Health in Miami

You know what they say: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." That adage might not be entirely true, but munching from this Apple on a regular basis can't possibly be bad for you, or your pocket for that matter. Nestled inside a vegetarian health-food store, this small South Beach spot caters to the health-conscious via house-made sandwiches, salads, and soups. Pull up a coveted seat and order a tasty ahi tuna salad, a sizable serving made fresh to order with your choice of delectable dressings. While you wait, sip some lentil soup — it's included, staggeringly, for less than $4. And in true SoBe-style, you can even knock back a shot or two — of wheat grass, that is.

5 articles

Aroa Craft Yogurt & Cafe

1045 S. University Dr. Plantation/Sunrise/Tamarac

954-533-0328

Cafe, Health

1 article

Basil Park

17608 Collins Ave., Sunny Isles Beach Aventura/North Miami Beach

305-705-0004

Contemporary, Health, Modern American, Organic, Smoothies, Menu

Basil Park is Tim Andriola's healthful, long-awaited followup to his Mediterranean mainstay, Timo. For the bright, airy bistro, he partnered with Tamer Harpke, a farmer with tracts in Hollywood and Dania Beach that produce the restaurant's microgreens and soon up to 30 percent of its produce. But beyond Basil Park's farm-to-table aspirations and "intact foods" philosophy is an actual restaurant using sophisticated techniques and balance that set it high above your favorite vegan café. "Dairy" items here are surrounded with quotes for a reason: There's no dairy at all. All beef is grass-fed, and the succulent, crisp-skinned chickens twirling in the rotisserie hail from Joyce Farms. What makes it all worthwhile is not even that it's good for you and leaves you feeling great. It's that the generous plates, with all their healthful mumbo jumbo, are simply delicious.

15 articles

Beehive Kitchen

200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Suite 110 Fort Lauderdale

954-607-2836

Health, Vegetarian

1 article

Beehive Natural Foods

6490 Bird Rd. Westchester/West Miami

305-663-1300

Health, Grocery, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Vegans, vegetarians, and even carnivores will enjoy Beehive's natural food selections. Nestled within a quaint shopping center, the eatery draws crowds with its organic, tasty, healthful foods. The size of the juice bar — offering only a handful of seats — is no indicator of the friendly service or the variety of offerings. Lunch specials include brown rice, chickpeas or lentils, and boiled vegetables, as well as homemade split pea soup, lentil soup, barley stew, broccoli quiche, baked herbal tofu, fresh salad, and other items. Don't pass up the brownies, chocolate cake, or soothing carrot cake — all are nondairy and delicious.

6 articles

Boulevard Kitchen + Juice Bar

701 E. Broward Blvd., Suite F Fort Lauderdale

954-530-1793

Cafe, American, Health

Cafe del Mar

710 Washington Ave., Miami Beach South Beach

305-534-7734

Deli, Health, Recommended, Menu

At Cafe del Mar, you can order sumptuous smoothies — with your choice of fresh fruits and nutritional supplements — wraps, salads, sandwiches, and pita melts any time, day or night. You can even order breakfast whenever you want. All breads, including mini-baguettes, bagels, and croissants, are freshly baked and deliciously soft. Salads are prepared to order and are offered with a wide variety of vegetables, meats, cheeses, and dressings. Best of all, this hip South Beach eatery is located in the heart of Washington Avenue's action.

1 article

Canyon Ranch Grill

6801 Collins Ave., Miami Beach Mid/North Beach

786-837-0034

American, Contemporary, Health, Hotels and Resorts, Best Of

Thai ceviche brings Key West shrimp marinated in pomelo juice perked with jÃcama, bird chili, and cilantro. Other raw starters mostly end with the letter o: tiradito, carpaccio, gazpacho. This is clean, calorically correct cuisine that is surely better for you than anything ordered in a steak house -- but it's likewise the sort of fare that can be found on nearly every menu in town other than at a steak house. And, unbelievably, only one of 11 entrÃ©es is vegetarian: carrots, zucchini, and yellow squash cut into thin, wide strands and tossed with marinara sauce and toasted pine nuts. The good news: It's only 200 calories. The bad news: You might die of boredom. Still, diners are privy to fresh food, and some entrÃ©es are quite tasty -- such as a lean, sumptuously soft grass-fed bison tenderloin sided by polenta with blue cheese and sautÃ©ed kale. The price is right too: Most appetizers run $8 to $13; entrées range from $18 (vegetable ribbons) to $25 (bison tenderloin). Booze is served, which might not be healthy for you, but it's definitely salubrious for profits.

