Where to Eat Well, Move Well, and Be Well North of Austin

by Brook Benten on December 30, 2022 in Lifestyle,
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In years past, New Year’s Resolutions looked like crash diets, Hans and Franz-style (“We pump YOU up”) workouts, and daily weigh-ins. This year, industry trends show that wellness, not fitness, is the greater pursuit.

 

According to the Global Wellness Institute, the global wellness market is expected to grow at 9.9% annually, reaching $7 trillion by 2025. Photo courtesy Philip Houstein.

Wellness in Round Rock and Georgetown, TX, may look different than it did last year because there are some new options around town. Maybe wellness is a 50-minute Cycle-Boxing-Pilates mashup with your best friends. Or maybe it’s mouthwatering Greek food that’s actually nutrient dense. Or maybe it’s laying low in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber while four liters of oxygen are delivered to your nostrils.

Here are three recommendations for where you can eat well, move well, and be well north of Austin in 2023.

Eat Well

ZIKI Kitchen will soon open its fifth Austin-area location in Georgetown, TX. This concept has worked so well in Austin that it trickled its way up to Georgetown. This is a food trailer where you can get healthy Greek food or healthy Mexican food on-the-go. Let me say it louder for the folks in the back: that’s “healthy” to-go food from a food truck! All (five) of Ziki’s Kitchens are modular. According to Head of Marketing, Kat Vasylyshyn, it’s how they afford to spend double or triple on their ingredients to offer healthy options to consumers vs. spending millions on brick and mortar build outs.

Here are two of my favorites:

Falafel Veggie Salad- Crispy falafel, arugula, avocado jalapeño ZIKI sauce (mmmm! creamy tzatziki with a kick? Yes, please), beet hummus, grilled cherry tomatoes, grilled corn, cucumber salsa, crispy chickpeas, Tahini sauce. We found this generous portion to be enough for two.

Pita + Dips– Select your pita fresh or fried. Dip the way you like with selections ranging from classic tzatziki, chipotle tzatziki, avocado-jalapeno tzatziki, beet hummus, roasted eggplant, or whipped feta. I swooned over beet hummus and whipped feta.

ZIKI Chicken Bowl, pictured here, is another crowd pleaser. We like that it has bright rainbow colors, tons of fiber, and plenty of protein. Photo courtesy of ZIKI.Kitchen.

ZIKI Kitchen will be located at 1003 West University Drive Georgetown, TX.

Instagram @zikikitchens

ZIKI Kitchen will open at this location on Jan. 3, 2023.

Move Well

Truecore on the Georgetown Square is a boutique studio with lovely appeal and solid commercial equipment. This isn’t your everyday gym; it’s a renovated old building with such beautiful touches that you’d be just as happy sitting in there, drinking coffee, as you would sweating to one of their expertly-led fitness classes (it’s where you’ll just enjoy being). You’ll see hardwood floors, exposed white brick, and opulent windows that give the place old Georgetown charm (including a clear view of the town’s historic courthouse). Equipment includes: Real Ryder bikes (indoor cycling bikes that actually move as the rider moves, firing up those core muscles as you lean left and right), WaterRowers, Sharp Method Pilates Reformers, heavy sand-filled base boxing bags, and plenty of functional fitness space. It’s a hidden gym among gyms. 

Pilates Mat offers limbering and strengthening benefits, but Pilates Reformer sessions take it to a whole new level. Photo courtesy of Truecore Georgetown.

 

I highly recommend the True Tri (Cycle, Box, Pilates) class for a taste of fit, fierce, and flexible- all in one workout! {Try out TrueCore’s 1-week unlimited class deal for only $49}.

Truecore is located at 209 West Eighth Street Georgetown, TX (above Barrels & Amps).

Instagram @truecoregtx

TrueCore opened in March 2020.

Be Well

At Restore Hyper Wellness, rest in a Mild Hyperbolic Oxygen Therapy Chamber for 90-minutes at two times normal air pressure. See below for potential benefits of mHbO2. Photo courtesy Restore Hyper Wellness Round Rock.

Restore Hyper Wellness is where athletes, weekend warriors, and everyday people go for pre-habilitation. Restore Hyper Wellness exists to optimize your wellness and recovery. It also helps to aid in healing after an injury. Until I turned 40, I felt bulletproof. I would exercise hard, skip warm-ups, forget about any recovery, take no days off, rinse and repeat. The “no pain, no gain” mentality caught up with me with an overuse injury. It was about that time that I listened to a podcast with Restore Hyper Wellness’s CEO, Jim Donnelly, who explained to interviewer, Joe Vennare, the mission and vision behind his franchise wellness business. Donnelly, who happens to be an Austin resident, said that “a typical primary care physician sees a patient once a year. That’s not a relationship. That’s not enough time to really get to know them or do anything substantive. We see our customers on average five times a month. That’s a real relationship. That’s what health and wellness should be.” Restore uses a variety of modalities, all built with the intention of preventative wellness and optimal health. Restore Hyper Wellness serves the well and healing, hoping to stay well and heal faster. 

Here are a few ways that they (*may) do that:

Finish a Platinum HydraFacial(R) with Red Light Therapy to relax and enhance the potential skin-boosting benefits. Photo courtesy Restore Hyper Wellness Round Rock.

 

Cryotherapy- for promoting healing, boosting athletic recovery, increasing energy

Red Light Therapy– for boosting mood and energy (like the sun without the harmful UV), optimizing sleep, defying signs of aging, reducing inflammation, and maintaining appearance of skin clarity

Infrared Sauna– for reducing inflammation, dialing up natural defenses, decreasing stress, and improving circulation and cardiovascular health

Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy- for promoting healing, boosting athletic recovery, and optimizing sleep

Normatec Compression- for improving flexibility and mobility and boosting athletic recovery

IV Drip Therapy– for replenishing vital nutrients and hydration

HydraFacial ®– for a brightened, clarified complexion, reduced appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, reduced clogged pores and blemishes, and upgraded firmness and youthful glow

*Restore Hyper Wellness’s compliance team and outside counsel affirm that these may be benefits of the services above.

If you’re short on time, bundle IV Drip Therapy (I like it with Vitamin C to aid with iron absorption) with Normatec Compression therapy at the same time. Photo courtesy Brook Benten.

Restore Hyper Wellness Round Rock is located at 200 University Boulevard, Unit 310, Round Rock, TX. 

Instagram @rhw_roundrock

Restore Hyper Wellness opened at this location in March 2022.

Tru Tri at Truecore is a great class to try with your closest girlfriends. Consider it a healthy alternative to getting together for drinks. Pictured (L-R) are my tribe: Rachel, me, Angie, and Cyndi. Photo courtesy Brook Benten.

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Cover Photo courtesy Truecore Georgetown

Brook Benten is an exercise physiologist in Austin, TX. She has worked in the fitness and wellness industry for twenty three years. She holds ACSM-EP, ACE-CPT, and M.Ed. Physical Education credentials. She has starred in over two dozen highly-acclaimed workout videos, and was awarded “Austin’s Fittest Fitness Professional” (2012, The FIT Company Institute). She is deeply passionate about fitness and wellness education and has served in roles including Executive Director of Healthy Living for The Village Dallas and Fitness Director for Southern Methodist University. Brook’s first book, “Lift Light, Get Lean,” an active aging woman’s guide to nutrition, wellness, low impact heart-healthy activity, and resistance training will be available in March 2023, published by Hearst. Instagram @BrookBenten.