Health & Wellness: Scottsdale, AZ

Hi lovely readers! Here's the plan; Let's reign in healthcare from a group of companies we send money to each month to the day-to-day choices we make for ourselves on where to eat, what to buy, and how to take care of our own bodies. It's these choices that make more of an impact on our health anyway. At home, most of us have our routines, our farmer's markets and our local stores we support dialed in, but on the road everything changes. For me, it's so key to set myself us for success when I travel by being prepared with ideas on where to eat, whe re to buy groceries, who to support, etc, etc. I often travel to Scottsdale becuase my family is there and it's my hometown. I thought it might be nice to help set you up to thrive by sharing my guide to health and wellness in the valley of the sun. Below is my love list:

Blogger

Kristen Suzanne at Kristen's Raw is a Scottsdale local who shares information on her living foods lifestyle in the valley. You'll find recipes, information on restaurants, and other raw food related journal entries. I got a few good tips from her website while I was on the search for some new spots this year.

Author

Dave Owens, a.k.a. The Garden Guy, will teach you a thing or two about organic gardening in Arizona. I know many people (including my mom) who use this as their gardening bible. He has three books out that you'll want to pick up no matter where you're living because although they are written with the desert southwest's hostile environment in mind, a lot of the information and organic remedies are effective in other locales. The first one is The Garden Guy: Seasonal Guide to Organic Gardening in the Desert Southwest, the second one is Extreme Gardening: How to Grow Organic in the Hostile Deserts and the third on is The Garden Guy's Southwest Bug Guide.

Yoga

Being the Anusara devotee that I am, Yoga Village is my sanctuary for practice. They do offer classes in several other traditions and I counted over 50 class offerings per week! The drop in rate is $15 and they also invite out-of-town students to buy a one week unlimited option for for only $30.

Farmer's Markets

Old Town Farmers Market: This 4-year-old market has quickly evolved into a weekly food festival, with such top Valley chefs as Kevin Binkley of Binkley's in Cave Creek and Chuck Wiley of Cafe ZuZu in Scottsdale, demonstrating ways to prepare what the farmers grow. In turn, farmers will demonstrate how to plant fruits and vegetables. The weekly market features over 72 farmers and food vendors offering Arizona wines, coffee, vegan desserts, cheese, crostini, pasta, candy, tamales, hummus, Willcox tomatoes, pickles, grass-fed lamb, microgreens, frozen entrees and bread. Expect to see such chefs as Charleen Badman of FnB in Scottsdale selling their award-winning fare. The market's food court feeds shopper appetites with crepes, ice cream and other goodies. It's family and dog friendly.Details: 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Brown Road and First Street, Scottsdale.

North Scottsdale Farmers Market: This new market offers produce from a handful of boutique farmers. You'll also find pastas, apple butter, salsas, pickles, fresh cheeses, artisan breads and olive oils. There's also live music. Details: 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. 9375 E. Shea Blvd.

Citycenter of City North Farmers Market: This is another new market that brings together a conglomeration of farmers, bakers and foodmakers. Buy tamales, jerky, coffee, fresh butter and eggs, yogurt, cupcakes, frozen meals, beefsteak sausages, creme brulee, pasta, horseradish and organic flax seed. Details: 10 a.m. -2 p.m. the third Sunday of the month. Loop 101 and 56th Street, Phoenix.

Carefree Farmers Market: Featuring local produce, herbs and flowers, and locally made jam, jelly and salsa, along with bread, apples, organic tomatoes, pickles, olives, honey, dog biscuits and cheeses. This is a smaller market that attracts an older crowd. Details: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Fridays. Easy Street and Ho Hum Way.

Sunday Market at Gainey Village: This one-time ranch is now hosting a farmers market. It's a mix of fresh organic produce and foods, including Alaskan salmon, peach honey cobbler, sweet sugar sausages, tamales and flax-seed breads. In addition, the market offers organic bath, body and beauty products, handmade pottery, knife sharpening and gifts. Details: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. the first Sunday of the month. 8787 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale.

Borgata of Scottsdale European Market: Local farmers set up produce stands in this European-style center and sell freshly picked vegetables and fruits. Specialty vendors sell pastries, breads, jams, ice cream, tamales, natural meats and line-caught fish. Details: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays. 6166 N. Scottsdale Road.

