5 Healthy Hot Spots in Cronulla

Cronulla now has more healthy eating outlets that you can poke a posy of kale at. The public's passion for paleo, raw, vegan, vego, gluten-free has resulted in a plethora of cafes where the shrubbery on your plate is not a garnish or afterthought: it's the main event. Here are a few of the best nutritional kids on the block.

Join the hordes at Pilgrim's for a healthy start to the day.

Pilgrim's Vegetarian Cafe
Detox pilgrims will find a lot of foods containing antioxidants on the menu at Pilgrim's Vegetarian Cafe. If you've joined the queues of dreadlocked hippies and beanie-clad hipsters at the Huskisson or Milton caffs you will know why this earthy eatery has a cult following. This is not the place to grab and go. Instead, sit and chill.

Pendant lights, polished floors, potted plants pretty up this original Art Deco space.

Take a seat beside one of the sash windows in the lovingly restored Art Deco space and flick through a few alt mags while waiting for a Bliss Burger or, my personal fave, the Millenium, which is made with all manner of immune-boosting ingredients such as beetroot, fried onions, avocado, sprouts pepped up with tahini sauce and sweet chilli dressing (#Ididntquitsugar) spooned over a curry lentil patty.  It's a wholesome albeit carb-heavy package ... but it's also the size of one's head so go slow. Note: Pilgrim's is now open Friday and Saturday nights for vego feasts with a Mexican flavour.
Pilgrim's Vegetarian Cafe, 97 Gerrale St, Cronulla. 02 9523 7580.

The Bliss Burger will pull you into a state of perfect happiness at Pilgrim's.

Nutrition Station
P is for Paleo. It's also for protein smoothies and protein balls. Join the queue of devotees of the paleolithic diet dragging their knuckles straight from the gym to the Nutrition Station, which you will find clinging to the 'skirts of Cronulla Plaza.

These sweet potato fries provide a guilt-free snack post-surf.

Jokes about emulating our heavy-browed ancestors aside, there's no monkeying about with the menu: here you can get sweet potato fries, juices, fibre-heavy snacks and a bracing cup of organic java.

Nutrition Station is all about lean and clean guilt-free food that is low on calories.  

If you're not into consuming your calories through a straw in the form of processed protein shakes, opt for zucchini linguine in basil pesto or the Atlantic salmon on sweet potato mash with green beans. If you're going to order the quinoa salad with grilled haloumi puhlease ask an unsuspecting hipster how to pronounce it first: 'It's kin-wa."
Nutrition Station, Unit 4/30 Kingsway, Cronulla. 02 8544 3036.

Mint Organics is the sort of cafe that makes you feel good about yourself.

Mint Organics
Mint Organics is a pretty little cafe that sustains many locals who live on the west side of the South Cronulla peninsular. The cafe took over the space that was home to a convenience store and restocked its shelves with all things organic. After filling your basket with packaged healthy foodstuffs, sit and snack on food that looks, feels and tastes restorative.

Motivational quotes are a bonus at Mint Organics.

Try one of the freshly squeezed juices, an immune-boosting shot of turmeric, lime and ginger, coffee with nut milk or healthy(ish) appetisers such a green power ball or coconut rough. Of the substantial paleo-inspired mains, lamb salad mounts a convincing argument for a life lived organically with the freshness of the ingredients bolstered by texture and taste. If you want to ramp up those feelings of righteousness arrive at the restaurant wearing a sweat band after your morning run.
Mint Organics Cafe, 24 Nicholson Parade, 9523 0499. www.mintorganics.com.au

Take a shot at eating lean, clean and green at the Heart & Soul cafe in Cronulla.

Heart & Soul
Cronulla is not exactly a hippie heartland. But even the fake tan brigade has embraced this cafe serving wholefood breakfast, lunch and early dinner options. It's Harmony Day every day at Heart and Soul Organic Chai Cafe, where orange is the new black. The ayurvedically minded menu is all about eating well and feeling good. Run by the Hari Krishnas of Govinda Valley Retreat, there are haute healthy options such as black rice and chia seed pudding served with berries and coconut cream, vegan choc caramel slice, berry smoothies and pumpkin soups.

Heart & soul likes nothing better than to nourish its customers with hearty, healthy wholesome food.

Popular are the mix of curries - cashew curry, green curry and chickpea curry - which are served in silken sauces and flecked with fresh herbs. Sit crosslegged while you finish with a mellow cup of house-crafted chai and contemplate signing up for that yoga retreat.
6/17 Gerrale Sts, Cronulla. 02 9523 6146. www.heartandsoulcafe.com.au

And that's a wrap: workout your jaw muscles chatting to your trainer about your new shredding regime at So Fresh.

