.”  Oh well, on to the next culinary adventure!

Sage Karma Kitchen

Sage Karma Kitchen in Downtown Willoughby

My healthy eating wins began when my cousins, Steph and Kim, invited me to dinner at Sage Karma Kitchen in Downtown Willoughby.  If you’ve never been to Downtown Willoughby, it’s a tiny strip of trendy cuteness 25 minutes east of Downtown Cleveland—a little bit hipster, a little bit Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls.  I have fond memories of my Aunt Denise living there when I was a pre-teen, in a one-bedroom unit with a clawfoot tub and checkered floors, in a century-old building that seemed delightfully haunted.  In the mornings we would walk downstairs and order bagels with cream cheese at Thinker’s Cafe, a corner coffeehouse so cool to my 11-year-old eyes that it may as well have been Central Perk from Friends.  Then we’d go shopping or to a museum, after which we’d eat homemade pierogies and watch Seinfeld.

But times have changed since those blissful days of carbs on carbs, and I made more grown-up choices at Sage Karma Kitchen.  I was excited to order a gluten-free beer I’d never tried before: celiac-friendly Glutenberg IPA, made from millet, buckwheat and corn.  It was pretty delicious as far as gluten-free beers go, and I wasn’t mad that it came in a large 16 oz. can.

If you’ve been reading my blog or know anything about me, you’re familiar with the fact that I worship potatoes in any form, so we ordered sweet potato skins as appetizers.  Minimally greasy with maximum flavor, they helped offset my culinary defeats at CoreLife and CleanEatz.  

Steph and I opted for the Thai Dye Bowl for our entrees, with spiced jasmine rice, carrots, zucchini, peppers, broccoli, peanut sauce, and cilantro.  My bowl was warm, delicious and fresh, a hearty fall meal that left me feeling rejuvenated and not weighed down.  Kim had a black bean quinoa burger with fries, which she said was also great.  Since the menu at Sage Karma offered so many tempting gluten-free entrees and creative cocktails, I hope to be back soon and try something different.

Beyond Juicery

On one of the last nights of my trip, Gram and I took a road trip to Green, Ohio to visit my Aunt Therese and Uncle Mike.  As a teenager, I took many summer “retreats” to my aunt and uncle’s house to get away from home, spend time with my little cousins, and mooch off of their rainbow ice cream and barbecue chips.  It had been probably 15 years since I’d visited their home, and since it’s always cozy and well-decorated in autumn, I was eager to soak up the fall vibes I rarely experience in south Texas.

Aunt Therese spoiled us with a hot meal of turkey breast, mashed potatoes, and green beans when we arrived.  After dinner we curled up in the Adirondack chairs around her fire pit with fleece blankets, eating s’mores and reminiscing till bedtime.  

The next morning we drank coffee in her sunroom (a sunroom = my new life goal) and took in the peaceful view of her backyard, with its trees shedding their burgundy leaves.  I snuggled with my canine cousin Nugget until hunger pangs warned me it was time for breakfast.

Grandma and I headed over to Beyond Juicery + Eatery for breakfast on our way home.  The franchise has locations all over northeast Ohio, but I was surprised to see one in Green, which had apparently undergone significant development since its more rural days of my teenage years.  I ordered the Caramel Apple Smoothie Bowl, with a blended base of apple, peaches, cinnamon, banana, almond milk, protein powder, and honey, topped with green apples, chocolate chips, and caramel drizzle.  I COULD NOT EAT IT FAST ENOUGH, y’all.  Gram had the Pink Power smoothie and finished all of hers too.  

When we got back to Grandma’s neighborhood, we ran errands until we were hungry again, then spotted another Beyond Juicery and went for the second time in 6 hours. This time I ordered the Turkey Avocado Wrap, with tomatoes, romaine, Muenster cheese, avocado and hummus on a gluten-friendly tortilla, and Gram had the Turkey Dijon Club. My wrap was crunchy and creamy, filling but also light. I devoured it. Beyond Juicery was probably the biggest health food victory during my trip, and I will definitely be back.

The Wholesome Hippie

I’d found The Wholesome Hippie through a Google search, not realizing that it was also in Downtown Willoughby, apparently burgeoning hotspot for trendy restaurants.  It was the last morning of my visit, and Gram and I wanted something quick so I could finish packing and head to the airport.  

As you can tell, the Wholesome Hippie is an adorable nook, with lush greenery and a little boutique in the front.  You kind of have to stumble upon it or find it on social media—it doesn’t have a website, and even my Willoughby-based family members hadn’t heard of it.  The restaurant serves mostly smoothies, lattes, and freshly packaged breakfast and lunch items, and the menu was smaller than most of the places we’d visited.  But the food is high-quality, natural, and...well, wholesome.

I couldn’t choose just one option, so I ordered the gluten-free Overnight Oats, the Creamy Chia Seed Pudding, and a Lavender Latte.  The oats were filling and made with good stuff like Greek yogurt, chia seeds, and maple syrup.  The delectable chia seed pudding was topped with a layer of tart compote.  My favorite, however, was the latte—uniquely earthy and not too sweet.  I’d like to come back and try their Adaptogen Latte made with mushrooms, as I really enjoyed the mushroom latte I had in Santa Fe.  

I suspected the menu may have been a little too “hippie” for Gram’s taste, as she only ordered lemon energy balls and nibbled on a few spoonfuls of my chia pudding, but she did like it!  I’d rate The Wholesome Hippie third on my list of healthy restaurants this trip, after Sage Karma Kitchen which seems best for dinner and drinks, and Beyond Juicery + Eatery in the #1 spot for fresh breakfast and lunch options.

I’m pleased that my mission to find healthy restaurants in the Cleveland area was mostly successful.  But after Gram and I trekked through the rainy parking lot behind The Wholesome Hippie, seeking warmth in her car as the first chill of fall settled in, she looked at me and said quietly, “Thank you for all of these new experiences.”  And that’s what mattered most to me.