10 healthy-ish dishes to try at Time Out Market Chicago

If you need a quick infusion of greens and whole grains, consider FARE your new best friend. Founders Kasia Bednarz and Britni DeLeon built their menu around hearty, fully customizable bowls that can be topped with your choice of seasonal veggie sides and protein, like tender chicken thighs, local sausage and sustainable salmon. It's some of the only health food we've tried in Chicago that won't have you craving French fries at midnight.

After a weekend of indulging, we come running to chef Thai Dang for this super-fresh seafood salad, which is packed with juicy grilled prawns, young coconut shards, plus loads of mint and Thai basil. As a finishing touch, the dish is sprinkled with addictive fried garlic bits and served alongside crispy toasted rice crackers. With big, bold flavors like these, you won't feel like you missed out.

Chef John Manion might be one of the only people we know who can make kale craveable. Exhibit A: this signature salad borrowed from the menu of now-shuttered La Sirena Clandestina. The leafy base is amped up with a heavy hand of poblano green goddess dressing, cotija cheese, salty pepitas and crunchy radish slices. Opt to add marinated chicken skewers to boost the protein (and deliciousness) of this rockstar dish.

Yeah, yeah, we hear you questioning our judgment. What's an Italian beef doing on a list of healthy-ish eats? But this vegan sando is packed with spiced and roasted shaved beets that are dripping in umami jus. If you're feeling naughty, add a blanket of aged provolone and a Beyond Meat sausage to the mix for a bit more sustenance.

Fair warning: Once you start noshing on these crispy brussels sprouts, you won't be able to stop until you've licked the plate clean (no judgment!). Chef Brian Fisher's secret is a tangy Thai dressing that gets an extra boost from candied peanuts, garden-fresh herbs and a squeeze of lime. Eating your veggies has never tasted so good.

This beautiful green salad isn't as innocent as it appears. Underneath all that vegetal goodness is a hunk of toasted brioche that's painted with mashed avocados and crowned with a poached egg. The whole thing is doused in green goddess dressing and a splash of fresh lime juice. Consider it a carb lover's dream salad.

When sushi cravings hit, Arami has you covered with imaginative rolls and pristine sashimi, but one of our low-key favorite menu items is the chirashi bowl. Rather than ordering one particular kind of fish, we ask for "chef's choice" to ensure a decadent medley of the day's freshest finds, from salmon and tuna to yellowtail and unagi.

John Manion's menu is packed with gluttonous delicacies like poutine that's smothered in chimichurri and melty provolone as well as a massive bone-in beef rib that can easily feed two hungry adults. If you're hoping to put something green on the table (balance, right?), order the charred broccolini, which is dressed up with chimichurri ranch, Peruvian salsa and crispy shallots.

For post-workout fuel, there's no better option than FARE's nutrient-dense smoothies, which come in three flavors. Gigi blends together spinach, avocado, pineapple, apple, ginger and date for a green drink that actually tastes good. For something fruity, reach for Blu, with banana, blueberries, nut milk, almonds and cinnamon. It's impossible to hate on Rose, a strawberry-based sipper that's sweetened up with pineapple and dates. Add hemp seeds, plant protein or collagen to any of these smoothies for an extra kick.

Looking for a healthy but filling dinner option at Time Out Market? One of the culinary destination's unsung heroes is Thai Dang's ca hoi nuong, a protein-dense serving of roasted salmon that's accompanied by Vietnamese herbs, lettuce, rice noodles and pineapple. Get a forkful of every ingredient to have your tastebuds blown away.