Out and About: Eating Healthy at Fresh Kitchen in Winter Garden

- Michelle Snow

Fresh Kitchen in Winter Garden

Earlier this year, Florida-based Fresh Kitchen restaurant added some new flavors to its build-your-own-bowl offerings, and we were invited to stop by and check them out.

Fresh Kitchen, established in 2014, specializes in high-quality, healthy food items, that are 100% gluten-free, and many are vegan and dairy-free.

Guests order bowls with three, four, or six ingredients, including bases, veggies, proteins, and sauces.

Among the new offerings were two new bases, an Arugula + Spinach Salad, featuring fresh arugula, spinach, shredded carrots, basil oil, and a squeeze of lemon, along with a seasonal Lemon Herb Cali Rice, made with roasted riced cauliflower, fresh lemon juice, toasted almonds, and a blend of herbs.

I ordered a six bowl, my guest a four bowl, so we could try most of the offerings.

Fresh Kitchen in Winter Garden

I chose the Lemon Herb Cali Rice and Coconut Ginger Rice as my bases, Lemon Garlic Broccoli, and Sesame Green Beans for my veggies, along with Blackened Chicken and Almond Baked Chicken for my proteins, and Creamy White Ginger for my sauce (I love this sauce!). I also upgraded and added Pico de Gallo and a second sauce (Coconut Sriracha) for an additional cost.

My guest chose as her four bowl: Coconut Ginger Rice and the Arugula + Spinach Salad as her bases, Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and Herb Grilled Steak for her veggie and protein, along with the Creamy White Ginger for the sauce and upgraded with some shredded Parmesan.

Fresh Kitchen in Winter Garden

Since we’re friends, we shared our bowls to try everything.

We found the Lemon Herb Cali Rice tasty but a bit dry, though the sliced almonds provided a nice crunch. The Arugula + Spinach Salad was fresh and light and the garlic basil oil provided a little something something extra for the taste buds. This would be great as its own salad, or as a vegan greens base for a bowl.

Fresh Kitchen in Winter Garden

Our favorites of everything we tried were: the Coconut Ginger Rice (base), which was moist and creamy with a hint of sweetness and went with everything, the sesame green beans (crisp and fresh), the Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes (sweet but not overly so), and the protein options of Blackened Chicken (new to me but I loved the kick of heat especially with the Coconut Sriracha sauce), Almond Baked Chicken (the almonds added an extra crunch to the chicken), and the Herbed Grilled Steak (moist and flavorful).

And while we didn’t hate anything, we weren’t huge fans of the Lemon Garlic Broccoli. The taste was wonderful, but each piece had huge stems that didn’t hold the lemon garlic flavor.

Fresh Kitchen in Winter Garden

We also really enjoyed the variety of beverages offered, including house-made limeades, frescas, and teas, along with Fountainhead cane sugar sodas (no high-fructose corn syrup).

For dessert, we split a 3-pack of Fresh Kitchen’s Chocolate Chip Paleo Cookies, which were soft and delicious, and the new Harvest Bars, made with pecans, walnuts, GF oats, dates, and maple syrup. They were a nice light snack later in the day.

Fresh Kitchen in Winter Garden

Fresh Kitchen in Winter Garden

We visited the Winter Garden location, which was right off the 429 in the Winter Garden Village shopping center. It had plenty of seating, and the staff were friendly. I also liked that every person in the line who handled your food asked about food allergies.

Bottom line: Fresh Kitchen is still a great place to have a healthy meal at a wallet-friendly, especially if you have dietary restrictions or allergies.

The food is fresh, fairly priced, and is available in less than five minutes (and you can pre-order online for quick pick-up.)

Other locations in Central Florida, include SODO, Waterford Lakes, Winter Garden, Lake Mary, and Lakeland. Visit EatFreshKitchen.com for full menus, ingredient lists, and more.

Fresh Kitchen in Winter Garden

Disclaimer: CitySurfing Orlando was invited to try the new menu items. As always, my opinions are honest and my own.

 

About Michelle Snow

Michelle is the owner and editor of CitySurfing Orlando. She also owns Zengrrl.com, is a freelance writer specializing in travel and entertainment, has authored/co-authored four guidebooks on Orlando and Florida, and was head editor/writer at TheDisneyBlog.com for 10 years. She's lived in Orlando near Walt Disney World since 1995, and still finds there's so much fun to be had in Central Florida.
Scroll To Top