Marching off of sweets at Jan’s Health Bar

John Volo

Nutritionally speaking, March was not a good month for me. I

seemingly survived on nothing but Girl Scout cookies: Samoas and

orange juice for breakfast, Tag-alongs and milk for lunch and Thin

Mints for dinner.

I knew things were spiraling out of control when I was asking the

wine guy at Trader Joe’s if I’d be better served pairing my Thin

Mints with a Merlot or a Chardonnay?

Sensing my family’s plans for a cookie intervention were imminent,

I proactively headed to Jan’s Health Bar for an infusion of healthy

goodness. Jan’s serves up wholesome sandwiches, earthy salads,

warming soups and fruit smoothies.

When my mother and I pulled up to Jan’s at 1 p.m., the line was

out the door. I didn’t know what to attribute this to: the fact that

it was Good Friday, the fact the weather was perfectly spring-like or

that everyone had exhausted their supply of Girl Scout cookies. After

lunch, I realized the line was because the food is so good (not to

mention the place is so small).

I got a large turkey and avocado sandwich that came on soft, fresh

wheat-berry bread. It also had crisp lettuce, juicy tomato, sprouts

and soy bacon bits. The avocado was plentiful enough that it tried to

slide out with every bite, the crispy soy bacon bits were a pleasant

surprise in both taste and texture and the sprouts lent a level of

healthy legitimacy. I mean, you could put sprouts atop a chicken

fried steak sandwich with gravy, and it would seem like a healthy

choice to me.

Other sandwiches of note include: peanut butter, B.L.T., chicken

breast, and vegi-turkey (a meatless protein made from soybeans).

With my sandwich, I had a choice of corn chips, fruit, or pasta. I

opted for the southwest pasta, which was remarkable. Cold rotini

pasta was mixed with small chunks of feta cheese, sliced olive pieces

and bits of chili pepper to produce a spicy delight. I spied the

fruit side on another diner’s plate -- it looked tantalizingly fresh.

It was heavy on strawberries, but also had sliced kiwi, blueberries,

boysenberries and grapes.

My mom went for the surfer’s special (never mind that she thinks

toes on the nose is a medical condition) -- a half sandwich and cup

of soup. The tuna sandwich was devoid of celery (a good thing) and

had precisely the right amount of mayo, just enough to provide

moistness, but not enough to drown out the tuna flavor.

Her New England clam chowder was creamy, not pasty, and had lots

of potato and a sufficient number of finely chopped clams. My potato

cheese soup was equally as good, once I got past its resemblance to a

nacho cheese sauce.

My mom and I both enjoyed smoothies with our lunch. Jan’s

smoothies start with a base of bananas and dates before adding your

choice of fruit. Our smoothies (coconut-pineapple for me, peach for

her) had a mild, natural sweetness to them. I felt healthier with

every sip. I’m already eyeing the berry bonanza smoothie

(raspberries, strawberries, boysenberries, and blueberries) for my

return visit.

While we took the soup and sandwich route, we easily could have

happily indulged in one of their bountiful salad offerings. The large

tuna salad was enormous. A mountain of iceberg and red leaf lettuces

are topped with tuna, carrots, sprouts, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers,

sunflower seeds, and mushrooms. They also have a fruit salad that

combines fresh fruit with fat-free yogurt.

Not that I needed a bigger boost, but just to put an exclamation

point on my healthy lunch, I downed an after-lunch shot of wheatgrass

and left Jan’s feeling revitalized.

* JOHN VOLO is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have

comments or suggestions, e-mail hbindependent@latimes.com.