The Ultimate Guide to Health Food Eats in Miami

I absolutely love finding the best vegan and vegetarian options in every city I visit. This time, I spent two weeks in Miami, Florida eating delicious meals and sipping superfood smoothies in between exceptional hot yoga and pilates classes at Sol Yoga in Wynwood or stopping by one of the various studios in Miami’s famous South Beach. Needless to say, Miami is not lacking in health food, vegan or vegetarian eating options, so I’ve listed some of the best health food spots in Miami below.

Casual Vegan in Wynwood: Love Life Cafe

After a half day wandering the artistic streets of Wynwood in the searing heat and serious humidity, I was looking up healthy restaurants in the Miami Arts District to relax and refresh when I found Love Life Cafe. On one of Wynwood District’s main roads, Love Life Cafe offers a vast and comfortable atmosphere to settle in with a great variety of vegan food options. 

I wasn’t really sure what I was looking for and I let me stomach decide on what to order. It isn’t often that I come across a gluten free apple crumble, so I absolutely had to try it. It was the perfect combination of delicate, crunchy crumble and sweet & spiced apple filling made with orange blossom syrup, cloves, pecans and so much more. I paired it with a powerhouse of a juice called Turmeric Gingerade that had enough of a zing to wake me up in the middle of a very hot and humid midday Miami excursion.

Click here to take a look at the Love Life Cafe menu for yourself!

Choices Vegan Cafe in Coconut Grove

Unfortunately, this cafe is now closed!

I visited this cafe on two occasions. The first was after a day of exploring the yoga studios and artsy shops in Coconut Grove. I ordered their Goddess Bar which was chock full vegan protein sources and sweetened to perfection with the use of cane sugar (I’m always looking to avoid cane sugar). They also had a wonderful selection of superfood based smoothies to choose from! I recall many rather appealing options but totally forgot to note which one I actually ordered! Oops!

The second time I stopped by, I ordered an outstanding Latin inspired lentil dish. It was like a love affair between a traditional Cuban dish featuring beans, rice and plantains and a health nut’s kitchen pantry, replacing the classic choice of black beans with lentils and substituting white rice for a mix of brown rice and quinoa. Topped with greens and guacamole, this plate was the ultimate in casual savory latin vegan fusion food. Wow, that was a lot of adjectives!

Plnthouse at 1 Hotel on Miami Beach

Miami Beach and South beach have a vast array of eating options to choose from, but as I got closer to Soho House area of this very extensive strip of sandy paradise, I realized there weren’t as many healthy options as there are in the South Beach area. Luckily, I found Plnthouse after quite the navigational adventure.

As I walked along the Miami Beach Boardwalk from north to south, following the little marker on Google Maps as it directed me past many a beach club, I started to sense that Plnthouse would be a little hidden. Google Maps had me walk right up to 1 Hotel on Miami Beach where I asked the concierge how I could find this mysterious eatery.

It makes sense that the restaurant itself is situated at the end of the hotel gym as the menu is definitely geared to those who are into healthy living. I walked in and the place felt completely invigorating with air conditioning and a sun drenched seating area fixed with floor to ceiling windows, tons of vibrant hanging plants & bright white walls.

The views of the Atlantic Ocean itself was the ultimate complement to a very generously sized Acai Bowl loaded with fresh berries and almond butter for a light yet nutrient packed meal that I was unable to actually finish. My friend who eats meat on a much more regular basis than myself chose the Wagyu Beef burger and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Plnthouse in 1 Hotel is the kind of place that is perfect for groups or families with a diverse palate range as they cater to plant based foodies and meat eaters alike. Some other items on their menu which caught my interest included a cinnamon roll made with dates, “Shroom Tacos” and a vegan ramen dish. Maybe you can try them for dinner and tell me what you think!

I do feel compelled to mention that the service at Plnthouse was a mixed bag. The young woman who was my first point of contact had a very cold and hard attitude which caught me off guard and seemed quite inappropriate for a setting which otherwise esteemed itself on such high service standards, however the remainder of the staff and the manager were all very friendly and attentive.

Casual South Beach Vegan Restaurant: Lilikoi Organic Living

Just downstairs from Atmananda Yoga is Lilikoi Organic Living which, when walking in, feels just like walking into your friends livingroom. The atmosphere is so friendly and casual that I ended up in a ten minute conversation with the cashier. It helped that there was no one else in line at the time.

I noticed while in Miami that CBD products were almost everywhere I went. Lilikoi was featuring a gluten free, vegan CBD cookie on their counter top at the time. I convinced myself in approximately two seconds that I should definitely try this delicious looking dessert alongside a passionfruit popsicle that sounded equally irresistible on yet another hot Miami day. Describing this cookie, which is made by Courtney’s Cookies, as the best packaged cookie I’ve ever placed on my tastebuds is no overstatement. In fact, in retrospect, I am not wondering why I didn’t grab just one more before I headed out the door.

I’ll be honest, I remember the popsicle as delicious and refreshing, especially as I took it to go while walking around the beautiful South Beach district, but not nearly as notable as the cookie. 

