Keeping your goals even while you’re on the go!
By Barbara Herrick
Photography by John Webster
Reid Merrill has your interests at heart. As personal trainer living in Eagle, he enjoys helping people focus on great eating habits and goals. You can regain a strong and beautiful body using good sense and proper exercise, with a little help of course. Already worrying about bikini season? Want to keep up with your grandkids? Longing to participate in your first IronMan at fifty-five? Reid can help you with all this and more.
The secret, he says, isn’t low calorie diets. Clients who set goals are 100-fold more effective if they tag goals onto personal motivations. Sure, you can lose weight on 1200 calories a day. But those diets wreak havoc on your metabolism, and create a dismal nutritional status. This kind of old thinking ends up failing most people in the long run.
The new thinking is focused on permanent success. You’ll eat foods that are compatible with your life, your social circle, and your preferences. You’ll make healthier choices more often while increasing your body’s nourishment, not starving it.
Reid calls himself Joe Average, a man in his fifties, who wants to help average people. That turns out to be a large percentage of the population. He uses common sense practices that make for long-term health and happiness. It might even be your happy spot too.
Eagle restaurants are in the business of healthy choice these days. Here are a four we recommend.
Rembrandt’s
Rembrandt’s is a fine restaurant masquerading as a coffee shop, set down in an elegant country church. The light is as gorgeous as the art.
They offer the “Healthy Start Breakfast,” for people who want fewer calories while not sacrificing nutrition. It consists of multi-grain toasted bread, spinach cooked with a “dab” of olive-oil and a little salt, roma tomatoes, and two poached eggs. For lunch, there’s a yummy “Veggie Sandwich.” This includes lightly roasted zucchini, yellow squash, red peppers, and red onions, served with pesto and feta on sourdough, along with a healthy side of fruit.
“We have no deep-fryer in the building, eliminating the options of high fat foods,” says Chef Michael Howard.
Rembrant’s gives good health a delicious boost.
Zen Bento
Zen Bento provides a healthy alternative to fast or deli food. Their best bets for balanced and healthy meals are Teriyaki rice bowls: grilled marinated chicken breast served over brown rice with steamed veggies, topped with house-made sauces. These bowls are the choice of athletes, body builders and personal trainers alike. They provide the perfect ratio of carbohydrates, veggies, and protein in a meal. If you are serious about carbs, they can provide no-carb meals too.
Zen Bento is fast-paced, cheery, and friendly ‘take out,’ with limited seating.
Zen Bento offers a healthy alternative to fast-food. Their customers know it is a healthier option and they like it. Those who don’t know or care just enjoy a hearty meal that makes them feel good!
Aspen Leaf
Sweet Treats! Aspen Leaf offers 16 different frozen yogurts that range from fat-free to no-sugar to dairy-free, that also range from only 80-120 calories per half cup. Of course, if sugar doesn’t scare you, you can get those treats too. The choice is yours, and good choices they are.
Even the toppings are healthy. They have fresh fruit, nuts, and granola as toppings, allowing customers to choose how healthy they want their yogurt to be. If you consider chocolate a health food, you’ve found the right place for that too.
Aspen Leaf is colorful and vibrant. They get the basics right, and they take pride in cleanliness and great customer service.
Wild West
Saddle up, Wild West is waiting for you. In Eagle, it’s a quick stop for healthy choices. They have a western motif which highlights paintings and photos from local artists.
Wild West is Eagle’s first espresso café. They offer coconut or almond milk lattes and mochas, matcha tea smoothies, along with a plethora of traditional coffee options.
More substantial menu items include a grilled chicken sandwich, grilled chicken salad with organic greens, and gluten-free bagels. They have tasty soups too—butternut squash made with coconut milk (vegan) and chicken coconut curry soup with rice noodles.
Wild West is celebrating their 20 year anniversary this year. It’s a great place to move your energy into an elevated strata.
