There’s no doubt that eating well is essential for good health and a critical factor in achieving desired health goals. Yet there’s also no question that many of the food options most widely available usually aren’t the ones that are the best for us.
The LifeCafe at Life Time has always been committed to being a solution to this challenge. It’s a place where you can get a sit-down or grab-and-go meal that’s been developed by chefs and approved by Life Time’s own nutrition and fitness professionals.
The menu regularly evolves, and the most recent refresh is an elevation that was inspired by members and team members. “Members shared that they want more dynamic options and clarity on what they’re putting in their bodies,” says Erica Speranza, director of operations for LifeCafe. “That’s what we want to deliver with this new menu — as much detail and care as possible.
“We’ve leveraged the expertise of our field leaders and chefs to help create these new recipes and build a menu that offers exactly what members are looking for,” Speranza continues. “The quality of our ingredients and offerings is of the utmost importance to our team, and we know its what members are looking for too. You’ll see that come through even more with these menu changes.”
The LifeCafe team went straight to manufacturers — versus distributors — to research the food vendors offering ingredients aligned with its “if it’s here, it’s healthy” mission. “We worked off an ingredient-first mentality, starting with those we knew we could get at a high quality and then developing the recipes around them,” Speranza explains.
Nearly 150 LifeCafe locations are launching a new LifeCafe menu in February 2025. Here, Speranza shares four of the things she is most excited for members to experience with the new menu.
1. Grass-Fed Steak as a New Protein Option
“We’re very excited to partner with a vendor called Teys for our beef,” says Speranza. “Their U.S. headquarters are in Chicago, Ill., but they source their sustainable beef from more than 7,000 family-owned farms in Australia. They’re providing us with grass-fed sirloin that is premium quality, delivers high protein content, and has that ‘juiciness’ factor.
“Teys uses 100-percent-grass-fed beef that is Certified Humane accredited, which ensures high animal welfare standards, including proper diet, housing, and handling,” explains Speranza. “The cattle are never confined and are free to roam. They are also free from antibiotics, hormones, or chemicals. Teys’ cattle are fully traceable throughout their lifetime so they can ensure all [their] raising claims are verified from birth. It matters what’s put into the body of the animals that we then put into our bodies.”
2. Added Dressing Flavors
“We’re excited to partner on our dressings with a U.S. manufacturer called Conway Dressings,” says Speranza. “They use quality, all-natural ingredients and make the dressings in small batches before distributing them to Life Time. This allows us to tell them the ingredients we want to use and send them the recipe to replicate.
“We will feature six new dressings, including ranch, chipotle ranch, balsamic, Caesar, blue cheese, and shoyu-sesame, in various items,” says Speranza. “For example, we’ll have a Buffalo Wrap with blue cheese dressing and a Shoyu-Sesame Bowl that features that flavor glaze.”
3. Transparency Around Macronutrients
“For the past few years we’ve shown calories on the LifeCafe menu but not macronutrients — now we’re changing that,” says Speranza.
“‘Healthy’ means something different to everyone. Someone’s view of healthy eating might mean carb-loading to align with their workout and fitness goals. For someone with blood-sugar concerns, for example, it might mean higher protein and low carbs. There are a lot of different priorities and needs, and giving members information about macros allows them to be confident in how the food they’re eating supports their healthy-way-of-life journey.
“We’re also transparent about what’s in our food in other ways,” Speranza continues. “We choose to use high-quality ingredients with no artificial preservatives, artificial additives or fillers, bleached flour, or trans fat. You’ll also see menu items appropriately labeled with common food allergens — milk, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, egg, sesame, fish — and for food preferences — gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, and vegan.”
4. More Customizable Options
“On several of our new menu offerings — such as the burger, the bowls, and smoothies and shakes — we’re offering options for customizations, including new ingredients that can be added or removed from a meal to make it exactly what you want it to be,” says Speranza.
“For the burger, for example, we have six add-on options, including bacon, pickled red onions, coleslaw, and avocado. For the Power Bowls, we built a base of ingredients and then are letting members choose the protein they want — chicken, grass-fed steak, or falafel, and in some locations, salmon — with an easy option to double the protein amount if they choose. The three Power Bowl base flavors include Mediterranean, Shoyu-Sesame, and Tex-Mex.”
LifeCafe menu offerings and ingredients may vary by location.
