Brockton Eats with Alisha: Local health-conscious eateries to start the New Year right

BROCKTON — If your New Year's resolution is to stay fit and healthy but you don't want to give up delicious, zesty flavors, you've come to the right place. I collected five places to curb hearty food cravings without wrecking your health goals.

In this week's installment of Brockton Eats with Alisha, I rounded up a few places in Brockton and the surrounding area that allow you to have healthy vegan, vegetarian and organic pressed juice options.

These weekly lists of tidbits and food finds are not restaurant reviews but go beyond a bare-bones round-up. Staff writer Alisha Saint-Ciel gives tips and takes to help Brockton-area foodies find those mouth-watering hidden gems, old favorites and exciting new offerings.

Cabo Vegan — 20 Main St., Brockton

Located in the heart of Brockton is a vegan restaurant that gives the community everything you could think of regarding vegan options. 

Cabo Vegan is not only a restaurant but a small organic vegan marketplace that offers health and beauty products such as soaps, oils, moisturizers, supplements, international snacks that can't be found in ordinary stores, meat substitutes, sea moss and kombucha. 

Dive into the menu with 100 % vegan options from twin lobster-less rolls with chips to a "Turki" sandwich, a pesto artichoke panini, a falafel burger, parmesan truffle fries and many more. 

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Top Knotch Wellness Center — 742 Crescent St., Brockton

A fully vegan restaurant opened in November and offers a full vegan menu of pizza, burgers, wraps, tacos and Jamaican and Haitian patties in six flavors.

The health food business also offers supplements, health and beauty items, soap, herbs, tea, fresh pressed juice, smoothies and concentrated shots.

Some of the popular items include:

• Merry Berry — Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberry and agave
• Go Green — Avocado, banana, kale, celery and agave
• Top Notch — Mixed berries, mango, pineapples and agave
• Sunrise — Carrot, pineapple, orange and watermelon

Try the buffalo vegan chicken sandwich with cheese, lettuce, tomato and housemade sauce. All the sauces are made by in-house chef and co-owner Mardochee Lavalas.

Another hot item on the menu is the tacos that come in three flavors:

• Steak tacos — Pico de gallo spinach, cheddar cheese and lime
• Beef tacos — Pico de gallo, spinach, corn, cheddar cheese and lime
• Veggie tacos — Avocado, pico de gallo, spinach, corn, pineapple glaze, lime and mozzarella

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Kwench Juice Café — 194 Oak St., Brockton

Take a sip of the tropical flavors of Kwench Juice Café, which serves raw juice, smoothies, concentrated shots and açai bowls made to order.

The menu incorporates pictures of the ripe fruits with all the essential benefits and vitamins, including 11 superfoods that add an extra boost to any drink or smoothie bowl.

What's remarkable about the business is that the juices are 100 % real pressed juice and are not diluted with water or ice. The best part is the juices are made right in-front of you without preservatives added.

Popular drinks include:

• Rocky Marciano — Beets, carrots, celery, ginger, lemons and hemp
• Marvin Hagler — Apples, cucumbers, carrots, lemons, wheatgrass and bee pollen
• Campanelli Stadium — Apples, mint, pineapple, kale, spinach, wheatgrass and spirulina

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Playa Bowls — 1285 Belmont St., Brockton 

Take a break from the hustle and bustle of your life and enter a warm Caribbean paradise that gives you a taste of a tropical vacation. 

Playa Bowls Stonehill provides a fresh take on plant-based health and wellness. Their island-inspired menu includes fresh açai and pitaya bowls, cold-pressed fruit juice smoothies and coffee. 

The star of the show has to be the açai berries, which are grape-like fruits native to the rainforest of South America. The fruit contains antioxidants, healthy fats and fiber.

On the menu, there are dozens of combinations, and there's a "build your own" option for the frozen fruit bowls.

A popular item on the menu is the raw coconut bowl with coconut milk and banana, topped with a Nutella and a peanut butter drizzle. 

Other customers are seeming to enjoy the smoothies and açai bowls.

Live Well Nutrition — 603 Centre St., Brockton

Warm waffles, exotic energy drinks, dessert-flavored shakes and healthy crepes have landed on the East side of Brockton. 

Live Well Nutrition has health and wellness in mind and wants to give you the whole experience of enjoying healthy shakes that taste like a freshly baked dessert without sacrificing your fitness goals.

These smoothies have 24 grams of protein and 21 essential vitamins topped with whipped cream, all while being 200 calories.

Some popular menu items include passion fruit and dragon fruit energy tea, white chocolate Reese's shake, strawberry cheesecake shake and house-made waffles.

4-Yew — 1550 New State Hwy, Raynham

Looking for a tranquil place to eat healthy while enjoying pretty décor and warm ambiance? 4-yew might be the place for you.

The local juice bar is unlike your average bar, with positive affirmations on the walls and games ready for customers to play at their leisure.

4-Yew's menu comprises several items ranging from open-faced sandwiches to tea, coffee, fresh smoothies and açai bowls. 

There are also gourmet donuts if you want to cheat on being healthy. 

Healthy customer favorites include:

• Blue Ocean — Organic blue spirulina blended with almond milk, topped with banana, granola, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi and coconut flakes
• The Galaxy — Pure açai berry blended with almond milk, topped with bananas, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, granola and coconut flakes
• Strawberry P.B. — Strawberries, bananas, peanut butter, vanilla yogurt and your choice of milk
• Rise and Shine — Spinach, kale, mango, pineapple, banana, lemon and coconut water

Do you have a suggestion for the food series? Email staff reporter Alisha Saint-Ciel at stciela@gannett.com.