by Katie Stackable | Dec 8, 2015 | Blog
BY HOPSCOTCH AND JELLYBEANS – The items on the menu are made fresh to order. All without any trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, fillers or added sugar, no artificial preservatives and it all tastes wonderful. Who knew truly healthy food could taste so good?
I took my Boyznberries to try out Vitality Bowls and no I did not tell them it was good for them. I didn’t want any meltdowns along the way. Despite my youngest being my poster child for eating brussels sprouts at 5 years old. We all have that ONE picky eater and I just didn’t feel like getting into a debate. I secretly knew that I would most likely eat with the family. Then when we left I would take “That” Picky eater and we would go to a fast food place and load up his arteries in high saturated fat while he dipped his processed food in artificial ranch. Trust me I felt guilty and it looks like I won’t getting Mother of Year either.
Or at least I thought, hold the saturated fat with the supersizing of clogging my sons arteries.
Despite the signs everywhere that promoted health I was happy for once that he was less than observant.
When it was time to order the older one decided to get the Turkey Panini with Whole wheat and no sun-dried tomatoes. My middle one had the Turkey Panini as well with an “Add” extra Salami and provolone cheese. The youngest had the Grilled Cheese Panini on white bread and “Shared” with everyone else. I mean food always tastes better on the other persons plate, rightI had the Turkey Panini the way it was intended along with the Tropical bowl. My teenager also ordered the Dragon Bowl with Gluten Free Granola. We also had two juices; The Rejuvenator and The Rehydrator. We all took to my five year olds idea and decided to “Share” the bowls. After all, sharing is caring. read more
by Katie Stackable | Dec 1, 2015 | Blog
BY DIABLO MAGAZINE – Speaking of Vitality Bowls, the Walnut Creek store now has a coffee bar, unique to that location only.
If you love Vitality Bowls but are looking for something a little stronger than an acai berry, you can enjoy coffee on tap, an espresso bar with 100 percent organic coffee, and superfood drinks such as an acai latte.
Even power berries need a caffeine kick every now and then. We’ll keep you posted if this menu expands beyond Walnut Creek. read more
by Katie Stackable | Nov 8, 2015 | Blog
BY FAST CASUAL – Vitality Bowls, which specializes in açaí bowls — a thick blend of the Amazon’s antioxidant-rich açaí berry, topped with a variety of superfoods — announced this week the opening of its café in Castro Valley, California. The new franchise location will be the first for Debra Ochoa, who plans to open one additional café in San Leandro, according to a company press release.
“From the first bite I took from an açaí bowl at Vitality Bowls, I knew it was the start of a new journey for me,” Ochoa said. “The incredible taste of the fresh ingredients and the feeling it provides is just an unbeatable combination.”
Slated to open Dec. 10, the new restaurant will be located at 20668 Rustic Dr., and will be the 16th Vitality Bowls café in California joining the 19 locations based nationwide.
“Simply put, we created Vitality Bowls to be a place where health-conscious individuals can go for a nutritional meal,” said Tara Gilad, founder and owner of Vitality Bowls. “We believe that healthy food can be an option for fast casual food and we are excited to have Debra on board. We look forward to seeing Debra grow her business in Castro Valley and sharing the Vitality Bowls message with the community.”
Launched in 2011, the concept began franchising last year and within the past 12 months has signed development deals for nearly 40 units. Today, there are currently 19 open and operating with additional units in development.
by Katie Stackable | Oct 29, 2015 | Blog
BY QSR – The superfood sensation that is energizing the nation’s healthy-food movement is now providing kids with additional delicious alternatives to traditional fast-casual offerings.
Recognizing that children have fallen in love with the superfood café right alongside their parents, Vitality Bowls, which specializes in açaí bowls, a thick blend of the Amazon’s antioxidant-rich açaí berry topped with a selection of superfood ingredients, announced the creation of new menu items geared specifically for kids.
“It’s so important that children learn the value of putting quality, healthy foods into their bodies at a young age,” says Tara Gilad, chief operating officer of Vitality Bowls. “Vitality Bowls was founded as the solution to our daughter’s nutritional requirements after discovering she had severe food allergies, so it was only natural for us to develop a menu entirely for kids. Our new additions to the kids menu really reflect our passion for providing healthy, delicious, and nutritious options for everyone who walks into our cafés—starting with the tiniest of our customers.” read more
Some of the delicious options available to children on the new menu include:
· Sunsation Smoothie (lemonade, açaí, bananas, and strawberries, plus an option to add spinach)
· Kids Açaí Bowl (organic açaí, apple juice, bananas, and strawberries, topped with organic granola, bananas, and strawberries)
· Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Mozzarella and Provolone cheeses on white or whole wheat bread)
· Fresh Carrot Orange Juice
· Chocolate Frozen Banana (frozen banana dipped in chocolate)
The new additions will begin rolling out in Vitality Bowls cafés across the country in the coming days. It showcases the superfood café’s unique ability to create great-tasting, antioxidant-rich menu items for anyone and everyone seeking to eat healthier. All dishes and beverages are made to order for each customer. No ingredient fillers such as ice, frozen yogurt, added sugar or artificial preservatives are used, giving the purest taste possible to each menu item.
by Katie Stackable | Oct 8, 2015 | Blog
BY THE MERCURY NEWS – Tasty açaí berries are the core of the eating philosophy of Sunnyvale’s newest restaurant, although its cold, fruit-based lunches are a concept that may take adjustment for some.
