EarthFare Salad Bar
My salad was delicious as ever!!
Sweat Session
But first, my take-home chem quiz took me a lot longer than expected and I wasn’t finished until 11:30! I debated putting off my workout until the afternoon, but I wasn’t really hungry for lunch and didn’t want to shower twice, so I went. Lesson learned from the day before, I had some quick energy in the form of a honey-laden KIND bar (half of one I’d eaten a while back)
It worked!! I seemed to have lots of energy today and didn’t feel weak when I was done – at 12:45! I did 40 minutes on the Stairmaster and another 15 on the stat bike. My magazine (Women’s Health) was too good to stop!
Lunch
After some stretching and a shower, I was off to EarthFare.
Here are some quick photos of the salad bar. I have only been in two Whole Foods, but I imagine the EarthFare salad bar is very similar.
One side is all raw veggies and a few fruits:
And the other is all “fun stuff” like wheatberry salad, beans salads, pasta salads, etc.
And the most amazing falafel balls!
While I was sneaking my photos, the foodservice manager came over to see what I was up to. I had to explain that I had a food blog and boldly asked him if he would take my photo for you guys
He was super nice and even said he would email me the falafel recipe. I wrote down my email and the blog, so we’ll see if he remembers!
On to the scrumptious salad. My strategy at salad bars like this is to fill the bowl 2/3 full with raw veggies. They are on the bottom and I have little bits of yummy salads on top. Sort of like stores use packaging to fill up the base of gift baskets and put the good stuff on the top to make you think they go all the way down. So while it looks like a very extravagant salad, it’s mostly veg.
From memory:
- Spinach
- Romaine
- Zucchini + Squash
- Sprouts
- Peppers
- Cauliflower
- Asparagus
- Green beans
- Red cabbage
- Marinated mushrooms
- Wheatberry salad
- Edamame salad
- Long flat noodley salad
- Orzo salad
- 2 strawberries + a pineapple slice
- 2 pesto chicken cubes
- Garbanzo beans + feta
- 2 falafel balls
- Annie’s Goddess dressing
So each of the fun salads was only about a tablespoon, except for maybe the long noodles and I got a little more of the wheatberry. I estimate the calories on this by rounding to about 25 kcal per tablespoon, which is based on the Wegman’s information in CalorieKing since Wegman’s has many of the same gourmet salads. Then I just round all the raw veggies together as “vegetable salad 2 cups” or whatever I had. So I’m guessing I had about 450 kcal in this bowl?
This was also my first time trying Annie’s Goddess dressing!! I haven’t wanted to buy it because I normally hate bottled dressings, but this was GOOD!! So I bought some! It’s much higher in calorie than dressings that I would normally buy, and much more than my homemade ones, but for the convenience of having it pre-made and a flavor that would be hard to replicate, it’s worth it. I also got the Maple Ginger to try – it’s good too!
I took my EatingWell magazine to read in the sunshine 8)
I didn’t sit down to lunch until 2 p.m. and then tried to take a long time eating my salad. I shopped afterwards (more hemp milk!) and had a mango key lime cookie sample (SO GOOD!) and a chocolate covered almond sample for dessert! My toes are nice and painted from the pedi!
When I got home I decided to walk to the grocery store for goat cheese to have with dinner. ‘Twas fun – about 30 minutes there and back.
Until then…
Nick says
I love salad bars, so cheap and so good. They have to be fresh though, or its not worth it! But those KIND bars, while good, are pretty darn expensive aren’t they? Again, I’d rather just eat a handful of nuts and fruit – aka make your own trail mix and mash it together if you wish.
– The Peanut Butter Boy
christine says
That salad looks yummy!!!!
YUM YUM YUM……..
BethT says
I’m laughing at the manager coming over to you 🙂 Probably thought you were a spy from Whole Foods!
Romina says
Goodness! Look at all those choices! Delicious.
VeggieGirl says
That salad looks/sounds phenomenal!! Great mix of ingredients!!
Wow, talk about a super-nice foodservice manager! Ironically, I’m eating baked falafel right now, as I type out this comment :0)
Sounds like your Girls’ Day Out is going perfectly – wishing you a fun Friday evening!
bikergurl says
How nice of the manager to do that! I would have been too afraid of getting yelled at to try taking pictures 😳 That looks like a huge, super yummy salad!
