Luna Fest Ticket Giveaway: Celebrate Womanhood with your Lady Friends and Luna Bar

Posted on February 18, 2014 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

Now that Valentine’s Day has passed in all it’s choco heart shaped romance filled blaze of glory, we think it’s about time you show a little non-stereotypical love to your lady friends. How do you do this, you ask? Take them to LUNA Fest (coming to Chicago on Thursday, February 27th), the perfect opportunity to grab your gals for a night out that you can feel good about.

Luna Fest gives 100% of ticket proceeds back to the community.

85% of proceeds will be provided to Step Up Women’s Network, a Chicago based organization that promotes success for young women from often ignored communities.
15% of proceeds will be provided to the Breast Cancer Fund, a national organization that seeks to identify and eliminate environmental contributors to breast cancer.

So what will you be doing at this awesome event?

LUNA Bar and Style Chicago will be your hosts for the Chicago premiere of LUNAFEST and kick it off with a cocktail reception featuring wines from Clif Family Winery, PERONI beer, specialty LUNAFEST cocktails and local foods from LYFE Kitchen, RA Sushi and Tesori. Oh and we know from experience there will be tons of Luna Bars there to sample! We can’t wait to snag the chocolate dipped coconut ones.

The fest highlights nine inspiring short films by women filmmakers, for women, which may cause the following reactions as you may possibly be…a woman:

Raucous laughter
Intense conversation and serious debate
Extra huggy behavior from your friends
Tears (bring some tissue)

Or maybe a more meaningful symptom such as:

A call to community action

To win a ticket for you and a friend, either comment on our Facebook page or this blog post about the friend you would bring to LUNAFEST and what makes her Luna-worthy. The winner must provide names of both guests and email addresses for ticket confirmation. The giveaway ends February 20th at 5 p.m.

What if you don’t win? Well, you can still come!

LUNAFEST Chicago takes place, Thursday, February 27, 2014 at the Museum of Broadcast Communications – 360 N. State St., Chicago

Cocktail Reception: 6:00pm – 7:30pm
Showtime: 7:30pm – 9:00pm
Tickets: $25

5 dolla dolla bills off when using the code: LUNA5. Tickets must be purchased in advance here.

Happy commenting and may lady luck shine upon you!

Come out of Chi-bernation for these Winter Food Finds

Posted on February 11, 2014 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

Oh winter…devilishly evil Chicago winter. You haven’t been able to keep us down…especially with all these events and restaurant openings popping up. What about you, dear readers? Have you wound your scarf around you and strapped those snow boots on to take the chill out of winter? Here are some spots that may make you wanna brave the great white Midwest.

Remember that ol’ Lasalle Power company dance club you used to troll to pick up your future v-day date? Well now it’s been converted into a brand new Gino’s East. Chicago’s legendary pizza spot just got classy at its River North location. Three floors of expansive rustic cozy hangout space will eliminate your wait with your out of town guests as you get your “mangia” on with artichoke pizza, pickle-y sliders and fat stuffed cheese sticks with spinach. The restaurant proclaims to be including a brewery opening in several months as well…just in time for Spring!!

Our next pick is a neighbor to the north, Pizzeria Serio, a hidden addition to the food scene on Belmont avenue in Lakeview. WGN’s Chicago Best honored Pizzeria Serio as one of Chicago’s fave pizza. Check out the video here. We hopped over snow mounds to meet with the Chicago Food Bloggers and Pizzeria Serio was gracious enough to host our group. We sampled several tasty starters like a Spinach Salad (baby spinach leaves, red onion, mandarin oranges, goat cheese and walnuts in homemade citrus dressing) and the more traditional Caprese. For veggie lovers and goat cheese lovers (eww says one of us..the goat cheese hater) try the spinach specialty pizza (EVOO, sea salt, black pepper, fresh garlic, tomatoes, spinach, ricotta and goat cheese sans sauce). For the more purist pizza crowd, try the wood burned crusty Eat Your Veggies (onions, green peppers, mushrooms and black olives) and get your 5 a day veg serving…a good excuse to eat mas pizza if we do say so…and we do.

