New Year’s Resolutions
Resolutions, shmesolutions. Forget false promises of “being a better person” in the new year and appreciate the perfect person you already are. Then, once that’s accomplished, add these sweet services and prodigious products to your lineup of delicious and desirable healthy habits you can embrace ‘til the end of days, not just the 30 after New Year’s.
We’ve got a list of inventive ways to invite 2016 in with open arms by embracing businesses bent on helping you be your best self from January to December. Skin products, pampering rituals, ingestible goodies, you name it, Sarasota has more than a few handfuls and is more than ready to help you try it on, eat it up, or slather it all over.
The only words that start with “re” that you need to focus on this year are replenish, rejuvenate, restore, refresh, and rebalance. Here are a few tips to help get you started.
P.S. Welcome to your best year yet.
CROP Juice
Cold-pressed Raw Organic Produce, sometimes known as CROP, has been making quite a splash here in Sarasota. And for good reason. Juices are handcrafted daily using only high-quality organic fruits and veggies, and, most importantly, they’re delicious. In the mood for something other than a “green drink?” Perfect, because CROP offers candy. Yup, and cake too. But these versions are immune-boosting powerhouses. CROP’s “Candy” Line is a brightly colored lineup of fruity beverages packed with vitamins C, A, K, E, and more. Bonus point: CROP comes in a glass bottle, so you can feel good about what you’re doing for your body and for the earth.
CROP Juice: 2320 Gulf Gate Dr, Sarasota; 941-923-8640; cropjuicesrq.com
Get Fit Fuel
Some folks think being fit means being ripped, and although muscular strength is a huge part of being in shape, you don’t have to be Hercules to be healthy. You want a leaner stomach? Great. Start from the inside out. Get Fit Fuel offers an intoxicatingly delicious array of raw foods, fresh juices, and Paleo meals made with local organic produce, nuts, seeds, and sprouts and made by Chef Karen Noble, formerly of Ionie’s Raw Food Café, who has developed quite a food following with her famous flavors and delicious approach to healthy cuisine.
Get Fit Fuel: 2063 Siesta Dr, Sarasota; 941-730-6533; 539 S Washington Blvd, Sarasota; 941-366-6700; getfitfuel.com
The Ritz
Hungry? How about feeding your senses? Book a staycation at The Ritz and spend your days at the spa. You can’t say “treatment” without “treat,” and that’s just what The Ritz offers, something sweet for your skin and soul. This luxurious spa features treatment rooms, saunas, steam rooms, whirlpools, and lounges to provide the ultimate relaxation station. Only the finest, indigenous ingredients are used in The Ritz’s wide variety of innovative and nontraditional treatments, including the antioxidant-packed, locally harvested honey facial. And remember: Good health equals good self-worth, so go on and book yourself something special because, baby, you are worth every dollar.
The Ritz-Carlton: 1111 Ritz Carlton Dr, Sarasota; 941-309-2000; ritzcarlton.com
Beauty of Sprouts
There are still many who think “raw food” means eating a banana and calling it a day. And while a bunch of bananas certainly makes a stellar snack, they pale in comparison to the creative masterpieces that abound at Beauty of Sprouts. Here, raw, vegan, organic, gluten-free, and soy-free means healthy, bright, tasty, zesty flavor bombs of nutritious deliciousness. Chef Rano has earned a Gold Hand chef’s award in Russia (the highest level of culinary achievement) and has worked at Rockefeller Center, 11 Madison Park, Petrossian, and DO & CO Catering in NYC. Yeah, she’s earned her chops, now come taste her un-cooking.
Beauty of Sprouts: 1474 Fruitville Rd, Sarasota; 941-350-8449; beautyofsprouts.net
Renata’s Face and Body Skincare
“Your face balm should be called Face Bomb! Your passion combined with compassion is the secret ingredient to your success” says one of Renata’s many, many, (many) loyal clients. When it comes to skin, Renata just gets it. Her Let It Glow body lotion has developed a cult following and her new face balm is flying off the shelves just as quickly. Renata went back to her Brazilian roots to conjure up this cream, made with a handful of potent butters and essential oils along with powerful Amazonian fruits (Cupuaçu and Açai), famous for nourishing skin and reversing damage. This balm is so divine you’ll swear she’s sourcing the stuff from the big guy in the sky. Or gal. Or energy. Whatever you pray to, he, she or it is definitely Renata’s dealer as this heavenly potion is out of this world.
Renata’s Face and Body: 4067 S Tamiami Tr, Sarasota; 941-924-8616
SouthSide Athletic Club
Pretty sure any fitness center that garners a seal of approval from The Incredible Hulk is a great place to get in shape. SouthSide Athletic Club attracted the attention of Lou Ferrigno and Sarasota’s own World Heavyweight Champion, China “The Dragon” Smith, as well as thousands of other locals looking to improve their shape and form through group exercise classes, personal training, and boxing tournaments. The 30,000-square-foot center, also boasts a 20- by 20-foot boxing ring and racquetball courts for folks looking for a form of exercise different than traditional weight-lifting.
Southside Athletic Club: 935 N Beneva Rd #501, Sarasota; 941-953-5250; fitness.com
Nutritious You
No shocker here, but preservatives, artificial flavors, dyes, chemicalized ingredients, lab-created food, and ingredients your immune system doesn’t recognize have all developed a seriously bad reputation. Snack food is evolving from processed potato chips and high-fructose cookies to plant-based goodies that are just as tasty as any sugary sweet or pseudo-savory treat. Nutritious You products, created by AADP-certified health coach Marina Sommers, are high-quality, premium, certified organic, nutrient-packed snacks made from ingredients that come straight from the earth. This is more than a handful of nuts, folks, we’re talking AlmondMaca and PeanutCacao Energy Balls, CacaoNib Macaroons, CheezyKale chips, SweetBeet crackers, and even Fruit Leather Strips. You don’t have to subsist on an apple and ice water to be healthy. Snack it up. Get crazy. Eat something sweet. Nutritious You makes it easy and enjoyable to gobble up your fruits and veggies.
Nutritious You: 6583 Midnight Pass Rd, Sarasota; 941-202-2072; nutritiousyou.com
The Met
Does anybody really need convincing to get a stellar massage in a beautiful and breathtaking atmosphere? If so, pal, we need to talk. For the rest of us, the only issue we have with massages is that we simply don’t book enough of them. The Met dedicated an entire floor to a world-class day spa and salon where you can spend an hour or 12 being pampered by globally trained staff in a gorgeous environment that emanates pure peacefulness. Being good to your body means being good to your soul. Put yourself and your spirit in good hands with one of The Met’s magnificent massages ranging from traditional to Bamboo Fusion and hot stone to head rubs.
The Met: 35 S Blvd of Presidents, Sarasota; 941-388-3991; themetsarasota.com
Fleet Feet
The foot focus at Fleet Feet is way more than just shoes. This retailer is dedicated to bringing people to their feet for all forms of fitness. It offers everything from training programs to exercise gear to community events, all with an intense commitment toward finding the right type of “fit” for its clientele, whether that be apparel or physical appearance. Yoga, half marathons, fit challenges, fun runs—if it’s an exciting, enjoyable way to get in shape, Fleet Feet is the perfect fit. “We move people for life. And Health. And Strength. We are the Movement. And so are you.”
Fleet Feet Sports: 711 S Osprey Ave, Sarasota; 941-894-3338; fleetfeetsarasota.com
