SFVP Picks: Sweet Treats With a Healthier Twist

SFVP Pick: Healthy Pastries

There are days when an apple simply isn't going to do it.

You want the muffin. The croissant. The donut. Something that belongs next to a good cup of coffee and feels like an actual treat.

But what if you also want to make a slightly better choice?

For this SFVP Pick, we went looking around the San Fernando Valley bakeries and cafés doing something a little different. Think whole grains, gluten-free baking, baked instead of fried, alternative flours, simpler ingredients, or just a more thoughtful approach to the traditional pastry case.

One important note: gluten-free, vegan, organic, or baked does not automatically mean low-sugar or “healthy.” These are still treats. Our picks are places offering interesting alternatives worth knowing about, not permission to eat six muffins before noon.

SFVP PICK: Zen Bakery | Tarzana

If there is one bakery on this list that most clearly belongs in the “health-conscious” conversation, Zen Bakery may be it.

Located inside Bea’s Bakery in Tarzana, Zen has been making muffins, fiber cakes and other baked goods with an emphasis on straightforward ingredients and nutritional transparency. Their products include options made with whole grains, oats, bran and fruit juice as a sweetener.

What we especially like is that Zen makes nutrition and ingredient information available. That means you can look beyond the healthy-looking packaging and actually see what you're eating.

Why it made our SFVP list: A local bakery specifically trying to rethink the traditional muffin rather than simply giving it a fashionable label.

Where: 18450 Clark St., Tarzana

SFVP PICK: Modern Bread & Bagel | Woodland Hills

Gluten-free pastry lovers, this one is for you.

Modern Bread & Bagel brought its New York-born bakery concept to The Village at Topanga in Woodland Hills, with gluten-free bagels, breads and pastries, including croissants available at the Woodland Hills location.

Their bagels incorporate ancient grains, and the bakery offers dairy-free and vegan choices among its selections.

Does gluten-free automatically make a pastry healthier? Nope. Sugar and butter don't suddenly lose their passports when the gluten leaves town.

But for people avoiding gluten, having a bakery where the pastry case isn't essentially a museum of things they can't eat is a pretty wonderful thing.

Why it made our SFVP list: An unusually large selection of gluten-free baked goods right here in Woodland Hills.

Where: 6256 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills

SFVP PICK: RING Baked Tofu Donuts | Canoga Park

Now we're getting interesting.

RING doesn't simply make another version of the traditional American donut. Its Japanese-style baked donuts use silken tofu and rice flour as their base.

They're naturally gluten-free, nut-free, and non-GMO, with vegan options available. Instead of being fried, they're baked, producing a soft, moist texture with a slightly chewy, mochi-like quality.

And then there are the flavors. RING rotates through dozens of them, including creations such as ube and seasonal varieties.

Let's be clear: it's still a donut. We're not putting it in the vegetable drawer.

But if you're looking for something genuinely different from the standard fried donut, this is one of the Valley's more intriguing alternatives.

Why it made our SFVP list: Baked rather than fried, made with tofu and rice flour, and decidedly different from the neighborhood donut shop.

Where: 6800 Owensmouth Ave., Unit 130, Canoga Park

SFVP PICK: Claudine Artisan Kitchen & Bakeshop | Encino

Claudine isn't specifically a health bakery, and that's exactly why it deserves a slightly different place on this list.

The Encino café and bakeshop offers scratch-made food along with baked treats, making it a good stop when you're looking for a café experience where you can choose between breakfast, lunch, and something sweet rather than heading directly into pastry temptation.

The bakery selection has included items such as blueberry scones, banana bread and gluten-free cinnamon coffee cake.

Why it made our SFVP list: A neighborhood artisan bakeshop where a treat can be part of a real meal rather than the entire event.

Where: 16350 Ventura Blvd., Encino

SFVP PICK: Juicy Ladies | Woodland Hills

Sometimes the best strategy isn't finding a “healthy croissant.” It's going somewhere where the croissant isn't your only option.

Juicy Ladies is an organic café rather than a traditional bakery, with a menu built around organic and health-conscious foods. For someone who wants coffee, something satisfying and perhaps a little sweetness without making dessert the centerpiece, it belongs on our radar.

Why it made our SFVP list: A health-focused Woodland Hills option for those moments when you want a café stop but would rather have choices beyond the conventional pastry counter.

The SFVP Bottom Line

We're not interested in turning dessert into nutritional virtue signaling.

Sometimes you want a beautiful buttery croissant, and you should probably have the beautiful buttery croissant.

But the Valley is also full of small businesses experimenting with different ingredients, different traditions, and different ways of making the foods we love. Those are the places Faces & Places wants to find.

And this is only the beginning.

Know a San Fernando Valley bakery, café, or hidden neighborhood spot that deserves to be mentioned in SFVP Pick?

Send it our way. Put it in the comments below. We may just go investigate.😀

Because discovering the Valley one delicious place at a time sounds like important community research to us.