In a whole other country (this is what it feels like to Chicago residents) is Farmhouse in Evanston. This tavern makes their own burgers, condiments and soda from scratch with ingredients plucked straight from Midwestern farms. Even their beverage selection is pulled only from Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan. The majority of interior pieces are reclaimed woods and salvaged materials. At the kick off to North Shore Restaurant month, going on now, we gobbled down hot beer battered Wisconsin cheese curds with crispy warm centers and fresh Tavern-cut peppery potato chips with homemade ranch-like dipping sauce. On demand for our next visit is the Old World Grains Burger with Forest Mushroom and Poblano Pepper. For those of you who don’t venture that far out of our city, there’s also a sister location in River North with a slightly different menu and a two floor space. Don’t all these pics of yummy food make you wanna trek through your alley to the El?

Relishing the Pro Chef Life: Fresh Meal Delivery Service from Relished Foods

Posted on February 3, 2014 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

UPDATE: 8.21.14 Relished has expanded and rebranded to become Home Chef. They now offer vegan and veg friendly menus as well…all the more reason to stay home and be lazy instead of grocery shopping!

Ooo we are so sick of winter in Chiberia and we’ve had too many days of stir crazy all day pajama pants wearing. This weather sure hasn’t made it easy to get out to grocery shop, let alone put on any real semblance of clothes. Enter Relished Foods to conquer any reason to brave the cold white landscape we now call home.

Relished, is a fledgling Chicago area company that delivers fresh ingredients with clear visual instructions to cook healthy delicious meals like a pro. Each order includes three meals for one week. Recipes rotate weekly.

Now to the good food stuff!

We received 3 recipes:

Farfalle Pasta with Shrimp
Arugula and Fennel Salad with Chicken
Naan Pizza

We were hesitant about the Farfalle Pasta recipe which seemed too simple and possibly bland but once we noticed the fresh prepped ingredients and easy instructions our curiosity got us…. Farfalle Pasta sans Shrimp recipe included fresh baby spinach, basil, plump juicy cherry tomatoes, garlic and asiago cheese. This is how manageable the recipes are. We washed the vegetables, sliced the cherry tomatoes, basil and garlic. Lastly, we added EVOO, sea salt and grounded whole black pepper…so taxing (wink)!

Once we took a bite of this dish, we were pleasantly surprised by the flavors. Although simple, the dish was satisfying and complex.

With the arugula, we got to experience some ingredients we don’t usually utilize like fennel, and even champagne vinegar (you fancy, huh). The chicken was lean and still juicy. Relished packaging made it manageable to have one vegetarian and one omnivore eating the same meals as the meats were packaged separately from the veggies.

The naan pizza made us giggle in delight because we love artichokes, roasted red peppers and onions. All you had to do was plop the toppings on and bake. The recipe made two 8 inch pizzas.

What we learned about getting Relished pro chef meals sent to our house:

All meals take 30 minutes or less and require minimal cooking skills.
Recipe cards were visually stimulating, well articulated and can be used again!
Food came in a space aged cooler box and ingredients stayed fresh until we were ready to cook.
Meals cost around $10 a serving.

We really appreciated that all meals were veggie heavy, creative and delicious. Relished is only about 6 months in and they have also indicated that they are exploring only veggie/vegan meal options to expand their dietary offerings. Now if only they would send us some hot cocoa to warm things up for us, we be all about staying in for another week or so.

Thanks to Relished for inviting us to try such yummy and vegetastic meals!!

Why Do You Serve? A Bright Pink Outlook on this MLK National Day of Service.

Posted on January 20, 2014 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

If you’re in Memphis, make sure to see the Lorraine Motel, the assassination site of the legendary Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. While standing in silence with other visitors, it’s hard not to wonder what he else he could have accomplished if his life hadn’t been taken so early. His inspiration continues as people dedicate their time on his birthday to help improve their communities. Volunteerism not only helps those who are receiving but also those who give their time to others. Each person can find some cause they feel passionate about and the decision to serve could positively affect their physical and emotional health. What’s not to like?!

