Healthy Travel Guide: Portland, Oregon

We toured Portland to find the best, most nutritious restaurants the city has to offer. Here's a unique guide to good eating and great exercise for hungry travelers.

How we did the math:
This series is meant as a fun guide to experiencing a city through the Cooking Light lens. All calculations are rough estimates and should be seen as a starting point for your own adventure.

Calorie burns were estimated using this calculator. The approximations are based on how vigorous the activity level is for a 150-pound woman—for example, a stroll around a farmers’ market was calculated at a lower burn than when we tell you to pick up the pace.

We estimated steps at an average of 2,000 steps per mile walked.

All calorie calculations for the meal selections we recommend were rough estimates based on inputting similar dishes and ingredients into this calculator.

Fuel up in the West End neighborhold at Kure Kitchen with the hottest breakfast trend going: smoothie bowls. The Zen Master is a vividly green, matcha-infused slush with avocado and spinach topped with granola and fruit. Grab a green juice to go, and make the uphill trek west to Portland's Japanese Garden for another kind of Zen.

Burn: 238 calories
Eat: 410 calories

Climb flights of stairs to selfie-worthy city skyline views before hiking through massive Douglas firs to reach the hilltop Portland Japanese Garden. The tranquil 5.5-acre site includes five types of classical Japanese gardens, including a Zen rock garden, mossy waterfalls, and a zigzag bridge suspended over a koi pond.

Burn: 85 calories

With your inner peace restored, return downtown to Maurice, a charming spot where James Beard-nominated chef Kristen Murray crafts seasonal Norwegian-meets-Pacific Northwest fare. Don't miss the daily smørbrød sandwich on hearty smelt bread. Finish with a slice of black pepper cheesecake with sweet tomato jam and candied fennel.

Burn: 145 calories
Eat: 830 calories

Cross the street to the legendary Powell's City of Books, the largest used and new bookstore in the world. Or browse the shops full of local handmade goodies in Union Way.

Time for a pick-me-up at World Foods, a bustling international food market. Grab a glass of Oregon Pinot, warm baked pita bread, and some creamy hummus to do a little people watching.

Next, stroll a few blocks to the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Art and Design, where you'll find exhibitions by both students and internationally acclaimed artists.

Burn: 78 calories
Eat: 306 calories

Cross the Willamette River to the east side to Farm Spirit. Chef Aaron Adams' dinners rival any modernist master's, with one twist—they happen to be vegan. You'll never miss the meat with seasonal fare like squash blossoms stuffed with potato and garlic chives; smoked maitake mushrooms with heirloom corn polenta; and blackberry sorbet with lemon thyme-walnut "yogurt." The house-made fermented beverages—an array of kefirs, kombuchas, and shrubs—serve as the ideal boost to jump-start even more sightseeing.

Eat: 970 calories

Total Steps: 10,500
Net Calories: 1,956