Best Restaurants with Healthy Menus in Tahoe

No only does Freshies have a great patio with a view of Lake Tahoe, but they have one of the freshest menus on the lake. Freshies uses organic items in their menu as much as possible including rice bran oil. Their items are vegan/vegetarian friendly and they offer gluten free, wheat free and celiac diet options. They also make all their pasta and desserts in-house. Their menu includes appetizers like Seaweed Salad, Peel n' Eat Shrimp and Grilled Portobello Mushrooms topped with red curry, pesto, carrots and coconut. Their main items include tacos, organic salads, homemade soups including fresh Gazpacho and dinner items like Red Curry with Ahi, Noodle Bowls and the Mana Meal which includes beans, peas and grain loaf grilled with mushrooms and vegan gravy. Freshies also has a large selection of draft beers from breweries like Russian River, Snowshoe Brewing and Mammoth Brewing. Other beverages include homemade Tahitian Coconut Limeade for $3.25 and teas and juices.

Spoon restaurant in Tahoe City on the West Shore of the lake is your place for comfort food with a twist in the Tahoe area. This relaxed and cozy cafe is full of color and homemade dishes. The decor is cute and colorful, with shopping carts on the walls, bright paint and a backyard where you can eat outside all year long. Spoon offers lunch and dinner menu items like Pan Roasted Wild Pacific Salmon with Fresh Pineapple Jalepe�o Salsa and Couscous with a green salad for $15; Chicken, Pecan and Wild Rice Enchiladas for $12 and great salads and sandwiches for only $9.50. Their desserts are popular as well and include nightly sweet specials for $2.50.

The Keys Cafe is located on the South Shore, just off the main road. This small, yellow house serves up breakfast, lunch, beer wine and their famous smoothies. The atmosphere is fun and funky with local art on the walls and fresh, local eggs served in their omlettes, breakfast sandwiches and breakfast burritos. Their smoothies include the typical fruit smoothies like the Go Mango with mango, raspberry, banana and orange juice and the Castaway with coconut, mango and pineapple juice as well as granola smoothies that are great for breakfast. The Keys Cafe also has Chai Tea smoothes, Espresso smoothies and Super Smoothies like the 911 with Emergen-C, banana, mango and orange juice. Their lunches consist of turkey, ham and swiss, roast beef, Reuben and cheese sandwiches. They also serve a sweet potato sandwich with baked sweet potato, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, marinated onions, organic mixed greens, balsamic vinaigrette dressing, on a ciabatta roll.

For nearly 25 years, Sprouts Cafe in South Lake Tahoe has been serving healthful, wholesome meals for affordable prices. Sprouts serves large salads like their house salad which is piled with sprouts (of course) avocado, tomatoes, red onions and fresh lettuce. It's served with their house dressing. This cute cafe offers gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian sandwiches, soups, salads and sides like rice, chips, salsa, guacamole, hummus and tempeh. Their specialties include the Tempeh Burro, a large spinach tortilla stuffed with brown rice, tempeh, tomato, red onions, tahini and jack cheese topped with salsa and guacamole, served with sesame tortilla chips; the Hummus Melt with a toasted bagel, red onion, tomato, zesty homemade, low fat hummus, avocado, melted monterey jack cheese, green onions.served with sesame tortilla chips. Their Ugly Gooey Excellent Nachos are only $7.50 and the ATOM Bagel with avocado, onion, tomato, cheese and green onions is an affordable $5.25. Sprouts also serves a huge selection of smoothies including Mango Lime, Funky Monkey with soy protein powder and low fat granola and the Bee Sting with Strawberries, apple juice, banana, bee pollen and Vitamin B complex.

The Blue Angel Caf� in South Lake Tahoe offers unique and interesting meat and vegetarian dishes as well as desserts, wine beer and a generous happy hour. This cozy, little restaurant has a view of the lake, a place for eating outside, a nice garden and access to all the South Lake Tahoe fun. Their food includes items like Clam Chowder, Chili Dusted Sweet Potato Fries, Pulled Pork, burgers and vegetarian dishes like the Napolean with eggplant, zucchini, tomato sauce, pesto and polenta. They have a daily happy hour with menu items and drinks for $3 and a nice couch in front of the fireplace to sit and chat with locals and other Tahoe visitors. The Blue Angel also offers catering and special wedding menus.

