"I’ve always had heart eyes for a salad bar, even as a kid before I found out ranch wasn’t calorie free—still the worst day of my life. Salads have this reputation of being a diet food, but to me they are the perfect lunch that keeps you full without wanting to take a nap and fueled to take on the rest of your day. Every Sunday you can find me meal prepping a variety of toppings and protein to top my salads with all week long. You would think that eating the same lunch every day would get boring and repetitive, but that is the beauty of building your own salad. With a variety of toppings on hand (and a little creativity) you can feel like you’re eating a completely different cuisine every time.
This Baggy Dad style from Levi’s is a tried-and-true favorite our team swears by, made famous by an effortlessly cool fit and PJ-like comfort.
To take my salad customizing to the next level, I met with the experts at Salata. Since 2005, this Texas born restaurant has been changing the way people think about salads. With over 50 toppings and 10 house-made, gluten-free dressings, you can truly create a salad or wrap that meets your definition of healthy. This isn’t just any build-your-own bar. Every fruit, vegetable, and protein is made and chopped fresh daily.
I visited one of their newly designed locations in just outside of Houston in Rosenberg, Texas (click here to find one of their 85-plus locations near you) and was blown away by the options. It truly was like the Salad Olympics.
And in case you thought your options were just limited to food, yes this is a tea tap with eight different flavor combinations to choose from.
Salata also has a fantastic online ordering system so that no matter how busy you are, there’s always time to eat healthy (and exactly what you want). Not sure of what to order? Between their handy allergen filter (holla at my celiac girls!) and “need help?” tool, you can see all the options, only the ones that apply to you, or recipe inspiration for when you’re feeling stuck. After placing your order online, pop into a fast-pass line that allows you to grab your meal and run. Bonus points if you’re in one of their delivery areas because there’s nothing I love more than ordering a really healthy meal and not having to move any of my limbs to get to it. It’s the best of both worlds.
If you’re officially starving, check these delicious custom combinations I tried at Salata. Everything from my old favorite (The Classic Cobb) to new flavor profiles I would have never thought to put together, but thanks to the Salata crew as I was chewing it was like flavor fireworks were going off in my mouth.
No Salata location near you? You can still build these delicious profiles at home for a healthy lunch that you’ll be looking forward to like Ross and his Thanksgiving sandwich.
This post was in partnership with Salata, but all of the opinions within are those of The Everygirl editorial board.