Top 10 Healthy Food Trucks

We sent Lisa to scout out the top 10 healthy food trucks in NYC and figure out what the truck fuss was all about.

Many of us grew up with ice cream trucks, hot dog stands, and the occasional bake sale wagon. Aside from that “mobile food” didn’t have much meaning, or glamour for that matter. Today, you can’t walk three blocks without noticing that gourmet food service on wheels, in the form of “food trucks,” has taken over. New Yorkers now have pedestrian curbside access to healthy meals, fresh squeezed juices, gourmet salads, and grilled falafel. NYC tour companies are even offering food truck tours of Manhattan highlighting lunch spots in midtown and the financial district.

So what makes standing on the sidewalk on our tippy toes to order from a truck so appealing? Are we nostalgic about the excitement that came with lining up for the ice cream truck? Do we like the idea of convenience and perhaps “fast food?” Is it because we want to be part of the foodie scene buzz? Or is there something cool about the idea of getting a meal outside your office door that you would other have to travel deep into Brooklyn for? Although the answer may be a combination or all of the above, the bottom line is that much of the food offered is good – healthy and delicious – and oftentimes better than the brick and mortar deli chain competition.

I think the main reason why the quality of the food is better is because the food truck menu options are limited. These food trucks are niche, and when you walk up you pretty much know what you’ll be ordering based on the name of the truck. Whereas other establishments may spread themselves (and the quality of their ingredients) thin with trying to make everyone happy, food trucks aim to please the fans of their “one hit wonders.”

We scouted the best (and healthiest) food trucks in the greater NYC. Here are our favorites:

NY Dosas: With a line wrapping the corner of Washington Square Park, this truck is impossible to miss. You may have to elbow some NYU students to get to your Roti Curry, but it’s worth the wait. (Please, please steer clear of the Vegan Drumsticks) @nydosas

Green Pirate: This sustainable food truck runs on bio-diesel fuel and composts all production waste. They even trade fresh squeezed juices for whatever services you may be able to offer to their business… This truck bounces between Brooklyn and Soho. @juicepirate

Food Trucks parked at Tavern on the Green: Rickshaw Dumplings, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream and Pera Turkish Tacos are conveniently parked in Central Park, right across from the Foodtrainers office. We’re sad to see Ladle of Love have to go, but still love Rickshaw’s organic edamame dumplings.

@RickshawTruck

Rouge Tomate: We are so excited that one of Foodtrainers’ favorite restaurants has gone mobile by entrance to the Central Park Zoo. Not only is the food cart environmentally friendly, powered by solar energy, they serve items like farmhouse yogurt with local honey and delicious chilled white gazpacho. @rougetomatecart

Luke’s Lobster & Red Hook Lobster: The Luke’s Lobster Nauti Mobile offers the option for a half lobster, crab, or shrimp roll. We’ve tried most seafood rolls this city has to offer, and Luke’s is by far the cleanest with mayo optional. Red Hook Lobster also brings their Brooklyn based seafood joint to the streets of Manhattan. @LukesLobsterNY and @lobstertruckny

Crisp on Wheels: This mobile midtown lunch spot offers a variety of falafel sandwiches and salad bowls. Our favorite is the mama mia salad with sundried tomato spread. You’ll never know this falafel isn’t fried. @CrispOnWheels

Organic Carts NYC: Another favorite restaurant, GustOrganics launched the first certified organic street cart in NYC, located in front of MoMa. They have a great breakfast menu with a juicer on the cart. At lunch they serve salads, hummus, and homemade soups and stews.

Cinnamon Snail: This vegan truck caters mostly to Hoboken and Red Bank. Their breakfast menu features dishes from the likes of fresh fig pancakes with pine nut butter and chamomile blood orange syrup, while their lunch menu offers a wide variety from raw pizza, to red curry, and maple mustard tempeh. @VeganLunchTruck

Calexico: This Brooklyn restaurants can now be found parked as a food truck in Soho and Flatiron. They serve clean Mexican food, and we love the naked frijoles negros “burrito.”  

