NEW ORLEANS – With New Year’s resolutions comes that common denominator of having a healthier lifestyle.
However, some people find that resolution a hard one to keep when it comes to adjusting their cravings.
But one New Orleans chef and health guru is offering options for those of you who still love a tasty meal without forfeiting your taste buds.
In this city where food is culture, Maxwell Eaton decided to create an organic and vegetarian menu while keep that New Orleans flavor we all love at his new Magazine Street eatery, appropriately dubbed Max Well New Orleans.
“It’s hard to get things like a vegetarian red beans and rice,” Eaton said. “You know your favorite red beans, if you cut out the meat you won’t be able to eat it at a lot of places, so there are people who want to participate in the local fare but who are also vegetarian perhaps.”
The menu offers a zesty La Bonita Bowl, Nola Bowl, and fresh salads. There are options like the chocolate chip cookie dough granola that might tickle your fancy.
“I didn’t want people to feel like they were making some big sacrifice to eat healthy or feel excluded from what’s normal,” Eaton said.
The restaurant is named after Maxwell himself, and he says it also symbolizes maximum wellness.
The decor, you will also find, reflects Eaton’s eclectic vision for the cafe, starting with the retro floppy discs that are converted into coasters for the tables.
“I wanted to repurpose something and make it a little funky and a little back to a time when I was growing up when they were being used for computers,” he said.
So if you are looking to change up your diet this new year, your new healthy lifestyle could start on Magazine street at Max Well New Orleans.
“Like they say, you are what you eat,” Eaton said. “What you put in is what you are going to get out. Same with food and other things that you might pursue in life. The effort you put in will be reflected with what comes back to you.”