RESTAURANT REVIEW:

This is the third in a four-part series about healthy restaurants in the Huntington Beach/Fountain Valley area.

If someone had told me I would be eating a salad as my main meal of the day I probably would have pelted them with croutons.

Salads to me had always been an annoyance. They were the pesky kid brother of my meal, often foisted on me by others, and I was forced to entertain, though largely ignored.

Much like my younger brother, toleration transformed to admiration, though a safe distance was still kept. A side salad of Caesars or field greens with my meal was becoming more and more acceptable.

Soon I was ready for a salad as an entrée. I started slow, getting a Cobb that was filled with so much non-salad items like ham, cheese, bacon and eggs that it was like having a sandwich without the bread.

My introduction to a much healthier salad came quite by accident. I was going to go to Bodhi Tree with friends and was stunned when they were closed. I didn’t think Tuesday was a traditional day off in the restaurant business.

Next door was Jan’s Health Bar, a simple shop that has been serving the health conscious since 1968.

It is easy to see how she has stayed in business for so long.

The inside is small with three tables and no-frills décor. The food comes on paper plates and plastic utensils.

The food is sandwiches, salads, soups and smoothies, with a few other items like a side of pasta or fruit.

One item that should be ordered is the guacamole. It is blended with homemade salsa and grated cheese. It comes in mild, medium or spicy and is fantastic with the Hava Chips. Those chips are made in Laguna Beach and are rich, flavorful corn tortilla chips perfect for dipping.

But I was there for a salad and only stole a couple of chips from my friends, focusing more on the greens I was about to get.

There are seven salads, if you don’t count the fruit salad. I went with the turkey and avocado. The first choice is whether to get soy or real turkey. I chose the real stuff, and it was a mistake. The soy turkey is much better than the meat, which was surprising to me.

There are two sizes for the salads, but they are deceptive. The salads are put in a paper boat-like container you would get fries or nachos in at a ballgame.

The salad is piled high; a small will easily fill you up and a large (which is what I got) will feed three people. It is a bargain for $7.95.

My salad came with iceberg lettuce and piled atop it was avocado, turkey, mushrooms, alfalfa sprouts, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers and sunflower seeds.

There are five dressings. The house is an herb, which tasted similar to the Italian also offered. The blue cheese is good, so is thousand island if you like that. The most interesting is the tomato basil. It is fat free and was much more flavorful than I expected.

One of the more popular items is the surfer special. It is a half-sandwich and a salad. I was a bit disappointed that the salad was not the same. When you order it with the sandwich no cheese or mushrooms were put on it.

I got a chicken breast sandwich that was so filled with tomato, cucumber, sprouts and romaine lettuce that I could barely get it in my mouth.

A meal could be made of the soups and smoothies. Jan usually has broccoli cheese and potato cheese, as well as two others. The smoothies are very good and come with fresh fruits, carob or peanut butter. She even has some ice cream to go in it if you want a treat.

But it is the salads that most enamored me, and I know now that I have a reliable place to go when I need more roughage in my life.

JAN’S HEALTH BAR

ADDRESS: 501 Main St., Huntington Beach

PHONE: (714) 536-4856

SPECIALTY DISH: Surfer’s special

ALCOHOL SERVED: none

ENTRÉE PRICE RANGE: $4.45 to $10.25

FAMILY FRIENDLY: Yes

CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED: Cash only

RATING: *** out of 4

JOHN REGER reviews restaurants for the Independent.