Thinking about where to eat this weekend? Well don’t fret beautiful, because we’ve got a round up of healthy and veg friendly dining spots this week on Healthy Around Chicago.
This month, cozy up at Seasons 52 and warm your soul with mushroom bisque soup and even a truffle mushroom salad – drool! Or if you’re feeling like being pescetarian, dive in to a sea bass topped with asparagus, red peppers and shrimp with a side of warm spinach at Chicago Prime Italian.
Not only am I dishin’ on where to eat in this month’s healthy Chicago guide, I’ve got some other news for mindful shoppers as well. Read on!
Meijer Holiday Party & New Organic Line: There is nothing I love more than hearing that organic products are being made accessible to the masses at reasonable prices, and this is exactly what Meijer is now doing.
The new True Goodness line at Meijer locations are free of artificial flavors and preservatives, so you can munch on some of your favorite snacks without the increased health hazards. The products that are on my radar? Their coconut oil, Peruvian coffee, and Earl Gray tea bags.
I even spent the day with them all the way up in Michigan to learn about their new organic line and bake with their products. We made so many holiday treats (my favorites were the cookies), and I will be sharing my own rendition of my favorite recipes leading up to Christmas. Meijer really dedicated a lot of time to educate us on the quality and care behind their organic products, which really impressed me. If only they had a hub in downtown Chicago!
My new favorite fitness class – Metcon3 at Equinox: I’ve been frequenting Equinox in Gold Coast for a couple months now and I’m not even joking when I say I feel the strongest and leanest I have in a while. I think this is all thanks to my new favorite fitness instructor, Andrea Rubenstein. I’ve been taking her Metcon3 class (which I’m obsessed with) and Stacked classes which incorporate weights, kettle balls, sand bags and all sorts of equipment.
I love the Gold Coast Equinox location not only because it’s located in my old stomping grounds, but the entire team that works there is genuinely happy to be there and loves what they do (which is huge if you are frequenting a business on the daily – no one wants to deal with grumps). To top it off, they are eliminating their initiation fee for this month – and no I wasn’t told to promote this deal – I just love this club! (check it out).
Seasonal Healthy Eats: If you live in Chicago you are most likely a foodie, and sometimes it’s hard maintaining a healthy diet while always dining out. Luckily, more and more spots are picking up on this need and are catering to us health conscious diners. I stopped by Seasons 52 again to try their new seasonal menu and went a little crazy with the mushroom options. I love that they list the calories next to each option as well.
I tried their wild harvest mushroom and arugula salad with truffle dressing (really great flavors and a good portion size), and their mushroom bisque soup. Both tasted rich and earthy, and I knew I was getting my cold fighting properties from the shrooms. I also tried a pescetarian option, the Asian-glazed chillean sea bass (WOW) and the veggie combo platter that had tofu tacos, quinoa and more.
I also stopped by Chicago Prime Italian in Schaumburg this week to see what healthy options they boasted, and I was definitely impressed. If you know me, you know I don’t like raw tomatoes, so I ordered the Mediterranean salad and asked them to hold the tomatoes. Yes I know it’s an odd request but I simply wanted chopped cucumbers, kalamata olives, onions and feta – still tastes amazing I say! Our waiter Marco (ask for him when you make a reservation, he’s lovely) was able to modify anything on the menu. I also ordered the Sea Bas San Marino which is topped with asparagus and red pepper with a side of spinach – and that was simply divine.
Oh and let’s not forget – if you decide to order wine go with the Simi Cabernet. Because..antioxidants 😉
Meditative Body Scrub at Hamsa: Last but not least, I received a body scrub from my go-to Ayurveda hub, Hamsa last week. Going into the treatment, I assumed it would just be like any regular scrub where they just scrub ya down and your out in a jiffy. Wrong. This was a total meditative experience.
The Ayurvedic term for this treatment is Udvartana and the scrub is made of garbanzo flour, almond meal, bala root, mahasudarshan and sesame oil. A completely natural remedy. The treatment starts by sitting in a chair and the practitioner (ask for Robin when you book a treatment – I swear she is an energy healer and doesn’t know it – or Robin, if you are then dang girl I feel ya!) guides you through a meditative breathing process while giving you a head massage.
You are then placed on the treatment table and the process starts off with an oil applied to your front and back in upward strokes towards the heart (to start detoxing the lymph), it feels like a light massage – the type that puts you into a blissful sleep. This takes around 30 minutes (it felt like that amount of time, but who was really counting), and then the process started again but with the scrub mix. The actual scrub does not feel abrasive whatsoever and actually feels really great on my skin. The treatment ends by rinsing off the scrub and then you’re on your merry way. I definitely wanted to take a nap afterwards as it made me soooo incredibly chilled out. If I could, I would be getting one of these once a month! Thank you, Robin!
So there you have it! Lot’s of healthy options and beauty / health treatments to try out this month. What have you discovered in Chicago that caters to your Balanced Babe lifestyle? Share with us in the comments!
One comment on “Healthy Chicago Guide: Meditative Body Scrubs, Veggie Meals Delivered to Your Door, and More!”