Maintaining a healthy lifestyle while dining out can be a challenge, but with the increasing awareness of nutrition and well-being, many restaurants are now offering delicious and nutritious options. This guide explores a variety of restaurants that prioritize fresh ingredients, balanced meals, and dietary accommodations, making it easier to enjoy a healthy meal whether you're at home or traveling.
Orange County, CA: A Hub for Healthy Dining
Orange County boasts a vibrant culinary scene with numerous restaurants catering to health-conscious individuals. These establishments focus on providing meals that are both flavorful and beneficial for your well-being.
Flower Child: A Dietary-Friendly Haven
Located in Newport Beach, Flower Child is a chain restaurant committed to using fresh, local ingredients. Their menu is thoughtfully labeled with dietary information, including vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian, and organic options. Flower Child's menu includes a variety of bowls, salads, and the option to build your own plate with a protein and two sides. Favorites include the strawberry fields salad with tofu, Vietnamese crunch salad, and glow bowl featuring sweet potato noodles. Their gluten-free desserts, such as lemon cake, brownie, cookie, and pudding, are also worth trying.
Urban Plates: Wholesome and Satisfying
Urban Plates, with a location in Aliso Viejo, offers a wide array of healthy choices, including salmon, chicken, tofu, salads, and vegetables. The coconut green curry tofu with veggies and half brown/white rice is a popular choice. Sides like colorful carrots and roasted Brussels sprouts are seasoned perfectly. Urban Plates sources its ingredients from organic vendors, ensuring high-quality meals.
Vibe Organic Kitchen and Juice: Plant-Based Delights
Vibe Organic Kitchen and Juice in Newport Beach is a plant-based, vegan, and gluten-free restaurant. The Roots bowl, featuring avocado, squash, beets, carrots, black beans, and greens/rice/quinoa with a chipotle-aioli sauce, is a flavorful recommendation. The Morning Buzz smoothie, made with cold-brew coffee, almond milk, maca, and bananas, is a guilt-free treat.
Read also: Healthy food access with Highmark Wholecare explained.
butterleaf: Vegetarian Innovation
Located in the TRADE Food Hall in Irvine, butterleaf is a vegetarian vendor offering burgers, sides like avocado bombs, and bowls. The customizable bowl, featuring purple rice, quinoa, avocado, radish, beets, sautéed kale, cooked carrots, and mushrooms, is a standout vegetarian meal.
Phoenix, AZ: Balanced Eating in the Desert
Phoenix offers a range of healthy restaurants, catering to various dietary preferences and needs.
La Grande Orange (LGO): A Phoenix Staple
La Grande Orange, or LGO, is a popular spot in Phoenix known for its French-inspired breakfasts, bakery items, and healthy salads and sandwiches. The kale quinoa salad is a favorite, often ordered without cheese to accommodate a plant-based diet.
Original Chop Shop: Fresh and Flavorful
The Original Chop Shop is a family favorite, offering chopped salads and veggie bowls like the green curry tofu bowl with quinoa.
Modern Market Eatery: Quick and Healthy
For those seeking quick and healthy on-the-go meals, Modern Market Eatery in Scottsdale is an excellent choice.
Read also: Healthy Eating on the Run
Juice Core: Juices and Smoothies
Juice Core offers organic, fresh-pressed juices, handmade protein bites, and teas and lattes.
Pa’la: Wood-Fired Tapas
Pa’la features a constantly changing menu centered around fresh seafood, hearty grains, and local vegetables, served tapas-style.
Staying Healthy During the Holidays
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be challenging, especially during holidays when indulgent foods are abundant. It’s important to focus on eating healthier, staying active, and managing stress.
Seasons 52: Fresh and Seasonal
Seasons 52, a Darden chain restaurant, is committed to a healthier lifestyle with a menu filled with vegetables and lean protein.
Cincinnati, OH: Healthy Dining Options
Cincinnati offers a variety of restaurants that focus on fresh ingredients and healthier preparations.