The Red Truck cafe is located inside the Truckee Airport, but don't let that scare you away. Red Truck's food is far from airport or airline food. Their eclectic menu features healthy, sustainable, organic food items like Samosas of the day, Falafel, Chicken Tikka Masala and Tacos w/ Tzatziki, Slaw, Cucumber Pico and Crispy Quinoa. Other unusual but tasty items include burritos or bowls with Quinoa, Gharki Dal, Sla, Tahini Yogurt and Fattoush. Drinks include Mango Lassi and Agua Fresca. They also serve both meat and veggie burgers and sandwiches. The restaurant's menu changes every day and has a nice view of the Truckee runway and some places to eat outside. Red Truck also has a large red food truck that offers the same menu items at various locations around the lake and during special events. Both the cafe and the food truck are available for catering.

The Free Bird Cafe in South Lake Tahoe serves up some of the best organic food in the area. Their menu includes coffee, tea, smoothies, homemade chai tea, baked goods, super foods and more. Try the Humming Bird Smoothie with Yogurt, Mango (or Strawberry), OJ, Banana, Agave Nectar for $4.75 or the Dirty Chai (Chai Latte with Espresso) for $4.50. Their "light bites" include items like the Special Bagel which is a locally made bagel with house herb cream cheese and fresh tomato slices for $4.00 or the Potato Samosas with curry, mango chutney, cilantro salsa and a house salad for $6.

The Manzanita restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton at the Northstar ski resort not only embraces the natural surroundings with its name (a manzanita is an evergreen shrub that graces the Tahoe mountains), but it brings the beauty of nature into its dishes. The stylish restaurant sources many of its food from local farms and ranches and displays them in a natural and beautiful way. Start off a romantic dinner with a Beet & Burratta salad with local beets, apples, celery, hazelnuts and honey-rosemary vinaigrette, choose from 12-Hour Bordeaux Braised Shortrib or Hand-Made Tagliatelle with heirloom eggplant and fresh ricotta and finish up with a Pumpkin Souffle with spiced anglaise and butter pecan ice cream. Manzanita also serves breakfast and lunch and has an extensive wine, beer and cocktail menu. If you are not hungry enough for a full dinner, the restaurant offers a bar menu with items like Pomme Frites, the Durham Ranch Burger and the Drunken Goat Cheese and Prosciutto Pizza with rocket greens.

Simple Bliss is South Lake Tahoe's only vegan restaurant and serves locally grown organic produce. They are located in the Swiss Chalet Village and are open daily from 6 a.m.to 4 p.m. The caf� is knowledgable about vegan diets and offers a wide variety of items to choose from in her menu. The breakfast burritos for $13 include roasted potatoes, tofu or grilled eggplant and the $8 Blissful Breakfast Bagel has garlic hummus, avocado, tomato, red onion and spinach. For lunch the Grilled Eggplant Panini for $13 with sourdough bread, grilled eggplant, roasted red peppers, onions, tomatoes, and garlic hummus. The Homemade Lentil Burger for $13 is served on a multi-grain bun w/veganaise, mustard, lettuce mix, tomato, and onions. Simple Bliss serves various beverages like coffee, lattes, cappuccinos and chai. They also serve Italian sodas and organic carrot juice.

The Uncommon Kitchen restaurant and deli is located inside New Moon Natural Foods in Tahoe City and serves up fresh, healthy food with no additives. The kitchen uses only organic produce, meat and dairy products whenever possible and they also support local growers as well an organic and sustainable farming practices. Their go-to packaging is also biodegradable and made from bioplastics made from corn and sugar. Their menu consists of items like fresh falafel, Pad Thai, fish tacos, sushi, sandwiches made with fresh bread, soups from fresh ingredients and a multitude of great salads including carrot and beet, Five "C" Salad, Asian coleslaw and Thai green papaya salad. Everything can be eaten in the deli, outside at one of their picnic tables (made from local wood) or on the go. Drinks include coffee and tea, fresh squeezed juices, Chai, Kombucha and organic lemonade for only $2.00.