Today, we would like to give snaps and back pats and kudos to one of our fave volunteer organizations, Bright Pink. Bright Pink is a unique non-profit in that it focuses on breast cancer awareness and risk reduction in addition to supporting high risk individuals. They utilize tech and social media for doing good. Instead of using texts to send pictures of cats wearing people clothes, they send you reminders and tips to check your breast health. Ladies, take action by assessing your risk here.

Bright Pink practices what they preach with volunteers as well. Their volunteer events promote healthy choices such as exercising, eating cancer fighting foods, and workshops that encourage regular breast monitoring. For example, this past Thursday, we joined other dedicated Bright Pink supporters at a crazy dance-athon at All About Dance. It was much appreciated that the lights were low as our dance instructor had us rolling our hips and doing some killer floor work that made us wish we had a referee time out whistle to recover from the cardio. Luckily, Bright Pink head of volunteer events, Brynn, provided us with Vitamin Water and Pretzel Crisps to motivate us to class completion.

So how have you served others this year? It’s not too early or too late to help! Learn more about volunteering with Bright Pink here.

Mastering the Chaturanga

Posted on January 10, 2014 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

2014 has already been a whirlwind of activity. So much so, we didn’t even have time to sketch out some resolutions to ditch after January. One thing that we consider a continued necessity in the big ’14 and not a temporary resolution is practicing yoga. Both of us initially connected over our interest in not only getting some exercise at yoga class, but also reaping the relaxing benefits of being on the mat. As relaxing as it can be,the dreaded asana, chaturanga, has never been the yoga move that made us swoon. In fact, it has been of particular frustration at times, especially after 12 Sun Salutations in a row (*shaking fist at yoga teachers!!).

Chaturanga (chah-tuur-ANGH-uh) Dandasana (dahn-DAHS-uh-nuh) means “four limbs staff pose” and is part of the sun salutation sequence. Corepower Yoga in Oak Park/River Forest recently put on a Chaturanga workshop and we were intrigued as well as afraid. Mon ended up welcoming a new family into the world the eve of the workshop (YAAAY!), so I was left on my own to brave the unknown.

Julia and Laura were the fearless yoga leaders who walked the class through a crazy amount of variations of chatarungas. Some of the most important points they made were*:

1) No need to do chaturangas every day. This could lead to a possible tennis elbow injury or overuse of the shoulder (aka dang my rotator cuff is jacked).

2) A strap could be your best yoga bud for this pose. If you wrap it around your forearms, when you go down to the bottom of the chaturanga pose with your 90% elbows at the sides of your ribcage, it gently pushes on the front of the rib cage and shows you if you’re in the right position.

*Since I am not a personal trainer or yoga teacher, do not take my advice and start slugging it out as I don’t have to money to pay for your urgent care bills. Here’s Mind Body Yoga’s step-by-step how-to on correct form or watch the video by Lululemon.

I was surprised because we actually got a full workout during the workshop and talked through all these variations of chaturanga.

Basic chaturanga – Got it down!
1 legged chaturanga – A little harder
Crow to chaturanga – Umm I flopped around like an injured crow. Best advice was use your core not your legs to propel yourself out. At least the girl in front of me was flopping too.
Forward fold to chaturanga – Somehow managed to fake it
Standing splits to chaturanga – Yeah I just watched and admired the class at this point.

Even if you’ve been practicing yoga for a long time, I think it’s pretty essential to get some walk through on proper form and in my yoga class on Sunday, I felt more confident and comfortable when completing my chaturangas. Want to get your own yoga scholar time on? Corepower Yoga is being awesome to the community and offering another free workshop on February 8th for back bends. Contact the studio for more details.

Reverse Warrior sequence with Corepower Yoga OPRF Julia (left) and Laura (right).

Thanks to Julia, Laura and Morgan, studio owner of Corepower Yoga OPRF, for hosting me. See y’all on the mat!

Chicago Thin Crust? A Pizza Must!

