Image by Amanda Click / TheDigitel

For those of you searching for some super fresh, organic, and "live" noms here in Charleston, look no further than The Sprout, an organic cafe and juice bar.

Located just over the Cooper River Bridge, The Sprout has a home base connected to Eco Fitness (627 Johnnie Dodds Blvd Suite B) that caters to the health conscious crowd. I swung by to sample some things off of the menu and was pleasantly surprised with the results (being a meat lover and all). The mock tuna was great, made up of sprouted sunflower seeds, celery, dulse flakes, cashews, garlic and onions. It tastes just like the real thing with a little extra crunch. The mock egg salad was tasty as well, but if you're sensitive to textures, this dish probably won't float your boat. Next up were the flax seed crackers and almond hummus, which eaten together, canceled each other's flavors out, but solo were delicious. I opted to lay off the food and switch over to smoothies and grabbed a Mangoroo. The combination of fresh mango, soy yogurt and apple juice was lovely, as were the little chunks of mango waiting at the bottom of the glass. In addition to smoothies The Sprout has organic coffees, juices and such, but the smoothies are the cafe's crowning jewel.

As I mentioned earlier, The Sprout's raw food is "live." What this mean is that the enzymes that naturally occur in the food are active and ready to give your body a break from digestion. A raw diet consists of unprocessed, raw plant foods that have not been heated above 46 °C (118 °F). Every day we spend 70% of our energy creating enzymes to digest food, but when you eat “live” or raw food, all that energy is yours to play and heal with.

The Sprout just recently opened a small grab-and-go section in King Street's newest botique and wellness center, Seeking Indigio. The pre-packaged goods are perfect for a quick, healthy lunch that won't break the bank. Swing by 445 King Street for a taste.

In addition to healthy cuisine, The Sprout also offers up customizable detox diets. The detoxes range from 3 days to 5 weeks long and guide you on a path toward a total body cleanse.

For more information, be sure to check out The Sprout's Web page or give Mickey a call at (843) 849-8554.