When eating out with friends and family, restaurant choice is often a compromise. For vegetarians and vegans, that means the occasional trip to a steak house. I’m mostly vegan myself, preferring to eat plant-based meals when going out. Over time, I’ve learned how to order a healthy meal even at a steak house! Read on for my Green Goddess-approved meals at these South Florida restaurants.
Pictured: Prime in Delray
Tip: You can use these guidelines to create your own healthy meal at any other steakhouse around the country. You will be surprised how easy it can be to eat at the meat-eaters paradise!
NEW YORK PRIME and MORTON’S
Begin with either the New York Prime chopped Italian salad without the anchovies and blue cheese, or Morton’s chopped salad minus the cheese and bacon. This will provide you with a plethora of vitamins and enzymes to boost your energy and your immune system. For the entrée, you can create your own main course of steamed garlic spinach, sautéed mushrooms (meaty and filling!) asparagus (sans the hollandaise) and a plain baked potato, drizzled with olive oil and a little bit of salt. Spinach gives you good doze of iron, asparagus helps detoxify your system, and baked potato keeps you full as it is high in fiber.
New York Prime: 2350 N.W. Executive Center Drive, Boca Raton // 561/998-3881
Morton’s: 5050 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton // 561/392-7724
ABE AND LOUIE’S
Here I would recommend the Abe & Louie’s salad that features bibb lettuce, apples and pistachio nuts. I usually ask to hold the cheese and place the dressing on the side. This is one of the most interesting salads I have seen at a steak house. It’s pretty nutritious as lettuce is high in blood-purifying chlorophyll, apples are rich in fat-reducing pectin and pistachios are known to be the highest-protein and lowest-calorie nut. The Mediterranean Salad is also a great option when you substitute cheese for high-protein chickpeas. For an entrée, go with cauliflower steak, a jumbo baked sweet potato (without the brown sugar) and Brussels sprouts. Cauliflower is a great low-calorie vegetable that is high in fiber and low in starch. Sweet potatoes are rich in bloat-reducing potassium, and Brussels sprouts are a part of the cruciferous family of vegetables that help detoxify your liver. 2200 W. Glades Road, Boca Raton // 561/447-0024
PRIME in DELRAY
Prime happens to have one of my favorite vegetarian menus. Here, I like to begin with the Roasted Beets Salad (without the feta) that comes with golden Frisse lettuce, micro basil and toasted walnuts for extra Omega 3s and protein. For the main course, I recommend a plate of Wild Steak House Mushrooms, Jumbo Asparagus and an order of Roasted Sage Fingerlings. While mushrooms are full of protein and low in calories, they have a great meaty texture. Asparagus is a great detox vegetable that is rich in glutathione, a detoxifying compound that helps break down free radicals. Fingerlings are rich in fiber and balance off the meal as they happen to be the only high-calorie part of the dinner. Another alternative here is a vegetable sushi roll – a great dinner for those who are in the mood for a lighter fare. 110 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach // 561/865-5845
HOUSTON’S
You may be surprised, but Houston’s has one of the best veggie burgers I have ever tasted. It’s made with black beans and rice, a combination that makes it complete protein. I like to opt for a lettuce bun instead of bread and sub French fries for steamed broccoli. Other healthy choices included kale salad and braised cabbage. Kale, broccoli and cabbage also belong to the family of cruciferous vegetables, which – as mentioned above – helps support the largest organ in your body: your liver. To see what this delicious burger looks like, check out my video here.
1900 N.W. Executive Center Circle, Boca Raton // 561/998-0550
••••••••
For more from the Green Goddess, click here.
About Alina Z.
Alina Z., aka “The Green Goddess,” is a certified holistic health coach, detox specialist and raw-food chef (she conducts occasional classes at Whole Foods in Boca). Prior to moving to Florida, Alina hosted her own TV show in Maryland—“Entertaining A to Z”—for people who didn’t have time to cook but wanted to eat healthy. Catch one of her web episodes at eHow.com, visit Alina’s website at alinaz.com, or follow her on Facebook (facebook.com/CoutureFood) or Twitter (@CoutureFood). The Green Goddess blog runs every other Wednesday at bocamag.com.
