I’m excited to share that I’ve teamed up with Kim of @bestofvegan and @brusselsvegan to bring you a list of seven of the tastiest healthy restaurants in NYC. You know the famous Hippocrates quote, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food?” Well these seven restaurants live that principle. The focus of their menus is on nourishing, health supportive, plant-based foods from the Earth. And want to know a beautiful theme I noticed along the way while visiting these restaurants? Not only do these restaurants want to provide their customers with healthy, nourishing food, but they aim to provide their customers with good energy too. They all, in one way or another, are focused on living a little kinder and a little gentler for our bodies, our souls, others and the planet. So, with good food and good energy in mind, here are our favorite healthy spots.

Sun In Bloom

Sun In Bloom, with a sit-down restaurant in Brooklyn and a to-go spot in Tribeca, offers a wide array of clean, organic, raw vegan foods. The restaurant is home to one of my very favorite salads, the chef aimee macro salad. It’s made with massaged kale, live sesame ginger dressing, roasted veggies, avocado, sauerkraut, wakame, seasoned pumpkin seeds and cayenne pepper. It is one of the healthiest, most filling and most delicious salads in the city. If you’re feeling more like breakfast the Brooklyn location serves up a delicious breakfast menu which features items like the earth cup made with sprouted buckwheat, sunflower seed butter, dates, raisins, fresh banana, seasonal fruit and housemade rice mylk. And in the mood for a sandwich? Try the shiitake “bacon” BLT. Even the most ardent meat lovers will enjoy this. And we can’t talk about Sun in Bloom without mentioning their heavenly raw vegan cheesecakes that allow you to indulge without ever feeling guilty. Plus, this is a great spot for anyone who follows a gluten free diet too. And in the winter the make-your-own miso bowl is the most satisfying, delicious, nourishing miso soup you’ll ever have.  460 Bergen St (Brooklyn) & 165 Church St (Tribeca) suninbloom.com

Juice Press

If you want healthy, organic raw foods and juices on the go, Juice Press is your place. With locations all over Manhattan and Brooklyn, Juice Press is a New York favorite for quick, healthy food. Juice Press’ moto is that they are 100% organic, 99% of the time. This is some of the purest, cleanest food in the city. Their head chef Daniel Ceballos is a culinary mastermind. I’ve been lucky enough to try some of his custom creations like delicious stuffed roasted peppers and beautiful raw, organic, dairy-free dragon fruit ice cream. But on a normal day some of my favorites to pick up at Juice Press are the OMG! green juice made with celery, cucumber, pear, grapefruit, kale and parsley, the mini glo citrus juice made with grapefruit, lemon and orange, the heaven on earth smoothie made with homemade almond milk, banana, dates, raw almond butter, brown rice protein powder, raw cacao and cinnamon, the rainforest smoothie made with young thai coconut water, pineapple, banana, coconut meat, lemon juice, raw agave, ginger meat, superfood powder and fresh mint, the raw falafel salad, the best raw oatmeal for breakfast, acai superfood bowls, and the hot soups in the winter. 20+ locations around NYC. juicepress.com

Jungle Cafe 

Head to this Brooklyn spot for an abundant offering of healthy food and good energy. This restaurant was created by members of the Golden Drum Meditation Center. The concept is that customers can come in and enjoy healthy, clean, nourishing foods in a genuine, peaceful environment. The menu itself was actually created by a naturopath…how cool is that? And while the restaurant does offer an a la carte menu, one of the highlights is the robust buffet offering many delicious, healthy plant-based foods. Everything at Jungle Cafe was created with intention, from the colorful murals on the walls to the tables made of repurposed wood from Hurricane Sandy. The restaurant also offers free music every Thursday and many community programs. Some of my favorite items from the buffet were the sauerkraut, sweet potatoes, kale salad and the not-to-be-missed, perfectly prepared plantains. 996 Manhattan Ave (Brooklyn) junglecafenyc.com

Blossom on Carmine

Blossom on Carmine is a great place to visit when part of your party wants to eat healthy and the other part is craving comfort food. While being known for their vegan comfort food (which is really delicious), Blossom on Carmine also offers a wide variety of healthy dishes like the taco trio, made with roasted adobo-spiced mushrooms, corn tortillas, cabbage, guacamole, carrot/poblano escabeche and micro cilantro, the kale salad made with mashed avocado, scallions, bell peppers, pomegranate seeds and an almond ginger dressing, and the create-your-own-bowl where you can mix and match an assortment of healthy veggies and grains. The restaurant has a friendly, welcoming vibe with walls that open up to the outside in the summer. And Blossom on Carmine features beautiful photography by one of their very own servers, Timothy aka Mississippi Vegan. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner daily, plus brunch on the weekends. 41 Carmine St (West Village) blossomnyc.com

