Eat In. Couscous salad.

This messy-looking medley is a delicious mix of cold couscous with chopped mixed veggies. I discovered this dish when a friend was coming over one day for lunch. He was bringing the couscous, I had a variety of veggies. Now this is a staple in my kitchen for lunches.

Couscous has some amazing properties, high in protein, fiber, and some iron, so I try to add it to my diet as much as possible.

Some vegetables that go well in this dish are chopped tomatoes, green onions, red bell pepper, and avocado and cucumber make this very refreshing and light.

The avocado makes this dish a bit more satisfying, and it's an easy dish to make as a single serving. Just pour out a bit of couscous into a bowl (I think small grain not Israeli couscous works best for this dish) and add hot water. Then when it cools a bit add chopped vegetables. It's a very easy dish to make.

Season as you would any salad with any of the following: lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

-- Lauren Williams

Eat In. Carrot/beet salad.

Beets are unequivocally a super food. They are good for your eyes, blood, they help with digestion, are full of vitamins and fiber, and are low in calories. The only problem is that most people hate them.

But shredding beets and mixing with equal parts of shredded carrots masks some of the nasty flavor that people don't like. I first found this delicious salad as a prepackaged salad from Dole at my supermarket, but that's far more expensive than buying carrots and beets and shredding them, and that's not too much work.

I just pour some flavored olive oil over the beet/carrot mix and add salt to taste. An amazing side dish.

-- Lauren Williams

Eat Out. Caffe Latte.

Maybe you've seen this place. You've probably driven by it--on Wilshire's Miracle Mile--a hundred times and never thought twice. Let me tell you, it's worth a try.

On weekdays, they're open early, and make a nice latte (as they should), so it can serve as a good alternative to Starbucks if you want to change it up. Breakfast and lunch are what Caffe Latte is known for. So far, I've just had their lunch, they make tons of great salads, including one with spinach and sliced chicken breast. As it's located on Wilshire just east of Condé Nast's L.A. offices, the unassuming strip mall cafe got on the radar of The New York Observer (for being a Vogue favorite).

If you're looking for a satisfying break from the surrounding fare (Trimana and Wahoo's), step in to Caffe Latte, sit down at a table and order an iced tea. Soon you'll be served with a little plate of irresistible warm mini poppy seed muffins, and as you read the menu you'll have trouble deciding what to get--the sign of a place you'll go back to.

Caffe Latte is located at 6254 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: notfortourists

Eat Out. First Cup Caffe.

When you're alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go .. downtown!

Petula Clark most likely didn't have First Cup Caffe in mind when singing her 1965 hit, but its positive nature is a perfect representation for me of downtown Los Angeles' First Cup Caffe. It's a couple blocks up from the Los Angeles Times building, opens at 6:00 a.m., and is a place where the coffee is always fresh, piping hot, and delicious.

They use Tully's Coffee, and it's self-serve from large pump thermoses. They have a variety of great flavors including Kona Blend, Madison Blend, and House Blend. It's a comforting thing to have a place where the coffee is always good.

The food at First Cup is as satisfying as their Tully's coffee. Buttery blueberry muffins, almond croissants, chocolate croissants, spinach croissants ... they know their pastry. Additionally, they have a full kitchen and can make such hearty breakfast items as bacon and egg bagel sandwiches. For lunch, they have salads and sandwiches (including panini). And for dessert, red velvet cupcakes. This place sounds awesome, right?

It's just as easy to take away as it is to eat in, where the simple cafe-style tables are adorned with little vases and flowers.

First Cup Caffe is located at 333 S. Spring St. in downtown Los Angeles.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: First Cup Caffe

Eat In. White bean salad.

One of my favorite salads a friend of mine taught me is also probably one of the easiest. White beans, chopped raw, white onion, and chopped cilantro, seasoned with a little salt and lemon juice. It's amazingly tasty, and very healthy.

A trick my roommate taught me to take the bite out of raw onions is to sprinkle some salt on them and rinse in a colander. Then squeeze with a paper towel. That nasty, harsh taste basically disappears.

Another catch is that it is very hard to find unseasoned white beans. Many of them come in a strange, seasoned marinade, but Sun-Vista carries a good, unseasoned canned white bean.

This salad is great for parties or picnics because it doesn't have any mayonnaise and you don't have to worry about it sitting out all night and spoiling. This is also a great thing to have for leftovers because it marinates in its juices, and is really nice to take to work the next day.

-- Lauren Williams

Photo credit: Photo courtesy of cookthink.com

Eat Out. Joan's on Third.

Joan's on Third is a great lunch spot on West Third Street between the Beverly Center and The Grove. It's casual with a gourmet flair. After a recent remodel, they've widened their space to include a cheese section, a dessert section (cupcakes galore!), a separate area for ordering out, and a large communal table indoors. Speaking of a table ... the one downside to Joan's on Third is the potential problem of not being able to find a table when your food is ready. Even with a substantial outdoor seating area, and tables up the left side of the inside space, there always seems to be a shortage of eating space. I have had to change my order from "for here" to "to go" on a busy weekend afternoon because of this.

The food is spot-on. They have a deli case full of treasures for a foodie, including the salads which made up my salad trio (above). Beets with goat cheese, pasta with pine nuts, you name it, they've got it. The curried chickpeas are a favorite. They also make a mean grilled cheese (large slices of white bread, and the option to add tomato slices or bacon), tuna melts, turkey breast sandwiches, homemade macaroni and cheese ... the list goes on. Grab an Izze sparking juice drink and enjoy.

A note for the out-of-towners: Joan's prime celebrity-spotting territory. Hilary Swank, Katie Holmes and Kirsten Dunst are all fans. I've seen the Million Dollar Baby there myself.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

Eat in. Avocado/feta salad.

It seems like everyone is ravenous when they get home from a long day at work. Rather than reach for the potato chips, popcorn or other quick fix, I try to make an easy, lettuceless salad.

My former, charming Chilean roommate taught me this salad recipe and it's great. It combines three of my favorite things: avocado, tomato, and bell pepper. That’s it. Just chop all the ingredients and toss in a bowl.

Somewhere I learned that people generally like ingredients to be the same size, things taste better when ingredients are the same size, so I try to cut all the vegetables to be the similar in shape and form.

Season with lemon juice, a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, pepper and salt to taste and that’s it.

Good feta on top can make this salad amazing. I try to put the feta on after the olive oil but before the vinegar so it absorbs some of the vinegar and has some of that flavor, but that’s just me.

I also like to get a bell pepper a color other than green or red to make the salad more colorful, nutritious and, if I’m serving someone else, more presentable. Orange or yellow bell peppers work well in this, but red will do. Green bell peppers are a bit too bitter for this salad.

It's a very light but filling, nutritious salad, and very refreshing. Come to think of it, I think I'll be making this for dinner tonight.

-- Lauren Williams