Read also: Mobile Dining Revolution
Maplewood Kitchen and Bar: West Coast Cuisine
Maplewood Kitchen and Bar is a brunch spot in Downtown Cincinnati that offers West Coast-style cuisine with a focus on healthier food using local and seasonal ingredients. The hash bowl is a popular choice.
Northstar Café: Delicious Salads and Grain Bowls
Northstar Café in Liberty Township offers healthy meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with a focus on salads and grain bowls.
Bakersfield: Fresh Mexican Cuisine
Bakersfield, located in Over the Rhine, offers fresh Mexican cuisine with tacos featuring corn tortillas, protein, and vegetables.
Rooted Juicery: Plant-Based Goodness
Rooted Juicery, located in Mariemont and Oakley, offers plant-based smoothie bowls and vegan desserts.
Sleepy Bee: Locally Sourced Foods
Sleepy Bee, with multiple locations in Cincinnati, provides locally sourced foods with balanced salads and bowls.
E+O Kitchen: Fresh Asian Cuisine
E+O Kitchen, located in Hyde Park and Downtown, offers fresh Asian cuisine with high-quality local ingredients.
Press on Monmouth: Fresh Salads
Press on Monmouth in Newport, Kentucky, offers fresh salads and bowls with customizable protein options.
The Baker’s Table: Farm-to-Table
The Baker’s Table in Newport, Kentucky, offers locally grown and handcrafted food with a frequently changing menu.
Bouquet: Seasonal Menus
Bouquet, a farm-to-table restaurant in Covington, Kentucky, partners with local farmers to create seasonal menus.
Tahona Kitchen + Bar: California-Mexican Fusion
Tahona Kitchen + Bar in Blue Ash and Loveland offers California-inspired Mexican street fare, with a focus on fresh produce and slow-roasted meats.
Teak: Healthy Thai Options
Teak in Over the Rhine offers a variety of Thai dishes with a balance of protein, vegetables, and whole grains.
Austin, TX: A Guide to Real Food Restaurants
Austin, Texas, boasts a vibrant health-conscious dining scene. These restaurants prioritize real, whole food ingredients, high-quality protein, anti-inflammatory oils, gluten-free options, and minimal sugar, additives, and preservatives.
True Food Kitchen: Anti-Inflammatory Inspired
Inspired by the anti-inflammatory food pyramid and founded by Dr. Andrew Weil, True Food Kitchen offers a seasonal, nutrient-rich menu catering to various dietary needs, including vegan, gluten-free, keto, and paleo. Popular dishes include the tuna poke bowl and teriyaki quinoa bowl with chicken.
Civil Goat: Coffee and Balanced Breakfasts
Civil Goat is known for its coffee and balanced breakfasts, such as the soft scramble with avocado and a half-caf flat white.
Local Foods: Farm-Fresh Produce
Local Foods brings farm-fresh produce to the table, offering flavorful dishes like the poke bowl, summer harvest salad, and gluten-free crunchy chicken sandwich with kale salad and watermelon.
Honest Mary’s: Customizable Bowls
Honest Mary’s offers “life-giving” fast food with signature bowls and a build-your-own-bowl option. The grilled chicken bowl with arugula, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted beets, crispy chickpeas, avocado, and creamy poblano sauce is a favorite.
Fresa’s: Mexican Flair
Fresa’s offers wood-grilled chicken and a vibrant, Mexican flair with dishes like chips and guacamole (featuring green apple and mint) and a power bowl.
The Well: Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free
The Well offers an elevated dining experience with a menu that is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, refined-sugar free, and non-GMO. The menu includes guacamole and ceviche appetizers, beet salad, and coconut curry squash with chicken.
Koriente: Asian-Inspired
Koriente offers Asian-inspired food with minimally processed ingredients and house-fermented kimchi. The Obake bowl with chicken or miso glazed salmon is a popular choice.
