Toronto: 5 great spots for a great smoothie

Source: Adapted from ourfaves.com, June 2009

Fresh By Juice For Life

894 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ont., M6J 1G3 (and two other locations)

This local vegetarian classic hot spot has a huge variety of smoothies to choose from, or have them make your own smoothie recipe. Try the Almond Java for a healthy and nourishing take on a Frappuccino.

Live Organic Food Bar

264 Dupont Street, Toronto, Ont., M5R 1V7

The word unique is overused but in the case of Live it fits. It’s its own niche in the Toronto restaurant landscape'(mostly) raw and vegan food prepared with care and attention to detail. Drop by to pick up a smoothie (I love the chocolate one) or dessert to go, or stop in for a nice dinner or Sunday brunch. For dinner, try the raw combo plate to get a sampling of various dishes. They also have a selection of crackers, cookies and bars that are prepackaged’try the kale and red pepper chips (also available at select retailers across the city), they’ll satisfy your salty craving and nourish at the same time.

Liquid Nutrition

346 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ont., M5V 2A2

I first discovered this chain during a business trip to their home city, Montreal, and fell in love with their nutrition-packed drinks. They have a wide selection of smoothies, catering to different tastes and needs: some are dairy-based, some soy and some just juice. They also have tons of supplements to add to the drinks, such as protein powder and vitamin C or even chia, ginseng or omega 3. The whole menu (including calorie counts) is available on the website’and be careful! Some of the smoothies are high enough in calories that you really want to make them more of a meal than a snack. Besides the smoothies, they also offer a selection of snacks, bars and light meals.

Saving Gigi

859 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ont.

Bring your laptop, stay a while: Saving Gigi, sister restaurant to Saving Grace on Dundas, is my go-to neighbourhood spot for an afternoon with the laptop (they have free wifi) and a good cup of coffee. The space is bright and relaxing and conducive to getting some work done, but it’s also a nice place to drop in and grab a bite to eat’I love their sandwiches (on awesome thin-sliced bread) and muffins, and for breakfast, the toast with chevre and cherry jam (it’s big enough to share). They also have great smoothies, a full coffee bar (including soy milk) and a huge selection of teas. Note that they’re closed on Tuesdays.

Lettieri

77 Wellesley St., Toronto, Ont. (and several other locations)

Lettieri is one of my favourite spots to pick up a coffee or a snack. This isn’t the coziest location but the food and service are good. Last time I was in here I noticed they were carrying desserts from Dufflet’just try to resist them’but they also have sandwiches, pizza and my favourite, smoothies. I love that their smoothies come in sizes so you can go small when you just want a snack, and you can pick your own combo of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and mango.

Kat Tancock isn’t just web editor here at Best Health, she also writes Fit & Healthy reviews as kattancock for ourfaves.com.

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