Lillikoi also has a ridiculous amount of delicious offerings on their menu including something as decadent sounding as sourdough pancakes (I know, totally not the healthiest thing but just the idea garners an exciting reaction! Treat yourself!) and something on the opposite end of the spectrum: a Green Detox Juice in case, you know, you got carried away with the sourdough pancakes the day before…

Healthy Convenience Around the City: Joe and the Juice

Just under the Historic Overtown/Lyric Theater Metro Station is the first Joe and the Juice I stopped into. Ever. Did you know they use paper straws, recycled napkins, wooden cutlery and even use their own food waste app to cut down on waste? This kind of attention to detail makes me a loyal customer. It feels good to support a business I know is leading change in their industry – plus they make some pretty delicious edibles!

Anything with cacao in it always wins my vote. Add a banana and something nutty and I’m completely won over. During my healthy food eating bonanza in Miami, I ordered this shake twice. Once on it’s own and another time alongside their toasted avocado panini one evening at the Wynwood location.

Their interiors are exceptionally comfortable and open, combining elements of modern design elements and vintage decor to keep things a little on the surprising side. The service at Joe and the Juice was noteworthy, too, especially in the Wynwood location where a kind and charismatic employee remembered my name from one day to the next.

Joe and the Juice is based in Denmark but has locations all around the world. I highly recommend stopping into one of their shops the next time you have a chance! Check here for their locations.

Carrot Express: Funny Name, Exceptional Soup

As soon as I saw the name “Carrot Express,” I thought the founders really could not have put less thought in the name. Maybe it was intentional, because the more you think about a brand name, the more likely it is to stick, right? Good marketing.

Anyway, I was in Midtown and the name implied they were a vegetable friendly spot so I stopped in and had a quick look through the menu. I really wanted something light as it was already quite late and typically I don’t like to eat past 7pm and I was in a bit of a rush. The service was friendly and helpful when I asked what I should order if I had only five minutes to wait. Lentil soup was recommended and I’m glad it was because it was absolutely delicious. 

I also picked up a bag of plantain chips that were sitting on the counter. It was nice that I could go into a place with healthy food options and come out with enough good food to satisfy my appetite in a very short amount of time.

Carrot Express also make an interesting baked sweet potato casserole kind of dish that I picked up on my way to the airport. It was quite heavy but as a food with a high nutrient density (just one sweet potato has 400 percent of our daily Vitamin A requirements), I was happy to eat it over the course of a couple hours before getting onto my flight, especially as airplane food is not exactly known for its nutritional value!

Carrot Express has a wide variety of other food options, including non-vegetarian dishes. Have a closer look at the Carrot Express menu here.

Free Soul: Almalibre in Downtown Miami

I made a quick in and out visit to Almalibre so while I cannot say much, I can say I thoroughly enjoyed the vegetarian burger topped with avocado and cheese which was made for me in a very prompt fashion in addition to the overall ambiance of the urban eatery. It had a soft and feminine vibe in an otherwise touch downtown environment which felt like an oasis for the few minutes that I waited. 

I would definitely come back and try more from Almalibre, or maybe I would just order the same burger again! Check out the Almalibre Acai Bar menu.

Dr Smood: More Healthy Eating in Wynwood

I made a quick stop into Dr Smood before getting onto the mat at Sol Yoga in Wynwood (love this studio by the way – beautiful atmosphere and great teachers!). It’s not recommended to eat before your yoga practice but I wanted to try something different and I saw the Hawaj White Coffee under their Specialty Drinks menu. Ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and clove… Mmmmmm..

This drink was comforting like a warm hug from a close friend or a big warm scarf on a cold autumn evening. It’s better than a pumpkin spice latte because it’s actually a healthy concoction and still manages to stimulate all my happy tastebuds! 

At the time of ordering, I didn’t even realize that the word Hawaj actually has roots in Arabic and the drink dates back to the seventh and eighth century Spice Trail! What a gem of a find and learning opportunity in the heart of Miami’s Arts District.

Dr Smood also serves up organic teas, slimming organic elixirs, “smoodys,” snacks and full on meals. Their menu is entirely free of dairy, eggs, pesticides, refined sugar and basically all the yucky stuff that clean eating nuts want to steer clear of. Want to see more of Dr Smood’s selection? Click here.

Green G Juice Bar in Wynwood: The Smoothie Bowl Expert

So I realize that calling Green G Juice Bar a smoothie bowl expert seems a little over the top, but what I saw coming out of their kitchen had me thinking they knew how to make a solid smoothie bowl. With ingredients like bee pollen, pitaya (dragon fruit, anybody?), goji berries and raw honey, I’ll let their menu speak for itself.

Definitely worth checking out for a juice, smoothie or a bowl, Green G has a very casual atmosphere. Show up after yoga or the gym in your activewear and no one will even look twice.

Green G Juice Bar menu.

Have you been to Miami and discovered some exceptional healthy eating options? I’d love to hear from you about your experiences!