So Fresh
Gym junkies on the go converge at So Fresh for a fresh juice and chicken pesto wrap when they are in recovery mode post-workout. The garden shed-sized space is smack-bang in the centre of the pedestrianised part of Cronulla Plaza.

Vegetable and fresh fruit juices are the order of the day at So Fresh in Cronulla Plaza.

Most recently, the independent juice bar has started collaborating with Taylor Made personal training by offering a plethora of lean, green juices for its 42-day clean and lean challenge.

Shiny happy staff at So Fresh are a walking advertisement for the product.

The tiny juice bar is big on brain food, aiming to optimise your noggin's ability to function at its best, with food and drink offerings containing dark chocolate, bananas, red cabbage, berries, seeds, wild salmon. The roasted beetroot and lentil salad is also an energising option.
So Fresh Cronulla Beach, Kiosk 2, Cronulla Beach. 

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Dishes that recall the lush green landscape of Ireland

Long after the ruckus of Sunday's St Patrick's Day parade has dissipated, the reverberations from the biggest Irish celebration in the Southern Hemisphere will still be heard around the city of Sydney. You don't have to spike your beer with green dye or wear a comedy beard. Instead, why not keep things verdant for the rest of the week just by vying for dishes hued between blue and yellow on the colour spectrum. Cover yourself in good luck and pluck a leaf from my clover of four places sending green shoots around the city. 

The Pazar Food Collective is not remotely Irish. It's a little bit Mexican, a little bit Middle Eastern and according to The Sydney Morning Herald's 2015 Good Food Guide "a globe-trotting neighbourhood street food party". You don't have to wear an oversized lime-green top hat to enjoy a few raspados (Mexican snow cones with frozen green fairy floss and a jigger of gin, cucumber, lime and mint). The moat of aquachile verde surrounding sushi-grade scallops will, to be sure, call to mind the lush green landscape of Ireland. The ceviche-style salsa verde includes jalapeños, coriander, tomatillos, lime juice, orange juice, habanero and tequila. The salsa is bright green and the strategy is simple: scoop up the scallops with some salsa and fresh avocado, which cut through the heat.
325 Canterbury Road, Canterbury. 02 8964 9334, pazar.com.au

Chilli crab rocket linguine gets its green on at The Italian Stallion.

Step away from the kale smoothie and embrace chilli crab rocket linguine at The Italian Stallion, one of my new favourite restaurants in the Shire. There is nothing gimmicky about chef James Watson's decision to ink this dish green using 'rocket'-fuelled chlorophyll. This is upscale comfort food at its finest.  Watson launched his culinary career working for UK chef Gordon Ramsay at Aubergine and at St John Restaurant in London, but he is now in the spotlight for giving Gymea a place to genuflect. Toast the mother country at the bar under the Cocktails and Wet Dreams sign and order a Little Prick, with fresh prickly pear, lime, tequila, agave nectar. Legend has it, the cocktail was apparently inspired by a rather nasty leprechaun.
11 Gymea Bay Road, Gymea, 02 9542 8008, facebook.com/italianstallionbarandgrill

Curled like a comma on the plate ... pan-fried ocean trout with a lick of iridescent pea puree.

Hugos in Manly is one of Sydney's most desirable dining destinations. Whether you are from Dublin or Dingle Bay, those feelings of homesickness may just abate while ensconced on the brand-spanking new deck at this iconic Sydney restaurant. Opt for pan­-fried ocean trout with iridescent pea puree curved like a comma on the plate alongside a salad of shaved asparagus, radish, eschallots and salmon roe. Impress your date by arriving via ferry at the new deck where diners can hear the gentle slap-slap-slap of the water against the pier, which pimps up the picturesque views over Sydney Harbour.
Hugos Manly, Manly Wharf, East Esplanade 02 8116 8555, hugos.com.au

Corned beef at Kitchen by Mike.

It's not about the tablecloths and cutlery at Kitchen by Mike. Housed in a former Rosella Jam factory, the main focus here is on seasonality, simplicity and freshness. Food doesn't get much greener than when much of it is grown onsite in burgeoning beds where chef Mike McEnearney conducts educational classes.  Although the spread changes from day to day according to the seasons, there are some items you expect to see: award-winning rustic sourdough, tartines, quiches, wraps and rolls as well as corn with lime and chilli. Corned beef is also a go-to dish to enjoy on St Patrick's Day and worth coming back for any time of year.

Visit Good Food to find more places to have a good craic and check in at www.carlagrossetti.com if you'd like to read more of my work.