While Traveling, Keep Your New Year's Resolutions. Part 4: Eat Well

Come back each Monday in January to learn how you can keep your New Year’s resolutions while traveling in Minnesota. (Part 1: Save Money; Part 2: Exercise; Part 3: Read More.)

Maybe one of your New Year’s resolutions is to eat healthier? You can try eating healthier by packing your freezer with Lean Cuisine meals or you eat more whole, locally grown, fresh foods. The latter is the better choice, and fortunately, the Twin Cities is a prime location for just this type of eating. We have James Beard Award winners and nominees who make it their life mission to feed you healthy foods: Alex Roberts of Restaurant Alma and Brasa Rotisserie; Lenny Russo of Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market; Isaac Becker of 112 Eatery and Bar La Grassa; and Tim McKee of La Belle Vie, Masu Sushi & Robata, and others.

Birchwood Cafe Minneapolis

Eat Well at Birchwood Cafe
in Minneapolis
Photo by Todd Buchanan

If eating healthier has you striving to cut meat, dairy or gluten from your diet, we have options for you there, too. Chef Brenda Langton has been serving fresh, local, vegetarian fare for a quarter of a century. Stop in Spoonriver, located across from the Guthrie, to taste any number of dishes, like the vegetarian Okisuki or a vegetable, rice, and nut burger. Seward Café, a collectively run endeavor, serves up daily vegan and vegetarian breakfast and lunch items made from locally produced organic ingredients. Who knew a pizza place could be so accommodating? Nearly every pie at Pizza Luce can be spun to meet your dietary needs—gluten-free crust and everything. The Finnish Bistro in St. Anthony Park, which highlights Finnish and European specialties, offers a specific gluten-free menu as well as GF items on the rest of its main menu. The friendly neighborhood Birchwood Café provides a menu of vegan and vegetarian (plus several delicious non-veg) options made from local, sustainable, and organic ingredients.

For a variety of healthy ethnic eats (as well as an opportunity to support a diverse community), head to Midtown Global Market, which features everything from Hispanic, African, and Swedish cuisine, all under one roof. Find the epitome of farm-to-table at Wise Acre, which boasts the slogan: “The shortest distance between the Earth, the hand, and the mouth.” For more farm fresh meal options, try Pedal Pushers in Lanesboro, Duluth Grill in Duluth (featured on Diners, Drive-ins & Dives), and Lento in Rochester.

This is by no way an exhaustive list of our healthy restaurants in Minnesota, but it goes to show you that traveling away from home is no excuse not to eat well. Your stomach will thank you.