Top Dietitian Approved Restaurants in the Kansas City Metro
Eating out while trying to maintain a healthy diet is difficult to do in most restaurants. However, Kansas City has a handful of health-conscious restaurants that you can dine at without having to sacrifice quality and health of food. I asked a group of dietitians in Kansas City for a list of their favorite restaurants with healthful options and these were the top choices of the group.
(1) Café Gratitude
Cafe Gratitude is a collection of 100% organic plant based restaurants specializing in gourmet plant based cuisines. We strive to create a menu and environment that supports health and sustainability for both our community and the planet. We practice business through a term we call “Sacred Commerce”, where we provide inspired service, honest and transparent communication, and express gratitude for the richness of our lives. Check out our menu and come dine with us. Come to our workshops and classes and learn with us. Visit our online store and support us. Check out our blog and connect with us.
Location
333 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108
Visit their website here.
(2) Ruby Jeans Juicery
Once owner & CEO, Chris Goode, was introduced to the world of juicing and shown the documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead by friends in Los Angeles, a passion for healthy living was birthed. Following his first juice cleanse, which lasted 10 days, he felt better than he ever had and immediately thought of his late grandmother and wished she had the knowledge and understanding of how important healthy eating and drinking truly was. Ruby Jean’s was birthed on pure passion behind the early departure of Ruby Jean and the owner’s extreme belief that his grandmother may still be around had she made subtle changes in her diet.
Ruby Jean’s Juicery was created with a passion for health and longevity of life in mind. Ruby Jean was a lady who connected her family and community members with a great sense of love and genuineness. Her legacy lives through providing that same level of care to the wide array of healthy options Ruby Jean’s Juicery offers. Ruby Jean’s is a place meant for relaxation in a fresh, hip, one of a kind environment. There is life in fruits and vegetables and that same life and passion are cornerstones of the Ruby Jean’s brand.
Locations
1111 Main St. Ste. 165, KCMO 64106
3000 Troost Ave., KCMO 64109
Visit their website here.
(3) Enjoy
The idea behind Enjoy is pure and simple. We feel better when we eat well. By providing nutrient-rich, clean foods prepared in ways that are as close to nature as possible, we help people live and work with a clear mind and positive energy. Even when things are moving fast, we make it easy to eat healthy. We offer foods that are responsibly grown, lovingly made and purely good. Our welcoming space, inspired service and deliciously clean cuisine all come together to bring a moment of joy that leads to a better day.
Location
10573 Mission Road
Leawood, KS 66206
Visit their website here.
(4) The Mixx
With a vast array of healthy and unique flavors, The Mixx allows its creative patrons to customize their own fresh salads and sandwiches from an extensive list of over 50 Mixx-ins and ingredients. The Mixx further differentiates itself from most traditional fast-casual restaurants by using real dishes and flatware, allowing for an enhanced guest experience in an atmosphere that is as hip and colorful as each one of its delectable dishes. The Mixx minimizes its carbon footprint and commits itself to sustainability.
Locations
4855 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64112
1347 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64105
11942 Roe Ave, Overland Park, KS 66209
Visit their website here.
(5) Room 39
Breakfast and Lunch are casual affairs with a dining room of beautifully handcrafted tables and simple yet elegant food such as our steak and eggs benedict, fresh pasta and our popular half pound burger. Dinners are more elegant but still a great value with an award winning wine list and a $45 tasting menu that changes daily using our farmer driven produce and meat.
Chef Ted Habiger believes the best tasting food comes from local farmers who use sustainable harvesting and growing practices ensuring the land is better off than before.
Location
1719 W 39th St, Kansas City, MO 64111
Visit their website here.
(6) First Watch
Here at First Watch, we begin each morning at the crack of dawn, slicing fresh fruits and vegetables, baking muffins and whipping up our French toast batter from scratch. Everything is made to order and freshness is never compromised. We don’t use heat lamps or deep fryers — we use only the finest ingredients possible for the freshest taste around. When you arrive, we welcome you with a pot — not just a cup — of our Project Sunrise coffee, along with complimentary newspapers and WiFi Internet access.
Locations
Multiple around Kansas City. Check website for the complete list.
Visit their website here.
(7) Waldo Thai
Ted Liberda’s mother Ann was born in Thailand and came to the U.S. in 1975. She started the family restaurant chain with Thai Place in Overland Park and the family later opened multiple locations throughout the metro, serving the best Kansas City Thai food, including Thai Place in Westport. They still have Thai Diner in Lawrence, and Thai Tradition in Topeka. We invite you to experience Thai Place in Waldo! Ted opened this restaurant with both traditions from the past and modern touches to give it the flair Kansas City’s been waiting for. If you are ready to experience the best Kansas City Thai food then you’ve come to the right spot!
Location
8431 Wornall Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64114
Visit their website here.
(8) T. Loft
t.Loft is a growing community of health cafes offering fresh, all natural food and beverages. The cafe caters to the health conscious with fresh pressed juices, nutritious gourmet meals and cleansing programs as well as a 100 percent gluten free menu. t.Loft actively shares the positive impact of nutrition, and is focused on fueling sustainable lifestyles.
Locations
8025 Stateline Road, Kansas City, MO 64114
5225 W. 116th Place, Leawood, KS 66211
4801 Bauer Farm Drive, Lawrence, KS 66049
200 W. 47th Street, Kansas City, MO 64112
Visit their website here.
(9) True Food Kitchen
Welcome to True Food Kitchen: a restaurant inspired by the philosophy that food should make you feel better, not worse. Together, we’re a passionate collective of accomplished chefs, visionary restaurateurs and a renowned doctor of integrative medicine, who believe delicious dining and conscious nutrition can go hand in hand, without sacrificing flavor, creativity or indulgence. Here, we invite our guests to become a part of a world where great tasting food and thoughtfully crafted beverages—shared in an environment of infectious positivity—can be the foundation for a life well lived.
Location
4749 Pennsylvania Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64112
Visit their website here.
(10) The Farmhouse
The Farmhouse features seasonal and classically creative comfort foods of all types. We hate to waste food; embracing the “tip-to-tail” ideology enables us to work with our local farmers to grow the animals we need and to harvest those animals as they’re needed. We also respect each animal raised for our kitchen by using as much of each animal as we creatively can. We butcher cuts not commonly used in modern cooking; we make our own bacon and lardons in house; we make chicharrones, broths, stews in house…all from pastured animals grown for The Farmhouse! We continue that ethic with the produce served in our restaurant and in our scratch bar — we use all parts of the vegetables we receive from our farmers, making our own stocks, sauces, ketchup, and our talented bartenders make their own seasonal syrups, purees & shrubs.
“Farm-to-table” means that we work with local farmers from Kansas and Missouri, making them the base for our food and drink ingredients, keeping them in business all year long, reducing our carbon footprint, and making sure that you get the freshest ingredients on your plate! Picking their organic, non-GMO crops at dawn, delivering them to us early in the day, our farmers enable our menu to remain seasonal, always fresh, and creative.
Location
300 Delaware St., Kansas City, MO 64105
Visit their website here.
(11) Caffetteria
Our ingredients are ethically and sustainably sourced to create wholesome meals for our guests and bring through the real, natural flavors of our dishes. We partner with local farmers and businesses whenever possible to support our community and provide the freshest ingredients in our recipes.
Location
The Shops of Prairie Village 25 on the Mall
Visit their website here.