Summer at the shore can wreck havoc on your diet, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
- RELATED ARTICLES:
- A.C. to Exit 0: A local's guide to Jersey Shore dining
- Shore dining: 7 new stops for foodies down the shore
There are plenty of healthy – even vegetarian and vegan – restaurants to balance out the boardwalk fries, funnel cake and pizza.
Below are a few favorites from a health-centric, beach-loving foodie.
Good Earth Organic Eatery
600 Park Boulevard, West Cape May
Nestled between a strip of storefronts in Cape May is an unassuming foodie find that is as delicious as it is nutritious.
The restaurant itself has a cute story to it: A woman with roots in Cape May traveled to Italy to work on an olive oil farm where she met the love of her life and brought him home.
That guy is now the chef at Good Earth, working in the open kitchen of the quaint cafe, cooking up an ever-changing chalkboard menu of items made with whole, organic and mostly local ingredients.
Green Cuisine
302 96th Street, Stone HarborThe name of the restaurant says it all: a shore-bound meal that will nourish your body and make other sunbathers green with envy.
Green Cuisine has been whipping up healthy meals, such as its signature fresh fruit smoothies, since way back in 1983 -- before it was cool.
Baja Blend
9 42nd Street, Sea Isle City
Baja Blend is a vegetarian and vegan-friendly eatery located right off the beach on the Boardwalk in Sea Isle City.
Customers can eat at one of the boardwalk picnic tables outside the restaurant or pick it up and bring it back to your blanket or beach chair.
Bashful Banana Bakery & Cafe
944 Boardwalk, Ocean CityIf you can't imagine a trip to the shore sans ice cream, but you really want to maintain your bikini body, Bashful Banana is the spot for you.
There's no reason to be bashful about eating at this boardwalk cafe. In fact, you're probably going to rave about it to others.
Heavenly Health Cafe
Heavenly Health Cafe in Somers Point (the town next to Ocean City) is a newbie at the shore, having just entered its first sunshine season.
But based on the healthy menu and pictures -- hello, grilled salmon arugula salad -- it's somewhere you'll want to check out if you enjoy eating well and looking good.