Posted on January 3, 2014 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

Blaze Pizza

Oh Twitter, how we love thee. Recently, the Chicago Food Scene held a Twitter poetry competition for free Blaze pizzas. We dug deep back to our middle school Haiku writing days and typed a clever pizza ditty….and won!! Once our coupons came, we gleefully braved the snow to try the “new to Chicago” casual pizza chain, Blaze Pizza, situated in Boystown right near the El stop. We weren’t really sure what to expect when we entered but the staff hollered out a welcome and invited us to come closer.

As we shyly peeked around, they detailed the Blaze pizza process for us. The fine art of pizza creation is set up in an assembly line format. Patrons can pick their own pie toppings and sauce or choose a signature ‘za and watch while it is made. Pizzas are 11 inches of thin crust glory and take only 3 minutes to cook. We were intrigued by the gigantic oven and learned that 12 pizza could fit inside which brings to mind sitcom hijinx of craaazy pizza cooking. The oven man assured me that he avoided that magnitude of pizza multitasking. The oven does, however, cook pizzas at a blazing (get it?!!!?) hot 800 degrees.

There were a ton of signature veggie pizza options available to us as well as gluten free and vegan substitutions. We decided on the Red Vine, with fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, basil and chunky red sauce, and the Green Stripe, with pesto sauce, arugula, and garlic minus the chicken.

Blaze Pizza – “Red Vine” with fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, basil and chunky red sauce

Blaze Pizza – “Green Stripe” with pesto sauce, arugula, and garlic minus the chicken

Pizza Highlights: Blaze Pizza is a real departure from Chicago style pizza and a real good one at that. The crust was light, crispy and a titch garlicky. Our wallets were happy because their pizzas only cost 8 bucks and we each walked out with leftover slices. We also tried the S’mores pie, a chewy marshmallow with melted chocolate in between 2 British biscuits. It had appropriately crumbly texture but we decided it could have used a quick pop in the oven.

Status: Liked, retweeted and plused, we loved Blaze Pizza and will be back to make our own creation. Thanks to Blaze Pizza and Chicago Food Scene for choosing us as the creative poetresses that we are and giving us pizzas instead of an award.

Bound 2 Get Fit 4 NYE

Posted on December 27, 2013 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

Not sure if your family baked you 3 tins full of holiday cookies and marble cakes, but ours did. We are so over sugared from this past week that a fridge full of carrots seems like a refuge. Luckily, you don’t need to wait til the new year to strengthen your resolve and boost your healthy habits. Chicago seems to know we all probably overdid it (in true Midwestern style) and has some limited time hot deals to get you back on track even before you even squeeze into your NYE digs.

Addicted to Glazed and Infused Donuts?

Groupon is offering a limited time only deal of a 3 or 7 day juice cleanse for our fave freshy-fresh juice bar, Peeled. Info on the efficacy of juicing research is mixed but proponents say it clears toxins from the body, delivers vitamins instantly and eliminates cravings. We haven’t tried the cleanse but love their made-to-order smoothies, juices and raw foods. Try the Bright Pink juice, with dazzling pear, pineapple and ginger, for a first taste. Must haves: Motivation to say goodbye to solid foods!

Peeled Juice “Bright Pink”

Are you a Challenge Hound?

Bar Method may look like a dance in the park but we have seen our male friends quiver in the class. If you have never stepped up to the Barre, you can join the Bar-lution Challenge. Take 21 classes in 30 days from January 6th through February 4th to win! Prizes during last year’s competition included Bar Method socks, tanks, DVDs and a membership for one faithful attendee. Beyond the goodies, your body will look fantastic. We lost inches, gained flexibility and strength during our challenge foray last year. Must haves: grippy socks, knee length pants and a steely determination. Hot tip: The Wicker Park Bar Method has free parking for you driving folks.

Looking to Beat the Treadmill Blahs?

