While walking home through the construction on 18th Street, I stumbled over what appeared to be a lamp that had been buried for years! After looking over both shoulders to see if anyone witnessed my clumsiness, I discretely bent down, scooped up the lamp and continued on my way. When I finally got home, I cleaned the lamp and decided to try my chances by giving it a good rub.
All of a sudden smoke started pouring out of the front and to my astonishment a figure appeared! After first I was disappointed because the figure was a lot less like Barbara Eden and more like the Great Bambino. That was until I heard his thundering voice say, ‘I am the most powerful genie in the world. Because I am so powerful, I can grant you not one, but three wishes.’
I couldn’t believe my luck, as I stood there in my kitchen with a Babe Ruth look-a-like genie about to grant me three wishes.
Feeling pressured and awkward about him just staring at me, I quickly blurted out three things:
1. A restaurant that I can get a quick healthy meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
2. Where the ingredients used are always local, natural, fresh, and nutritious
3. The meals leave me feeling satisfied, light, and energized
‘That’s not asking for too much, but we don’t have any places like that in DC.’, I told the genie. Right then, he closed his eyes, bowed his head and said, ‘now you do, as I will grant these wishes to you.’
When the smoke finally cleared again, I realized I was standing in line at the new fast-casual restaurant, Litestars, which offers Washingtonians fresher, healthier, and tastier food choices.
The Litestars Nutritional Chef Annie Leconte is both the creative mind and passionate heart behind the menu. She introduces DC to ‘functional foods’ that not only look and taste good, but also are very usable for our bodies, energy, health, and metabolism.
When you hop into line there are three main stations to create your meal from at Litestars:
1. Tartlets – a thin whole-wheat pastry-like crust filled with
your choice of ‘cuisine’. Try the Bison made of natural fresh
ground bison from Maryland with tomatoes and onions, or sample the ‘spring garden’ of zucchini and sun dried tomato for the Zucchini flavor, or the Ratatouille Tartlet a roasted medley of eggplant, red pepper, zucchini, and tomatoes.
2. Gourmet Salads - made fresh with locally grown produce
and vegetables. Flavors include the light and summery Mango Chicken, and the hearty Bulgur Wheat Bean, Mexican-inspired Quinoa Dates and colorful Confetti of Tofu.
3. Soupdrinks – all these gluten-free, hot and cold purees are a deliciously easy way to get a lot of nutrients on the go. Flavors include Funshine’s fuse of butternut squash and sweet apples, Afterglow’s very refreshing blend of tomatoes, onions, and garlic or Cold’ Sunrise’s sweet and sour cantaloupe and relish mix.
After eating at Litestars, I discovered that two additional wishes came true that I did not even ask from the genie. The first was that you could sample every single tartlet, salad, and soupdrink before making the final decision on what you’d like order! Second is that all and I mean all calories, ingredients, and nutritional facts are posted everywhere so there is no secret surprise to what you are eating and how healthy is it for you.
Fortunately, Litestars has been a wish granted to all us Washingtonians that are in search of something special for their food and nutrition through their not-to-miss healthier quick bistro.
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