Sweetgreen: Customizable Salads and Bowls
Sweetgreen offers salads and bowls with anti-inflammatory olive oil. The greens and grains bowl with arugula and wild rice, basil, chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, goat cheese, blackened chicken, and pesto vinaigrette is a customizable favorite.
Cabo Bob’s: Fresh Ingredients
Cabo Bob’s is committed to fresh, high-quality ingredients at an affordable price. The chicken bowl with white rice, black beans, zucchini & squash, lettuce, cilantro, tomatillo salsa, mango pico, guacamole, and lime juice is a standout.
Picnik: Gluten-Free and Refined Sugar-Free
Picnik’s entire menu is gluten-, soy-, and refined sugar-free, using healthy cooking oils. The harvest bowl or burger with crispy Brussels sprouts are popular choices.
Two Hands: Australian-Inspired Café
Two Hands is an Australian-inspired café with ethically sourced ingredients. The seasonal scramble for breakfast and salmon quinoa bowl for lunch/dinner are recommended.
Better Half: Fresh and Flavorful
Better Half is an award-winning all-day café with locally sourced ingredients. The burrata with smoked chicken or the big salad (half size) with smoked chicken are excellent choices.
Cenote: Cozy and Laid-Back
Cenote is a cozy, laid-back spot with gluten-free bread options for sandwiches. The Cenote scramble for breakfast and a veggie sandwich with chicken or turkey for lunch are popular.
KG BBQ: Middle Eastern Flavors
KG BBQ combines classic Texas barbecue with Middle Eastern flavors, offering dishes like the chicken rice bowl.
Nourished ATX: Locally Sourced Food Truck
Nourished ATX is a food truck that sources its menu items locally and regeneratively, offering dishes like breakfast tacos and the nourish bowl with chicken.
People’s Pharmacy: Quick and Healthy Lunch
People’s Pharmacy offers a quick, healthy lunch with options like chicken salad and beet & citrus salad.
Gati: Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Ice Cream
Gati offers gluten-free and dairy-free ice cream made with wholesome ingredients, including flavors like chocolate or mint chip ice cream.
SNAP Kitchen: Ready-Made Meals
SNAP Kitchen offers ready-made meals crafted with whole ingredients and balanced macros, including options like the bison quinoa bowl with peppers and onions, chicken Caesar wrap, or blackened shrimp with quinoa grits.
Heart-Healthy Dining in Tucson, AZ
February is Healthy Heart Month, a perfect time to explore heart-healthy dining options. Choosing a plant-based lifestyle and avoiding excessive fat, sugar, and salt can significantly improve heart health.
Healthy Restaurants in Durham, NC
Durham, NC, offers a variety of restaurants that cater to different health needs and preferences.
Best Breakfast Restaurants
- Monuts: Offers a mix of donuts, breakfast sandwiches, and brunch plates with local ingredients and seasonal veggies.
- The Refectory Cafe: Serves breakfast with classic options like ricotta pancakes and savory meals like smoked salmon benedict.
- Bull and Bean: A hybrid bakery, cafe, and wine bar with options ranging from vegan hash browns to acai bowls.
Best Lunch Restaurants
- Happy and Hale: Serves cold salads, warm grain bowls, and smoothies, with a build-your-own-bowl option.
- Bul Box: Offers warm grain bowls, cold poke bowls, and a make-your-own-bowl option.
- Foster’s Market: Provides sandwiches and a plate of three ready-made salads and sides.
- Farmside Kitchen: Serves “farm bowls,” which are grain bowls or hearty salads with various options.
Best Dinner Restaurants
- Luna Rotisserie and Empanadas: Offers a variety of flavors with hearty carbs, proteins, and fresh veggies.
- Parts and Labor (inside Motorco): Has an extensive vegetarian menu with options like tofu bahn mi and eggplant chapati.
- Zweli’s: Durham’s Zimbabwean restaurant with meat dishes like braised oxtail and stewed goat, with vegan sides.
- Thai Cafe: Serves Thai dishes with a focus on fresh ingredients and flavors.
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