Missouri is home to a number of iconic foods like toasted ravioli, gooey butter cake and Ted Drewes frozen custard, all of which are palate-pleasing but potentially waistline-expanding. Luckily, the Show-Me State has a variety of restaurants with menu offerings that are both healthy and tasty.
A charmingly eclectic bistro on Warrensburg’s square, Café Blackadder
has scrumptious options for vegetarians, vegans and the gluten-intolerant, made from scratch with locally sourced ingredients. Try the Hummus Plate served with naan flatbread, artisan crackers and vegetable crudités or the Thai Tempeh Bowl with marinated roasted tempeh, wild rice, red cabbage, julienned carrots, avocado, almonds, local greens, hot pickled red onions and coconut peanut sauce.
With the entire menu free of gluten, soy, corn and refined sugar, Nourish Café + Market is a delicious way to eat clean. Using mostly organic ingredients in their nutrient-rich bowls, salads, sandwiches and wraps, Nourish produces a variety cold-pressed juices. Satisfy your sweet tooth from the raw, vegan dessert menu with a Lime Creme Pie with fresh lime and avocado custard filling and almond crust.
The Order in Springfield’s Hotel Vandivort works closely with farmers and purveyors in the Ozarks region, whose supply largely determines the menu. The seasonally-inspired features on the dinner menu include a locally sourced vegetarian dish, wild game for the adventurous and the Chef’s Seasonal Catch, a sustainably harvested seafood option. While you’re there, be sure to pop into a Hotel Vandivort bathroom in the basement for a selfie (check out #HotelVandivortBathroomSelfie if you don’t believe me).
Named one of the best spots for eating healthy in St. Louis by Feast Magazine, Seedz Cafe touts 100% organic, plant-based cuisine. Order the Seedz Veggie Burger with a house-made, brown rice and garbanzo bean burger topped with avocado, jalapeno cashew “cheez”, Seedz Kitchen Sauce, lettuce and tomato on a bun, served with a side salad. Owners Cara Schloss and Monty Gralnick recently opened a new counterpart just down the street, Seedz Provisions. Find everything from vegan cookbooks, candles and locally made artisan foodstuffs to vegan grab-and-go items.
I Am Thriving. I Am Magical. I Am Transformed. With an all-natural, locally sourced menu offering dishes with names as uplifting as these, it would be impossible to leave Café Gratitude in Kansas City feeling anything but healthfully satisfied. Experience the “I Am Dynamic,” an herb-cornmeal crusted eggplant over a bed of spaghetti squash noodles.
Give your mind, body and environment a reprieve at one of Missouri’s delectably health-conscious, sustainable restaurants. Be sure to tag your food pics #MissouriAdventure!
Written by Amanda Long