This time of year, you’re probably eating healthy because you have to, or because you want to.
Shimp Salad and the Mahi-Mahi with grits at FISH
Like some of us, you’ve looked at the scale following the holidays and didn’t see the numbers you were hoping for. Or maybe you’re just seizing the spirit of the New Year and reinventing yourself as a healthier person. For others, you’re just coming off three months spent dining on a bevy of rich holiday foods and you’re simply looking for a change of pace.
Regardless of your reasons, right about now you’re looking to switch it up with something light, flavorful and good for you. With a slew of tantalizing restaurant options serving every dish imaginable, you know you’re going to find that perfect dish at Coligny.
Our first stop is Skillet’s, where the famed menu of home-meal favorites enjoys a famously healthy side–the grand salad bar bristling with leafy greens and healthy veggies. Pile your bowl with nutrition and pair it with one of their lighter dinner options, like the grilled grouper sandwich or the grilled salmon with cucumbers and tomatoes.
“There’s no starch and no heavy sauces … it’s just a good, all-around healthy dish,” said Skillet’s owner Amie Baima. She also notes that Skillet’s famed breakfast menu gives you plenty of ways to eat healthy, including the whole wheat pancakes topped with fresh fruit, or the vegetable crepe, chock full of vegetables. “It’s not going to weight you down, and all those veggies really help get you going,” she added.
The Superfood Salad, Grouper with Plantains and the Quinoa and Rice Bowl from Sandbar Beach Eats
Just across Coligny, follow the eye-opening aroma of freshly roasted coffee to Carolina Coffee & Crumbs, where healthful options abound. Beyond the light and fresh sandwiches like the vegetarian panini, a few surprises on the menu give you a delectable way to stick to those resolutions. Chef Sam Houston happily points out a few of the delicious selections like the superfood salad and the quinoa bowl. “The superfood salad comes with smoked salmon on top, which is very healthy because of the omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. They recommend eating fish twice a week, and this is a really tasty way to do that,” he said. “And the quinoa bowl has tons of antioxidants and fiber.”
Avocado Toast with a Sunny-Side-Up Egg at Skillets Cafe and Grill.
Speaking of seafood, that’s the name of the game–quite literally–at FISH Casual Coastal Seafood. With a menu built around fresh ingredients that flavor seafood pulled right from the dock, FISH has a slew of options for enjoying the healthy benefits and flavors of the sea. “We have fresh fish, shrimp and oysters in daily but, to me, the mahi is one of the best fish we have,” said General Manager Anne Pufal. “And all of our pots offer something healthy–it’s just fresh ingredients boiled in a bag, without a lot of heavy sauce.”
Shrimp and Beet Salad from Skillets Cafe & Grill
She also points to the house-made dressings on all their salads, like the tequila lime shrimp tortilla salads, as being a healthy (and often gluten-free) addition to any healthy meal.
It’s the time of year to scale back on hearty meals that weigh you down, and to discover the joys of fresh healthy ingredients. But that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice enjoying the kind of flavors that have made Coligny’s restaurants famous. And if you do happen to sneak in something with a few more calories, you have a ready-made way to burn them off: browsing the famed variety of shops that make up Hilton Head’s downtown.