Angelica Kitchen

Angelica Kitchen is the oldest running plant-based restaurant in NYC. The restaurant has been around for almost 40 years and it supports an impressive number of local farmers. The focus at Angelica Kitchen is to provide healthy, nourishing, well-balanced foods. As owner Leslie describes it, the food is so fresh and so local that each morning when it comes off the trucks from the farms it is humming with goodness. Angelica’s daily soups are so fantastic that I even order them in the summer. Another favorite of mine is the avocado and kimchee salad made with seasonal greens, watercress, housemade kimchee, nori strips, extra virgin olive oil, avocado and radish slices. If you want to try a little bit of everything, the fiesta plate allows you to pick and choose an assortment of items from the menu. Some of my favorites for the fiesta plate are the walnut-lentil pâte, curried cashew spread and ruby kraut. Plus, one can always count on Angelica’s daily specials to be healthy and satisfying. The restaurant has been drawing in health conscious locals for decades and continues to attract new generations of health conscious people along the way. 300 E 12th St (East Village) angelicakitchen.com

Little Choc Apothecary

Stepping into the cute-as-can-be Little Choc you’ll instantly be welcomed by a laid back, cozy atmosphere and the smell of mouth-watering good crepes. NYC’s first all vegan crepe shop offers savory and sweet crepes that are creatively filled with healthy, satisfying ingredients, all sourced from local farms. And in addition to being vegan, all the crepes at Little Choc are gluten-free too. I’m a huge fan of the burrito crepe made with avocado, coconut bacon, black beans, homemade chipotle hot sauce plus homemade cashew cheese and the garden of eatin’ crepe made with apple, avocado, fresh kale, mint-basil pesto and lemon juice. The goal of Little Choc is to make healthy, cruelty-free, delicious food more readily available to an ever-growing community of conscious eaters, and anything-goes foodies alike. And they do just that! Little Choc is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. 141 Havemeyer St (Brooklyn) chocny.com

Quintessence

Quintessence is one of the most peaceful, relaxing restaurants you’ll find in the city. From the quiet, calming spa music always playing in the background to the small, simple, minimalist space, this restaurant is here to fill your body with good food and your mind with peaceful energy. The raw vegan menu is served tapas style. Owner Mun transitioned to a tapas style menu with the intention of letting diners try as many dishes as desired, without becoming overly stuffed. Quintessence’s chia seed pudding is one of the best chia seed puddings I’ve ever had. It reminds me of rice pudding I used to eat as a child. The raw caesar salad also stands out as one of my favorite items on the menu. It is made with crisp romaine hearts, juicy tomatoes, crunchy cucumber, avocado, caramelized onions and their own pine nut miso caesar dressing. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner on weekdays and all day brunch on the weekends. This is a perfect place for a relaxing, quiet, healthy meal. 263 E 10th St (East Village) raw-q.com

To see Kim’s take on what stands out at these seven healthy restaurants check out her version of this post, here. And because this big city has even more delicious places than we could possibly squeeze into this list, here are four of my other favorite restaurants that offer some of NYC’s healthiest dishes. They are:

Souen // Macrobiotic, vegan restaurant. Souen serves one of the most delicious macro bowls in the city. Located in Union Square, Soho and the East Village. souen.net

Peacefood Cafe // A vegan kitchen and bakery. While this is one of my favorites for comfort food and desserts, they also serve some raw foods and a delicious vegan caesar salad. Located in Greenwich Village and the Upper West Side. peacefoodcafe.com

The Squeeze // Juice bar and healthy plant-based to-go spot. If you want to blur the lines of healthy food and comfort food, this restaurant serves an incredibly delicious, healthy take on vegan mac and cheese. Located in Soho, Gansevoort Market, Midtown West & Brooklyn. thesqueezejuice.com

Beyond Sushi // 100% vegan sushi. The rolls are creative and filled with healthy plant-based ingredients. Located in Union Square, Chelsea Market and Midtown West. beyondsushinyc.com

xo,

Tedi