Big Gay Ice Cream Truck: Okay, so we don’t recommend you put this one on the regular lunch rotation, but with toppings like Wasabi Pea Dust, Ginger and Elderflower Syrups, Cardamom, and Pumpkin Butter, we couldn’t leave it off the list. @biggayicecream

Since these trucks don’t have permanent locations, the best way to figure out where they’ll be on a given day is to check their Facebook and twitter pages. Even more novelty in scouting out your lunch – it’s a social media scavenger hunt to get it! Although food trucks have become a popular lunchtime market for professionals, it doesn’t end there. Food trucks are swarming to parks, beaches, and college campuses in order to make themselves available in areas with less (than healthy) options. 

While a lot of fun is associated with finding and patronizing food trucks, we also want to mention that food trucks are serving an important purpose in terms of community nutrition – they aid in solving the problem of “food deserts,” or areas without access to healthy food. NYC’s Green Carts was instituted to serve this purpose andother initiatives have used food trucks as a means to deliver healthy (and free!) food to people in areas where it wouldn’t otherwise be available. Check out Dole Fruit Bowls on Tuesdays  and Go Healthy New York’s Free Fruit Fridays.  @GoHealthyNY

Have you tried any of the trucks we highlighted? Any personal favorite NYC food trucks? Do you have food trucks where you live? If so, what are they? And if you had a food truck what would it serve?

It Is Possible To Overfruit

Not long ago, I wrote a post for Blisstree (love Blisstree) entitled “Eight Things to Never Put in Your Smoothies.” I talked about sorbet (does this need to be in your breakfast?), soy protein and “too much fruit”.  Regarding fruit I said, “sure, smoothies seem healthy, but the problem is that calories add up, even from fresh fruit. So avoid smoothies that are bigger than 16 ounces or are made with more than two cups of fruit.” Let’s just say people didn’t like me saying anything negative about their beloved fruit. I was told, “too much fruit, really? With all the things wrong with the American diet, too much fruit isn’t what I would hone in on.”

If we’re talking about eating habits of Americans, I’d agree. Processed food, pesticides, food dyes, hormones in our food and heavily sweetened and salted foods are all bigger problems than fruit. Most Americans, after all, eat too little fruit versus too much (unless we count juice, fruity pebbles and “fruit” snacks). However, if we’re talking about the ideal diet or what to eat in order to lose weight, I’m sorry folks it is possible to overfruit.

Don’t get me wrong, I love fruit and think fruit is a part of any balanced diet providing fiber, phytochemicals and antioxidants. Weight Watchers’ new points system allows unlimited fruit. While this may work for someone switching from the standard American diet (fast food, processed food, lots of food) to a healthier one or for someone with a significant amount of weight to lose, I think it’s a mistake for those with less to shed.

My reasoning is based on a few criteria. First, what would be a weight-related post without mentioning calories? Between breakfast, smoothies and snacks I see many new clients consuming over 400 calories from fruit. Second, this amount of fruit would contain over 70 grams of sugar or over 16 teaspoons. In case you’re shouting “but it’s fruit sugar silly” that’s part of the problem. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggested that fructose consumption reduces circulating levels of leptin (the hormone that inhibits appetite).  “the combined effects of lowered circulating leptin and insulin in individuals who consume diets that are high in dietary fructose could therefore increase the likelihood of weight gain and its associated metabolic sequelae.” Marion Nestle, author of Food Politics had this to say, “the metabolic problems that result from sugar intake are mostly due to the fructose content.  Less is better for health.  Fructose is sweeter than either glucose or sucrose.” Dr Nestle’s comments happened to be about soda and not fruit but fructose is fruit sugar. Speaking of sugar, the most alarming, must-read sugar article I’ve read recently was by Gary Taube’s in the NYT magazine.

If you’re just starting to make weight loss efforts or you’re losing weight and results have slowed try reducing your fruit intake. I would suggest two cups of fruit a day which is still four servings according to the USDA. If this is your current intake reduce further to 1 cup (or 2 small pieces) of fruit a day. The intention is not to eliminate fruit but just not to overdo it. And to be more of a buzz kill specific, stick to fresh or frozen fruit and skip dried fruit or fruit juice.

Do you think fruit plays a role in weight loss? How much fruit do you eat a day? Is it possible to overdo anything we eat? What is your favorite fruit?