“Because it’s cold you feel it’s a dessert rather than a lunch,” says Praveen Kumar, owner of the Vitality Bowls. “Even I had to take time to get used to it. It was just after realizing the health benefits rather than me eating carbs. Me being Asian, my life is pretty much eating rice or wheat. I used to eat a lot of salads and I lost a lot of weight during that time, but I didn’t find that really nourishing because it’s just a filler.” read more
Vitality Bowls started in San Ramon in 2011, but quickly found that its fruit-based meals struck a chord with diners and since has spread to other locations throughout the Bay Area.
Founders Tara and Roy Gilad were impressed by açaí as a street food in Brazil and decided to bring it back with them to use as the main ingredient and base for healthy meals.
The bowls at Vitality Bowls start with a base of what Kumar calls a frozen fruit blend–frozen açaí or other fruit high in antioxidants blended with different fruits but no additional juices or sugars, topped with granola for crunch and then additional sliced fruit.
Kumar began eating at the Vitality Bowls in Pleasanton’s Stoneridge Shopping Center while looking for a healthy lunch option that also catered to his vegetarianism. After eating lunch there for nearly a month he was sold on the concept and decided to take a break from his job as a developer of iPhones and iPads to open his own Vitality Bowls in Sunnyvale.
“I moved out of Sunnyvale in 2009, but it always has a place in my heart. I live in Morgan Hill but I feel like Sunnyvale is where I want to be, but it’s too expensive for me to get a good home,” said Kumar.” I used to live right on El Camino and Wolfe, and so I was used to that area, I couldn’t find any healthy eating options. Other places offer healthy bowls but put in fillers.”
Besides the bowls, the restaurant offers paninis, smoothies and snacks. Everything can be made gluten-free or in other ways to accommodate people with allergies.
“I’m a vegetarian, but I learned to make even the meat paninis,” Kumar said. “I didn’t eat it, but I was slicing the meat and my dad said, ‘Wow, you must really believe in this.’”
Vitality Bowls is located at 605 Tasman Drive in Sunnyvale.
by Katie Stackable | Sep 22, 2015 | Blog
BY THE MERCURY NEWS — East County’s first superfood café is hoping to boost customer’s diets with ultra-healthy foods like acai and kale served in a variety of bowls, smoothies, salads, paninis and juices. read more
Vitality Bowls opens this week at The Streets of Brentwood next to Starbucks and Red Robin. The cafe will be preparing items like the Detox Bowl, which includes organic acai, almond milk, flaxseed, kale, spirulina, honey, almonds and a variety of fresh fruits.
“Here in Brentwood, there are not a lot of healthy food concepts. It is an underserved location in terms of healthy food,” café owner Ameet Seth said.
Vitality Bowls started with its San Ramon location four years ago and now has 15 locations, including cafes in Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Dublin, Lafayette, Redwood City and San Francisco.
“We have offerings that nobody has in this area. We carry things that you can’t just go to your average restaurant to get,” said the company’s founder, Tara Gilad.
According to Gilad, the superfood movement is not just a trend because people are more mindful about what they eat these days, including the next generation. Vitality Bowls makes organic salads and their meats are preservative-free.
“Everyone wants to eat healthy and the new generation eats healthier than we did when we grew up,” she said. “Every bowl is absolutely delicious and topped differently. Our younger generation is standing in line to eat our bowls.”
Vitality Bowls also tries to recruit and mentor young employees from the surrounding area. The Brentwood location has hired 27 part-time employees with many from Liberty, Freedom and Deer Valley high schools.
Although Gilad studied health science in college and was raised by organic farmers, her true inspiration for creating Vitality Bowls was her daughter’s severe food allergies.
“We started this business for her. We created a restaurant that is allergy-safe,” Gilad said. The company also tries to be completely all-natural and healthy. For example, their smoothies consist of all fruits and vegetables with no additional sugar and are almost half as many calories as the typical smoothie served at a health food café.
“We are trying to promote a healthy lifestyle and tell people that it isn’t a side dish served here,” Seth said. “You will be full and feel fantastic after it.”
Check out www.vitalitybowls.com.
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