Farm Fresh

I spend quite a bit of time in Arizona since my super handsome boyfriend lives there. This weekend he took me for some bomb diggity farm-to-table dining at The Farm at South Mountain. At the base of South Mountain in Phoenix there is an adorable sustainable farm with 2 restaurants using fresh ingredients grown right on the farm, gift shops, and a whole greenhouse full of succulents.  

Morning Glory Cafe

Greenhouse Jungle

I will also add that if chickens are your jam, they have a chicken coop with fresh eggs. I am not the biggest fan of birds, especially roosters...so I skipped that baby right over.  

You can see the chicken coop in the background...eeek

I love living in Chicago and being in the middle of all of the action, I don’t mind the hustle and feeling the electricity of the city. But sometimes the city is tough and it feels even tougher when you’ve had a bad week. Being a driven, type-A kinda gal, I forget that it’s important to relax, recharge and focus on a little self care. When I do, I can show up as the best version of myself- for my partner, my friends and family, and my job.

We had brunch (including champagne of course) at their Morning Glory Café, walked the gardens and chilled out. Exactly what was needed to re-center. Now this girl is back J

 

My babe

The Farm at South Mountain

Xo Goldie

March Madness with the Dirty Dozen

March rolled around and it occurred to me that I seemed to have missed the new year, new you memo on January 1^st. So instead my girlfriends and I finally got down to business with a renewed Pure Barre membership (love to L.T.B.) and a March Madness challenge- 20 classes in 30 days.  

Work out routine down, check.

Now on to the fun part...food. Getting back on track with all my faves- smoothies, salads, and superfoods.

Let’s start with the basics: The Dirty Dozen and The Clean Fifteen

This list changes yearly based on the amount of pesticides that are found on fruits and vegetables tested in the United States. Meaning that when buying produce from the Dirty Dozen list, you should make sure to buy organic. If that is not an option then peeling the skin off of the fruit or vegetable helps.

Why are pesticides an issue?

They are designed to be toxic in order to kill “pests” such as insects and fungi that can attack the growing produce. The problem is that pesticides get caught up in our colon and then start attacking our body.  They have been confirmed to caused major health risks such as cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, nervous system toxicity, ADHD, hormone disruption, and skin irritations.

Beyond overwhelming right? Don’t worry, the benefits of eating commercially grown fruits and vegetable’s far outweigh not eating them at all so do your best.

For an extended Dirty Dozen list or if you are just hungry for more info check out EWG:

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/list.php

Ps. Just finished my 20th class today! Challenge completed.

xo Goldie