How to Order at Sweetgreen.
Image cour of Green Queen Media
Sweetgreen is one of the easiest places to build a Balanced Meal because you can choose your greens, Quality Protein, Healthy Fats and optional Complex Carb yourself. The signature bowls can work too, but some stack grains, sweet potatoes, fruit and crunchy toppings into the same meal.
Build your own, or start with a signature bowl and adjust it.
Build Your Meal
Non-Starchy Veggies
Double greens as your base: shredded kale, baby spinach, arugula, spring mix or chopped romaine
Plus broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, pickled onions or other vegetables
Quality Protein
Roasted chicken
Blackened chicken
Steak
Salmon
Tofu
Larger appetite or higher protein needs: add extra protein
Healthy Fats, pick two
Avocado
Roasted almonds
Goat cheese or shaved parmesan
Your dressing, on the side
Complex Carbs (Optional), choose one
Roasted sweet potato
Wild rice or quinoa
Chickpeas
Apples
Corn
Breadcrumbs, tortilla chips or another crunchy topping
Skipping the Complex Carb?
Choose an additional Healthy Fat if you want one.
Make It Your Own
Harvest Bowl
Roasted chicken, sweet potatoes, apples, goat cheese, almonds, wild rice and kale with balsamic vinaigrette. This bowl stacks several Complex Carbs. Keep the sweet potato, wild rice or apples as the main one you want, keep the kale, and get the dressing on the side.
Chicken Pesto Parm
Roasted chicken, spicy broccoli, tomatoes, shaved parmesan, breadcrumbs, quinoa and spinach with hot sauce and pesto vinaigrette. Keep the quinoa as your Complex Carb and skip the breadcrumbs, or keep the breadcrumbs and skip the quinoa. Get the dressing on the side.
Guacamole Greens
Roasted chicken, avocado, tomatoes, pickled onions, cabbage, tortilla chips, spring mix and romaine with lime and lime cilantro jalapeño sauce. This one is already close to the formula. Keep the tortilla chips as your Complex Carb if you want them, avocado gives you a Healthy Fat, and get the sauce on the side.
Kale Caesar
Roasted chicken, tomatoes, shaved parmesan, parmesan crisps, kale and romaine with lime and Caesar dressing. The protein is already handled. Keep the parmesan crisps if you want them, or skip them if you are skipping your Complex Carb. Get the dressing on the side.
Shroomami
Roasted tofu, portobello mushrooms, cucumbers, basil, cabbage, almonds, wild rice and kale with miso sesame ginger dressing. Keep the wild rice as your Complex Carb and almonds as a Healthy Fat. Get the dressing on the side.
Super Green Goddess
Chickpeas, roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, spicy broccoli, cabbage, almonds, spinach and kale with Green Goddess Ranch. This one needs a stronger Quality Protein. Add chicken or another protein option. Choose the chickpeas or sweet potatoes as your main Complex Carb rather than automatically keeping both. Sweetgreen currently lists the standard salad at only 12g protein.
Build Your Own
Start with double greens, add your Quality Protein and plenty of Non-Starchy Veggies. Choose one Complex Carb if having one, add your Healthy Fats, and get the dressing on the side.
Watch Out For
The carb stack. Wild rice + sweet potato + apples, or quinoa + breadcrumbs, can turn one bowl into several Complex Carb choices. You do not need to remove carbs. Choose the ones you actually want and build the rest of the meal around protein and vegetables.
Crunch on autopilot. Tortilla chips, breadcrumbs, crispy rice and other crunchy toppings can fit. Just treat them as part of the meal rather than an invisible topping.
Sweetened proteins and sauces. Current menu items include Hot Honey Chicken and Caramelized Garlic Steak. They can still fit, but if you want a simpler everyday build, choose roasted or blackened chicken or another less-sweetened protein.
Vegetarian does not automatically mean high-protein. Super Green Goddess currently has 12g protein as built, so add a Quality Protein if you want it to function as your Balanced Meal.
Notes
For the general rules, see how to order at a restaurant for weight loss.
You do not automatically need extra protein. Choose the portion that fits your appetite and needs.
Skipping your Complex Carb? You can choose an additional Healthy Fat.
Chickpeas contain both protein and carbohydrate. In the Eat Shed Glow® Method, count them as your Complex Carb rather than relying on them as your primary Quality Protein.
Fruit does not need to be removed to make a meal healthy. If you want the apples in the Harvest Bowl, keep them and build the rest of the bowl around that choice.
Sweetgreen changes seasonal menu items, so check the current menu when ordering.
If you have celiac disease or a food allergy, check Sweetgreen’s current ingredient and allergen information.
This is your No B.S. Salad, built at a counter.