6 articles

Carrot Express

1840 Alton Rd., Miami Beach South Beach

305-535-1379

Health, Menu

5 articles

Delicious Raw Bay Road

1828 Bay Rd., Miami Beach South Beach

Raw Food, Health

1 article

Dr Smood

19501 Biscayne Blvd. Aventura/North Miami Beach

Smoothies, Cafe, Health

Dr Smood

701 S. South Miami Ave., Suite 345, 3rd floor Brickell

786-334-4420

Health, Cafe, Smoothies, Menu

Dr Smood

5801 Sunset Dr., South Miami Coral Gables/S. Miami

786-334-4420

Health, Cafe, Smoothies, Best Of, Menu

3 articles

Dr Smood

1800 Bay Rd., Miami Beach South Beach

Health, Smoothies, Cafe

Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Ernie's Açaí

4141 Laguna St. Coral Gables/S. Miami

786-254-7274

Health

1 article

Farmer's Table

1901 N. Military Trail Boca Raton

561-417-5836

Community Venues, American, Health, Menu

1 article

Full Bloom Vegan Cuisine

1670 James Ave., Miami Beach South Beach

305-397-8018

Vegan, Health, Best Of

5 articles

Futuro Supermarket Cafeteria

13660 Miller Rd. West Dade

305-382-6128

Health, Market, Best Of, Menu

We live in a city that regularly sees temperatures above 90 degrees. Fortunately, Miami's climate is also ripe for growing awesome produce of all kinds. That means there is no reason to settle for a made-from-concentrate, prepackaged juice box when you can have the real thing. Futuro Supermarket is like a blast from the past with its antiquated cash register and small aisles. But way at the back of the store sits the perfect oasis. Mango, pineapple, orange, carrot — the list of fresh juices goes on and on. They're served in a 16-ounce Styrofoam cup ($2) or sold by the half-gallon ($6). Either way, they taste like you just bit into the fruit itself.

1 article

Garden of Eatin

136 NW 62nd St. Downtown/Overtown

305-754-8050

Caribbean, Health, Vegan, Vegetarian, Best Of, Menu

Most people's understanding of Rastafarianism is centered around Bob Marley and weed-smoking. But the series of daily practices of consciousness that comprise this syncretic religion are far more complex. Take Ital, the vegetarian diet to promote life energy. You can check it out at Garden of Eatin', a tiny restaurant that will make you feel like you're eating in the living room of a Rasta friend's home. Haitian-American chef Imanuel Tafari owns this bright yellow house filled with tables covered by red plastic tablecloths, a whirring fan, posters of King Haile Selassie, and a beautiful mecca of cafeteria-style offerings - some of the tastiest Caribbean vegan cuisine in all of Miami. The menu changes daily, and you can sample all of the day's soups, salads, main courses, and desserts for $6 to $12, depending on the size of the plate. Dishes are usually heavy on the faux-meat protein, mainly tofu and seitan; Tafari is famous for his ackee "fish" entrée, various curries, and ginger "chicken" legs that use a bamboo stick in place of bone. The refreshing limeade and gingerade ($2) are homemade, and drink flavors can be mixed to create your own concoction. There is a community feel to this tiny, one-room operation, with a diverse crowd of Rastas, artists, local office drones, and political activists grubbing away while reggae music plays in the background.

1 article

Ginger & Juice Bar

5829 SW 73rd St., #5A, South Miami Coral Gables/S. Miami

305-639-8377

Health, Readers' Choice

1 article

Go-Go Fresh Food Cafe

926 Alton Rd., Miami Beach South Beach

305-673-3137

American, Health, Vegetarian, Best Of, Menu

Go-Go Fresh Food Cafe stands out in South Beach as a healthful and affordable option. Go-Go has a pretty simple menu: mini salads, big salads, homemade soups that change daily, and the famous Go-Go Pies ($2.50). The stuffing of these pies, also known as empanadas, is vast with options ranging from classic Argentine to Philly cheesesteak to Thai peanut chicken to eggplant parmigiana. Each pie has perfectly flaky crust and is stuffed to the brim with flavor. The so-called mini salad aren't that mini, the mini shrimp salad ($6.70) has steamed shrimp, fresh green peas and hearts of palm over mixed greens with a cilantro lime dressing to zest it up. You can also build your very own salad with more than 60 ingredients to choose from, that they will toss for you on the spot. In this fast casual restaurant you can be in and out quickly with delicious healthy and fresh choices that won't harm your South Beach bod or break the bank.

8 articles

Gourmet Carrot

959 W. Ave., Miami Beach South Beach

305-534-4211

Health, Kosher, Vegetarian, Recommended

From the exterior, this kosher natural food restaurant/juice bar doesn't look like any other average smoothie store, and cartoonish posters of buck-tooth bunnies lining the walls make the interior look like a kid's soda fountain. But the smoothies here could be considered nectar for the casual gourmet: rich and unusual combinations like the "Chilled Lych" (litchi juice, banana, and housemade ginger-pear and litchi sorbets). Gourmet Carrot's solid food -- ranging from sandwiches, to salads, to complete entrées such as tamarind-glazed local mahi-mahi with two vegetable side dishes -- is tasty enough to make one forgive and forget that it's good for you. The menu does not feature red meat, shellfish, or dairy, but there are plenty of poultry, fish, and vegetarian (including vegan) items.

