By Julia Myers

With the recent nationwide craze in health food, restaurants in all areas of the country have introduced healthy meal options on their menus. Restaurants are certainly not hard to come by in this city, and health-conscious eaters have several options when it comes to Lexington dining.

Just a short walk from campus, students can enjoy fresh-to-order tacos at Lexington’s newest restaurant, The Local Taco. Located on Limestone between Two Keys and Tin Roof, The Local Taco offers a variety of tacos, all made with fresh, local ingredients on handmade tortillas.

Bailey Greene, a server at the restaurant, says it offers “several healthy menu items and many vegetarian options. All of the items on the menu can be ordered gluten-free.” A few menu items to consider might be the vegetarian taco, made with marinated portabella mushrooms, or the cocinero salad, which features mixed greens, black beans and rice, and grilled tequila lime chicken.

Just a few blocks from The Local Taco, on East Main Street, you’ll find Alfalfa Restaurant. Alfalfa serves brunch and lunch daily, and is open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday. Alfalfa has been serving eclectic homemade meals to Lexington for more than 35 years. With an extensive menu, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike are sure to find healthy options.

“Alfalfa Restaurant takes pride in serving healthy and delicious food,” manager Rachel Sanders says. “Alfalfa supports the community by buying many of its ingredients from local farms and only serves locally grown, free-range eggs.”

For brunch, enjoy a bowl of homemade granola with low-fat yogurt, or dig into a Popeye omelet, which features spinach, mushrooms and feta cheese.  For lunch, order an Alfalfa favorite: the smoked turkey with cranberry-herb pesto sandwich. Some healthy dinner options include red beans and rice, a hearty Greek salad and a variety of seasonal soups, made from scratch daily.

Looking for something healthy to grab on the way to class? Try a made-to-order fruit smoothie from Jamba Juice, which is set to open on South Upper Street Jan. 30. Jamba Juice offers an almost endless combination of fresh fruit and vegetable smoothies. You can try adding a boost of soy protein or flax and fiber to really get the most out of your frozen treat. The menu also features steal-cut oatmeal, fresh salads and wraps, and flatbread pizzas.