‘Watts for Dinner’: True Food Kitchen has all the taste, none of the guilt

Let’s start with a few promotional words from the restaurants website: “Eating well is always in season."

“Welcome to True Food Kitchen: A place where delicious dining and conscious nutrition go hand in hand — and where eating well can be the foundation for a life well lived.”

Dining out in Naples and Marco Island can mean some really great food — unique and delicious creations are commonplace, and that’s a good thing. But finding healthy options when dining out can be tricky, and adding gluten-free and vegan options to the mix can be even trickier.

Well, not anymore.

So, let’s get started, but first, this warning: Recipes are created using in-season ingredients, so some dishes may not be available at all times.

For an appetizer, we picked the charred cauliflower with hints of harissa, a hot chili pepper paste (the main ingredients of which are roasted peppers, spices and herbs); tahini (made from toasted ground hulled sesame); medjool dates, dill, mint and pistachio.

The taste is not hot or overpowering in any flavor, just a subtle goodness. The roasting comes through more than anything else. My only complaint, I wanted more. 

For my main dish, I picked the lasagna Bolognese – fennel chicken sausage, mushrooms, spinach, lemon ricotta and herbs. The sauce had a spicy kick and the ricotta was heavenly. This dish will leave you amazed that it comes in under 500 calories. Lasagna without the guilt. Sign me up!

My partner in dine selected the Moroccan chicken, featuring a mission fig sauce, heirloom carrots, chickpeas, olives, spinach, chermoula (a marinade and relish used in Algerian, Libyan, Moroccan and Tunisian cooking) and Greek yogurt. 

The fig sauce added the perfect amount of sweetness to this savory masterpiece. You’ll be amazed by the portion size, especially compared to my lasagna.  

And let’s not forget the drinks, coming in under 100 calories each. I had the pomegranate chia limeade and the name alone makes me thirsty. Recalling its tangy sweet goodness, I could not believe it was low calorie – at least compared to soft drinks. My dining companion had the honey lemonade which was equally thirst quenching.

For all the taste without the guilt; and for those among us who chose to be picky eaters (and those who have little choice in the matter) True Food Kitchen is a blessing.

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If you go

True Food Kitchen

• In Waterside Shops, 5375 Tamiami Trail N., Suite 15, Naples
• 239-431-4580
• Truefoodkitchen.com