Consistently voted as one of the best gyms in Chicago, i.d. gym has a small personalized environment and a schedule chock full of original exercise classes. Ever flown in the air in a hammock during yoga? How about pushing a tire around to get a pre industrial revolution physique? Classes like Fly Yoga and the Caveman Workout may renew your fitness fire. I.d. gym is running a membership special until the end of December so hurry up and lunge in to the deal.

For those who want to get back in touch with their naughty side now that Christmas is over, Flirty Girl Fitness, an all women’s gym with a focus on bringing sexy back, has class packs on sale as well that could mix up the boring basics of gym rat life. Getting a mani pedi with your package ain’t half bad either!

i.d. gym fly yoga

Overwhelmed by Health and Fitness info?

Personal training may be a way to wade through the mass of fitness trends out there. Score a deal on a free consultation with our North side trainer extraordinaire, Sabri Xhaferi, to get the feel for it or jump right in with a package deal.

Sabri Xhaferi, certified personal trainer

With all this sweating, what about a swell new workout outfit to make you feel footloose at the gym!? We just discovered a cut and affordable spot for just such a task, vfish. What else do we wanna try in 2014? TRX, HIIT, Bollywood Groove, Pure Barre, Cheerobix and more to test out just for you!

vfish designs gripsocks!

A Holly Jolly Holiday Gift Guide

Posted on December 19, 2013 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

A Chi Organic Girls Holiday Gift Guide

Is it just us or did the holiday season creep up on us like those giant spiders in the new Hobbit movie? We’ve been feeling the adrenaline of the season, hitting the streets in our snow boots and clicking away with our mouses in a fury of gift giving. OMGS Christmas is only 4 days a way! The biggest dilemma we’ve been facing: How to find that one of a kind perfect gift for the foodie, fit fanatic or Chicago adventurer. Holiday gift guide to the rescue!!

Do you have an artist in your life? How about Grizzclay by Chuck Borchers, a Deaf artist who has been experimenting with clay for several years now at Lillstreet Art Center. These one-of-a-kind bowls can make a great centerpiece for a new home or a fancy fruit bowl to liven up a blah kitchen.

Grizzclay by Chuck Borchers

Grizzclay by Chuck Borchers

Something for your highly caffeinated friends? We recommend Bowtruss Coffee Roasters, located in River North and Lakeview. One of Chicago’s bustling micro-roasters, their bean blends offer complex flavor profiles like cherry or apple undertones. Read more about our experience at Bowtruss here.

For foodies, check out recommendations of Chicago food experts (including ours) in the Chicago Food Bloggers Holiday Gift Guide. For example, We love Vosges Haut-Chocolat, with boutiques located in downtown, Lincoln Park and of all places, O’Hare Airport. Pick up a custom box of regional truffles (think Mexican coco dusted in chili) or an exotic chocolate bar, like the newly released Coconut Ash and Banana Dark chocolate bar. For your veggie and vegan peeps, try Chicago Diner with a gift card for a tasty “I can’t believe it’s vegan” shake or have your friends rep their veg style with a Chicago Diner t-shirt. Click here for more food gift ideas.

Fit Fanatics: For a yoga lover or to help someone get off their asana (haha) and get fit, gift them one week of unlimited classes at Zen Yoga Garage (plus first-timers automatically get one week free pass with a coupon). Learn more about this 2013 new hotspot here.

Zen Yoga Garage

And for a more one-on-one fitness focus, how about some serious calorie crushing sessions with our fave certified personal trainer, Sabri Xhaferi, NASM CPT. Sabri offers nutritional counseling, myofascial (muscular relaxation) techniques, and one-on-one highly individualized personal training with flexible payment arrangements. Email sabriCPT@gmail.com and find more background info here. You can also grab some healthy tips on his Facebook page.

Sabri Xhaferi, CPT
Photo courtesy Ela Miszczyszyn

Oh and for fun fun fun person in your life: The Chicago donut scene has been rolling (like a rolling pin, get it?) this year. For the fun chasing type, how about tickets to the first ever batter-y, deep-fried Donut Fest in Chicago on Jan 26th! Tickets are on sale Monday, Dec 23rd at noon. For more info http://donutfest.com

Glazed & Infused Donuts and Firecakes Donuts

Whew! It’s time to break our the tape, scissors, and wrapping paper and get these gifts in the sleigh!

