Healthful Morning Options

With an eye on increasingly health-conscious consumers, restaurants are bolstering menus with more choices for those who are looking for vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free offerings — or just for something good for breakfast that is healthful without resorting to that old standard of granola or fruit. Following is a sampling of such dishes.

• Vegan Keystone Rancheros, $5.95, from Keystone Café, in Eugene, Ore.: A choice of cubed tofu that has been marinated in soy sauce with garlic powder or tempeh ground with fresh ginger, garlic, parsley, toasted sunflower and sesame seeds, oats and toasted sesame oil is served on two corn tortillas or a bed of brown rice. The dish is topped with black beans, cabbage, salsa and a marinara-like vegetable sauce made from scratch with carrots, zucchini, onion and tomatoes.

• The Ravens Portabella, $14, from Ravens' Restaurant at Stanford Inn by the Sea, in Mendocino, Calif.: Poached eggs or extra firm tofu tossed in turmeric and grilled is served on top of roasted and grilled portabella mushrooms that have been sprinkled with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and garlic. All of that rests on house-made English muffins and is served with house-made Hollandaise or Lemon Tahini Sauce.

• Mark's Spinach Tofucake Breakfast Platter, $6.95, from Mark's Kitchen, in Takoma Park, Md.: A traditional breakfast platter served with two eggs, home fries or grits, and toast or English muffin — traditional except for the addition of spinach tofu cakes. Previously called spinach tofu pancakes, the tofucakes are patty-like, made with no eggs or wheat and seasoned simply with salt and pepper.

• Seven-Grain Pancake Delight, $9, from The Pump Energy Food, in New York City: These 8-inch wide and 1-inch thick baked pancakes are made with Pump's proprietary batter that includes whey protein. They're served in a stack of three. The pancakes also come with strawberries and nonfat vanilla yogurt on the side. Carob chips and blueberries can be added for an additional dollar.

• Vegan Breakfast Burrito, $7.50, from Bliss, in Brooklyn, N.Y.: A tofu scramble made with tofu, seaweed, mushrooms, onions, carrots and tamari and seasonings and soy cheese is wrapped in a whole-wheat tortilla. The burrito is served with vegan chili made with mixed beans, spice and peppers; vegan sour cream and house-made pico de gallo.

• Home Waffles, $6.95, from Lovin' Spoonfuls, in Tuscon, Ariz.: One large waffle, grilled on a traditional waffle iron with canola oil spray, comes in both made-from-scratch buckwheat and gluten-free versions. They're served with pure maple syrup, and strawberries, blueberries, bananas/nuts and non-dairy whipped cream topping are available for an additional 50 cents each.