Jessie says
Kath + readers, i need some help 🙁
I began running a few weeks ago and started on a track around my work and all was well. The last time i went was on concrete on a bike path and i felt fine during the run but after i was done my ankles started KILLING ME! The pain was better the next day so i wasn’t to worried about it but it is now 9 days later and i am STILL limping and it doesnt really seem to be getting any better, they dont hurt bad enough to be broken or anything but i have been not walking or anything much lately to try to get them to stop hurting and i have kept icing them and its just not getting better, any ideas? Should i go get xrayed or anything? anyone experience anything like this?
Julz says
OHHH man 🙂 This could definitely give my WF a run for its money! TREmendous salad bar. Definitely. Thanks for posting pictures + I’m sorry that I almost got you into trouble! (Eeek!)
I’m excited to see what you have planned for dinner! Have Fun!
Katie F says
Just for reassurance–I am from upstate NY and a big fan of Wegman’s (pretty much my favorite place ever) and judging by your pictures, the Earth Fare salad bar looks very similar to Wegman’s. So the nutrition facts are probably pretty close. Just figured I’d share. 🙂
BethT says
Jessie,
I too had ankle issues when I started running. I would go to a quality running store, such as a Fleet Feet Sports, and ask to be fitted for running shoes. I was running in the wrong type of shoe for my foot and also needed an insert to help with pronation issues!
The right shoes plus experience (over time) will help alleviate that pain. Hope this helps. I would also be careful not to increase your distance/duration too quickly while you’re starting out.
Suzanne says
That salad looks SOOOO yummy. It looks really filling!
It must have been so nice to get a pedi – what color are your nails? I’m going to do mine myself this weekend – I just started wearing flip flops/sandals today. I hate wearing shoes/socks – so now my feet feel liberated after a long winter. 🙂
I see that you have a bottle of Poland Springs strawberry-lime sparkling water. I just ‘quit’ drinking diet sodas and switched over to sparkling water – it’s starting to grow on me. I had no idea Poland Springs had other flavors – besides the orange and lemon! Do you know what other flavors they have?
I’ll have to keep my eye out when I go grocery shopping tomorrow.
Have a great night!
angelcubbie says
Jessie,
the right shoes in running makes ALL the difference in the world, I used to have the same problems until I finally broke down and invested in a pair of running shoes. Try Road Runner for shoes, they have machines that you run on and then tell you exactly what kind of support you need for your feet. Also for the meantime, try the Galloway method of walking and running to build up the strength in your ankles without overexerting them until they heal. That’s what worked for me. Hope they feel better!
Kath says
Jessie ,
If you were 2 days out I’d say just rest, but 9 days later deserves a trip to the doctor, preferably a sports medicine doctor (based on my foot experiences general family doctor’s don’t know much about sports injuries…) It’s a big deal for me to go to the doctor, but I really think if you’re still limping you might have hurt something.
KatieF,
Thanks for the confidence on Wegmans! I’ve never been to one but have always wanted to go!
Suzanne ,
My toes are coral 🙂 I CANNOT do red toe nails – they freak me out for some reason. I think it’s just too much of a contrast to my pale skin! But I love corals and sometimes pink. Every now and then pale green!
I love sparking water too, but I don’t get it as much as I like (at home, mostly) because it’s expensive and the whole plastic bottle consumption. I’d love to get a soda maker someday…
Kath
chelsea says
I’ve been eating Annie’s Dressings for 5 years. The Goddess Dressing is still my favorite. Close second is the Shitake Mushroom/Soy Ginger flavor. Yum!
Molly says
Kath-
The Goddess dressing is amazing. A great way to make it less caloric/more voluminous is to mix plain yogurt in. The combo is a great dip for veggies or as a binder in salmon/tuna salad. Yum!
Molly
Kath says
Molly,
Brilliant idea!! I’m going to try that…
Kath
Cat says
Your Earthfare looks so much better than mine! I’ve have never seen the falafel balls. If he sends you the recipe, definitely email it my way please!