What are your recs for Chicago’s best gifts? Where do you eat, sweat and play?

All we want for Xmas is Pilates bodies!

Posted on December 13, 2013 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

We have to confess…it’s been almost a week since our last workout and our abs still hurt! Last Saturday, we kicked another Chi style birthday off right with our next Lululemon “12 Days of OM” event at Superior Pilates. Before we got started, we shared a nervous conversation with a fellow classmate about the reformers and their semi torturous facades. Our fears were soon assuaged by Kristen Wolf, our teacher, owner and founder of Superior Pilates as she explained that we wouldn’t tackle the machines until we had the basics down.

Finally, we snuggled into the mats and tightened our tummies in anticipation.

So what’s the hype about this workout? Pilates (pronounced puh-LAH-teez) helps build flexibility, muscle strength, and body awareness and involves the legs, abdomen, arms, hips, buttocks and lower back. This workout strengthens and stretches bulky muscles as well as tones and balances the smaller muscle groups. Need more info? Click here on Wikipedia.

During our 1 hour class, Kristen worked out every part of the body. We tried our hand at the more traditional moves like “the hundred” exercise and adventured into some new territory with the use of spring-and-pulley apparatus that pushed our triceps and calves to the sculpting limits.

The small class size allowed Kristen to give personal attention to each student. After we had exhausted every muscle fiber, we chatted it up with Kristen about her journey into pilates. Kristen suffered whiplash from a car accident and began pilates as a tool for rehabilitation. She ended up loving it so much that she followed up with professional pilates training and eventually purchased the cozy and sunny studio space.

At the end of our class, Molly from Lululemon raffled off a sweet black tank with watercolor style flowers…and guess who won? The bday girl!!

Hurry up and get in on the holiday fun at the next 12 Days of OM or take the Pilates Plunge with Kristen at Superior Pilates.

My Om My! Free Holiday Yoga with Lululemon Chicago

Posted on December 6, 2013 by CHIORGANICGIRLS

Admit it. You deserve a break from the holidays already and those snowman cookies you’ve gorging on lately certainly aren’t relieving any stress. Well, real holiday relief is on the way! In the spirit of the season, Lululemon on Rush & Walton has wrapped up the gift of free yoga classes, ceremoniously titled “12 Days of OM”, at a diverse set of Chicago based studios for all of us in need of a good Shavasana. We did a test run last night for the 2nd day of OM at Yoga Fuzion. Nestled in River North, Yoga Fuzion’s studio space has all the accouterments you would expect from the posh neighborhood. It boasts infrared heating technology, free towel and mat rental, and a special cushy moisture reducing floor. During our 1 hour yoga journey with Rachel, we delighted in some much needed detoxing twists (goodbye pumpkin pie!) and a toasty heated temp which was a surprise perk given the 20 degree freeze yesterday.

We sweated it up and still somehow looked glowy at the end. Ok, so maybe we snuck a brush in our gym bags and tussled our hair a bit before the “op”.

Yoga Fuzion in River North

Following practice, we chatted it up with Jonna from Lululemon and indulged in mango lemonade, cucumber mint water and fresh veggies. She explained that class sign-ups are released each Friday and pointed us to the sign up link for “12 Days of OM” on Eventbrite. Jonna presented us a special gift in the #nohumbug Lululemon tradition, a cute coral colored sweat wicking pink stripe tank for Monica! ‘Tis the season for you to jump on the free yoga sleigh ride as well. Check out the “12 Days of Om” schedule below, back away from the cookies and throw those capri and tank in your gym bag! Next classes include Power Vinyasa Flow at Yoga Loft and Mat Pilates at Lateral Fitness.

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Addicted to Glazed and Infused Donuts?

Are you a Challenge Hound?

Looking to Beat the Treadmill Blahs?

Overwhelmed by Health and Fitness info?

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A Chi Organic Girls Holiday Gift Guide

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