Food Co-ops

Bountiful Baskets a revolutionary co-op that operates in 12 states now. If you haven't heard of it yet, here's how it works: Each week go to your local pickup location to get your basket full contents based on what is in season, high quality, good value, and local. They generally have 6 fruit items & 6 vegetable items. As of last year on Earth Day you can opt for a 100% Certified Organic basket, that costs only $25. Sweet! By going this route you are essentialy intercepting your food before it gets to the market or grocery store and avoiding their markup. This organization estimates that you save an average of $35 per basket by doing this.

Restaurants

Arcadia Farms is a little cafe nestled in Old Town Scottsdale with a delicious seasonal menu and a distinctly memorable environment. You can eat outside under the shade of a large tree or at a table inside in an impeccably decorated room. There are so many unique details around the restaurant that you could go back a number of times and sit in a new location and feel a different experience, but always count on an exceptional meal. Arcadia Farms Cafe is committed to finding and using wholesome, natural, organic and local products. They support family-owned and local farms in the region whenever possible. I had my bridal shower here last year...it's that good. I also posted their butternut squash soup recipe that they were kind enough to share.

True Food Kitchen turns eating healthy into a progressive, on-trend experience. They partner with local farms and markets to offer higher quality, fresher, and better tasting ingredients for a lot of their food. This simple measure of sustainability helps create memorable elixirs and satisfying food. Their menu is packed with nutritious, good-for-you veggies, whole grains, and proteins. This restaurant serves as a reminder to me that our money counts as a vote for what is to come in the future. It's one of 13 boutique restaurants developed by Fox Restaurant Concepts, a business that capitalizes on people's eating habits. They saw a demand for local food and a healthy menu, filtered it through their progressive, modern style and wah-lah, True Food Kitchen is born.

Chef Sara's Raw Vegan Academy & Cafe is located just north of Scottsdale in Cave Creek. Get ready for the full-on raw food experience when you go here. They slice, dice, dehydrate, juice, and sprout their way right to your heart. The food menu is seasonal and many of the ingredients are local. Chef Sara and her friendly staff are happy to answer questions or ease you into the experience if you're not familiar with this way of eating. I'd recommend splitting whatever you order (drinks too). The proportions are generous and it will reduce your bill. The cafe also offers a course for becoming more versed in eating raw and preparing raw foods as well as a training program to become a Certified Raw Vegan Chef & Instructor.

Pita Jungle has quite a few vegan items on their menu. The prices are very reasonable and one of the locations has earned a reputation for having a lot of cute waitresses :) You'll have to uncover which one it is on your own.

Pomegranate Café is a truly heartfelt little neighborhood café offering organic food, fresh juice, herbal teas & elixirs, and wholesome treats. It's run by a mother and daughter duo whose eco-conscious and nutrition-centric vision pours through into their menu and space. Their food is far from the bland and boring rap that often comes with eating healthy.

Tea & Coffee

Narcisse Champagne & Tea Lounge is a sexy little spot for stimulating your taste buds with drinks, light appetizers, and desserts. They feature live music a few nights a week and manage to create an atmosphere that mingles old world lavishness with modern charm. I recommend using it as a place to meet friends when you want something other than booze or a heavy meal.

Matador Coffee Roasting Company has a couple varieties of coffee that are Fair Trade and Organic. They roast the beans in small batches right in Phoenix.

Hikes

Pinnacle Peak Trail is an easy to moderate hike on the east side of Scottsdale. The elevation gain is 1,300 feet and 1.75 miles each way. The trail is not a loop, so you come right back over the same well-kept route. I don't frequent this trail often because I like to take my dog when I go and this trail doesn't allow it. The views are beautiful, however.

Black Mountain is my go to hike. I can do it in about an hour. It's steep, not overly crowded, and it's dog friendly. It's about 1.25 miles to the top. It's just north of Scottsdale in Cave Creek. Parking is on the south side of Schoolhouse Rd and Cave Creek Rd. If you're living or staying near this mountain it's a great training trail, but if you're not I'd say skip it.

Camelback Mountain is best reviewed by Todd on his Desert Hiking Guide site. This is my hike of choice when I'm in that part of Scottsdale. The 360 degree views of the valley from the top are priceless. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours for this one (add more time in you go late afternoon because parking is an issue). Dogs are also welcomed here :)

Ok, now for the FREE GIVEAWAY part. I have packaged up the items in the photo below for one lucky reader. If you want to win, just leave a comment below with ONE word that describes what you're grateful for today. A winner will be chosen at random on 5/15/11 at 12pm MST.

A copy of Dave Owen's Extreme Gardening: How to Grow Organic in the Hostile Deserts
A bag of Matador's Organic French Roast coffee
2 tins of salve made by Medicine of the People, a Navajo herb company in AZ