2 articles

Gourmet Station

646 NE 79th St. Miami Shores/Biscayne Park

305-762-7229

American, Health, International, Vegetarian, Best Of, Menu

If you're health-conscious, like home-cooked meals, and pick up Whole Foods-prepared meals almost every day, Gourmet Station has you covered. Among the offerings are turkey meatloaf (served with homemade barbecue sauce) and seasoned tofu. Ask about the daily specials; they range from grilled herb salmon to a deliciously tender chicken breast smothered in mushrooms and white wine sauce and accompanied by choice of two sides (sweet potatoes, rice and beans, or veggie of the day). Read our full review.

2 articles

Granny Feelgood's Natural Food

25 W. Flagler St. Downtown/Overtown

305-377-9600

Health, Vegetarian, Recommended, Menu

If compared with a real health-conscious eatery like, say, one that doesn't sell Chupa Chups across from the vitamin counter, Feelgood's would not fare so well. Yet while Granny doesn't delve deeply into Moosewood territory, it does offer up a wide variety of fresh, tasty lunches. Sandwiches are especially rewarding, and there are plenty to pick from -- wraps; paninis on grilled ciabatta bread; chargrilled tofu, chicken, or fish; and a dozen more typical types like tuna melt, sliced turkey, BLT with "low- sodium bacon" (gee, that must be healthy), and chunky chicken salad robustly flavored with "no cholesterol" herbal mayonnaise, raisins, apple bits, and a hint of cinnamon. Salad standards such as Greek and caesar are satisfying too, and bountiful enough for two to share. With the dog days of summer upon us, consider Granny's for a quick smoothie-stopover -- there are a couple of pages' worth listed in the spiral-notebook menu. Also freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices. This may not be whole food heaven, but you'll leave Feelgood's feeling pretty good.Read our full review.

3 articles

Green Gables Café

327 Alhambra Circle Coral Gables/S. Miami

305-445-7015

Health, Organic, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Green Gables Café is mostly a take-out/delivery joint. "Saving the world, one bite at a time" is the motto, and while it is fair to wonder whether eating a homemade bran muffin here in the morning will bring salvation to the planet, there is no questioning the muffin's quality. Baked organic eggs and vegetables, organic yogurt and berry parfait, and all manner of smoothies and fresh-squeezed juices can also start your day off right. Freshly prepared soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps, and melts compose the rest of the menu. There are homemade desserts, too, and organic coffee.

6 articles

Grown

8211 S. Dixie Highway, South Miami Coral Gables/S. Miami

305-663-4769

Fast Food, Health, Slideshow

15 articles

Honey Tree

5138 Biscayne Blvd. Midtown/Wynwood/Design District

305-759-1696

Health, Vegetarian, Recommended, Best Of

Each weekday this market and deli offers several freshly made dishes for lunch that you can eat in or take out. Mouthwatering and healthy vegan and vegetarian specialties can include penne pasta tossed with tomato sauce and soy sausage, sauteed spinach with mushrooms, and kale and potato patties topped by chunky tomato salsa. A hearty soup of the day, fruity smoothies, and delicious desserts such as nondairy chocolate mousse pie and carob- and walnut-studded banana bread are also available. Sold by the pound, the eats are often gone by late afternoon. So if all else fails, you can choose some organic produce from a small fridge and settle down for a healthful meal from one of the freezers.

4 articles

Jar + Fork

270 E. Flagler St. Downtown/Overtown

305-364-5643

Health

3 articles

Juice & Java

20335 Biscayne Blvd., #L-26 Aventura/North Miami Beach

305-466-2233

Health, Vegetarian, Best Of

If you wanna stay tanned, toned and beach ready a full 365, you can't be making meals out of Burger King all too often. And this is food to feed a South Florida bod. Juice & Java doles out fresh juices, salads, pastas and lots of health-conscious options for beachgoing vegetarians and vegans. Fresh fruit smoothies with everything from papaya to carrot run $4.50 to $5.50, and wraps like the eggplant tofu or mozzarella caprese run $7.50 to $10.50 - so healthy eating here won't break the bank. Be good to your meat suit by spending more of your food budget here and a little less on bar food.

3 articles

Juice & Java

1346 Washington Ave., Miami Beach South Beach

305-531-6675

Health, Vegetarian, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Though "local" is all the rage now, there's still something to be said for food un-injected with high-fructose corn syrup, AKA "having undergone little or no processing and containing no chemical additives," AKA, "natural." There's also a lot to be said for any natural-foods restaurant that features meat in addition to requisite hippie staples such as quinoa and tofu, and even more to be said if that place is also fast, clean, and well-located in both Aventura and Miami Beach. Juice & Java's menu rivals that of The Cheesecake Factory for the number of options, including breakfast wraps made with organic eggs, lattes made from Lavazza beans, and open-face melts with Monterey jack or soy cheese on white or whole-wheat pitas. It's one of the few places in Miami-Dade County where you can get a healthful and good-tasting meal fast.

4 articles

The Juicery Bar

635 Brickell Key Dr. Brickell

305-350-2277

Health, Best Of, Menu

1 article

Health in Miami

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