Hi everyone! I know a lot of people are starting to return to State College (I’ll be there on Friday) and I am so excited!! I cannot wait to try out some new eats, but until then, I’m hitting you guys with another one of my favs: Roots Natural Kitchen.
Since those of us who are heading back to campus are about to be missing out on some homecooked meals for the next few months, I thought it would be appropriate to recommend you guys to some healthier eating.
Roots Natural Kitchen offers healthy bowls that you can pick off the menu or design yourself. I really like the flexibility of this restaurant because I’m a fairly picky eater, so if I’m not feeling any of the options off the menu I can build my own!
Roots’ menu is pretty extensive. Should you choose to build your own bowl – you have a lot of different options!
To start out, you would pick as many primary bases as you would like. These bases include spinach, brown rice, kale, etc. Next, you can pick 5 ingredients, such as chickpeas, avocado, sweet potatoes, hard boiled eggs, etc. Next, you can choose a grilled item – mushrooms, chicken (my personal fav) or BBQ tofu. You can also add a dressing of your choice.
I love that there are so many different combinations to choose from – there is truly something for everyone! My go-to bowl is a brown rice base with spinach, chicken, broccoli, hard boiled eggs, and parmesan cheese. I know it might sound a bit funky but it is delicious and super filling!
Roots is located downtown near Penn Towers. This is a convenient location and it isn’t too bad of a walk! I’m not sure how pleasant the walk will be in the snow though… Luckily there is a Roots in Pittsburgh (where I’m from) so I haven’t had to miss it while at home! Here is a list of other Roots locations if you aren’t returning to campus but still want to try it out!
Since Roots is filled with all natural ingredients, it is a little pricy and unfortunately does not go on the meal plan. LionCash is accepted though! Despite the price, I think it is really worth it if you are sick of the dining hall and need a good, healthy meal (grilled chicken thigh halal can only go so far).
I definitely recommend Roots if you are looking for a healthy option to break up the week of Flip’s burgers and dining hall breadsticks. Let me know if you guys have any recommendations for me once we get back to campus! I’d love to try something new out. Until next time 🙂
I love love love Roots! Any customizable “bowl” place really. It’s like the perfect mix between a salad and chipotle. I had no idea they had a Roots in Pittsburgh, which is exciting because I’m from there too. I will say I am quite traumatized by the one time I had some leftovers from Roots and I choked on the rice. Good thing my friend who I was with remembered the Heimlich from health class. I have yet to step a foot back into Roots for fear of choking again.
Although I have seen it downtown, I have never actually been to roots. I had always assumed it to be some sort of expensive vegan/vegetarian restaurant, and I guess I was right on the pricing but not the menu. It looks interesting enough to try, but I’m not a big salad person. Great Post!
I’ve heard about Roots, but I haven’t gotten myself over there yet. I think it’s just because I’m too lazy to head downtown. It’s quite a hike from East and my homework is keeping me way too busy. I eat extremely healthy, mainly because I enjoy it and it tastes really good to me (I also have a sensitive stomach, but we won’t go there), so sometimes the dining hall food just doesn’t cut it. I am a THON dancer and we get a voucher for Roots, so maybe that’ll give me an excuse to finally give it a try!
Your post inspired me to visit roots with my girlfriend. We each built our own bowl and it was quite a different experience compared to other restaurants. I think you did a great job explaining their menu and some of the different healthy options they have.