Everybody has thought of it, but no one has done it. And we desperately need it! How do we get food that tastes better than what you find in almost any restaurant or chain in America for a fraction of the cost? How do you “eat good, feel good and do good” when you eat your lunch?

Imagine eating food that delights your palette, heals your body, and supports the transformation of our agriculture and food supply by networking and supporting small, local, organic and clean farmers and fisheries. Imagine eating dishes spiced with herbs grown in the middle of the restaurant.

Imagine eating in a soothing environment that is built from reclaimed or recycled materials, lit by LED lights that energize your body and reduce your carbon footprint, while sitting on amazingly comfortable chairs and booths made from recycled materials. Imagine eating together at a community table, building connections and friendships while you have dinner? And imagine being surrounded by inspirational quotes from Hippocrates, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,” or Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of committed individuals can change the world; in fact, it is the only thing that ever has.” And imagine doing this for $4 to $12 a meal, getting your meal served with a smile in five minutes and having this available in food deserts and underserved communities? Imagine with every meal you are contributing to creating happier healthy communities, because a portion of every sale is given back do the right thing and inspire good. Imagine being a philanthropist and building sustainable health, food, energy and communities with every bite – it's a socially responsible way to eat. You get to take care of your senses, indulge in pleasure, heal your body and as a bonus take care of your community and the planet. It sounds too good to be true, right? But you can bet your LYFE on it. LYFE Kitchen that is … a low cost, great tasting healthy new scalable fast food chain. It is an entirely revolutionary way to eat. I have always said that your fork is the most powerful tool you have to transform your health, heal our environment and reduce human and economic suffering from chronic disease (which kills almost 50 million people a year and will cost our global economy $47 trillion over the next 20 years, about triple the national debt). Now you have a new way to use your fork. I have believed in the concept of LYFE since I heard about it, but was skeptical about how you could create super delicious food that uses the best ingredients and costs less than most meals you could eat at home. After all, no one is going to put something on his or her fork that tastes bad! But LYFE Kitchen has figured it out. Leveraging the culinary genius of Art Smith and Tal Ronnen into yummy satisfying, delightfully flavored foods that even a fan of fast food restaurants could love made with fresh whole real food that’s low in calories, sugar, and salt but dense in nutrients, phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals and taste. I recently filmed my new public television show based on my upcoming book The Blood Sugar Solution (due out in Feb 2012) in Palo Alto, the site of the first LYFE Kitchen restaurant. I ran for my LYFE from my hotel to get my breakfast – a breakfast sandwich with farm fresh organic eggs, tomatoes, arugula, fresh salsa, a turkey patty on a crispy, fresh but skinny whole grain English muffin served with a side of fresh salsa and fruit salad – for less than $6 and about 400 calories. It was so good I went back for dinner with my team and had grilled sustainably raised barramundi with Napa cabbage, baby spinach, edamame and scallions in a spicy vegetable broth for $11.99 and 303 calories. I added a side of grilled artichokes with lemon aioli for $3.99 and roasted Brussels sprouts and winter squash for $2.49 and 181 calories. Every bite was a delight and a surprise. To drink I had a cucumber mint cooler with only 47 calories and a truckload of taste. And for desert I had a vegan non-dairy banana rum “cheesecake” make with cashew cream and a pecan crust full of protein, fiber and good fats that would put most fine deserts to shame. At LYFE Kitchen you can also get regular American fare with a twist – like their “Unfried Chicken”, or Free-range Chicken and Roasted Mushroom Pasta (made with whole grain pasta and creamless sherry sauce made with cashew cream), or fish tacos, or the classic burger (from grass fed beef on a multi-grain bun). It has something for everyone: The kids, burger lovers, vegans, gluten-free folks and foodies. LYFE is like a magic trick. You never even know you are doing something good or eating something that gives LYFE rather than takes it away. We vote with our fork three times a day. These votes have the power to drive changes in our health, in agriculture, in the environment and in our economy. If you want to get your LYFE back and give LYFE to your family and community let’s support this movement. The first of these revolutionary restaurants is in Palo Alto, CA, but very soon I hope LYFE will come to every community in America (and around the world). To learn more check out http://www.lyfekitchen.com/. Now I’d like to hear from you … What do you think of the idea of a delicious, scalable, reasonably priced health food restaurant? Have you tried LYFE? What did you think? How do you vote with your fork currently? What ways do you see for us to take back our food culture? Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below. To your good health, Mark Hyman, MD