At The Daily Beet, we’ve always liked to keep things simple. Our goal has always been to serve delicious food that not only tastes amazing, but also leaves you feeling energized and ready to flourish throughout your day.
As we evolve, this requires us to constantly reexamine ourselves and improve what we offer. Recently, this has meant eliminating all seed oils from our restaurants. We couldn’t be more proud.
So, what are “seed oils”?
“Seed oils” usually refers to highly processed oils like soybean, canola, sunflower, corn, and cottonseed.
99.9% of restaurants use them because, after all, they’re cheap and shelf-stable. We totally get it. In an industry with tiny profit margins, you are often faced with tough decisions. But we chose a different path.
So, what do we cook with?
We are proud to use three oils in our kitchens.
- Avocado oil (from our friends at Simpli): This is our “everything oil.” It’s used for dressings, sautéing veggies, and even in our granola.
- Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO): This is what we go to for a bit more flavor in our dressings. It’s more punchy than Avo Oil and is used in both our lemon vinaigrette and Zesty dressing.
- Coconut oil: Is used for our banana pancakes and some baked goods.
That’s it. No mystery blends. No “mostly olive oil with a little something extra.” If it’s on our line, we can name it, and we’re proud of it.
Why did we make the switch despite the higher costs?
Flavor first. Avocado oil and EVOO let real ingredients shine. You’ll taste the basil in the pesto vinaigrette, the citrus in the dressing, and the veg in your bowl—not the oil.
Because your health matters! So much of our sickness stems from inflammation. Seed oils are one of the biggest causes of inflammation in our diets. We prefer to cook with oils linked to better heart health and longevity. As we said, we want you feeling energized as you walk out of our doors, not sluggish and stuffy.
Ingredient transparency. We believe you should know what’s in your food. This makes it easy.
A note on health claims (keeping it real)
You’ll never see us making big medical promises. We’re not doctors or food scientists. But like you, we know our bodies and how we feel after eating certain foods.
It doesn’t take a doctor to know that you will feel much better after eating a salad made with avo oil rather than canola.
What we can promise: clean ingredients, clear sourcing, and dishes built with care. Many guests tell us they feel better after eating here. We think that’s the combo of fresh produce, thoughtful oils, and balanced bowls. We never want to serve you anything that we would not feel great eating ourselves.
We love you.
Here’s a recipe to try:
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup organic tahini
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2–3 tbsp cold water (to thin)
- 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
- 1 tbsp Tamari
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ tsp Cumin
- Optional: 1–2 tbsp chopped parsley or dill
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, tamari, maple syrup, and salt. It’ll seize—totally normal.
- Whisk in EVOO until fully incorporated.
- Add water, 1 tbsp at a time, until pourable.
- Pepper to taste; herbs if you like.
- Store in a sealed jar up to 5 days. If it thickens, whisk in a splash of water.
