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Wesley Chapel Keeps Adding Healthy Food & Drink Choices!

With everyone busier than ever, eating right is an option that sometimes just requires too much time.

So, instead of going home after work and cooking, a drive-through becomes the easier option after a long day.

Need a quick drink? Coffee or a Coke will do the trick.

Sweet tooth kicking in? There are plenty of quick, sugary options.

But today, especially here in Wesley Chapel, those aren’t your only options.In fact, it seems like more and more new places are popping up in and around our area that are focusing on giving you healthier options to quench those drivetime urges.

Here’s a look at a few of them:

*Matthew Soboski and Andria Taylor say they haven’t gotten any complaints about the taste and customers love the convenience of FitLife Foods. (Photos: John C. Cotey)*

FITLIFE FOODS: While Fitlife is not new — it’s been located at 1821 Bruce B Downs for six years — it does meet all the criteria as a place that offers a quick, healthy meal or snack.

In fact, you can pick up a meal to pop in the microwave at home, or even have the meals delivered to your home to save you a stop.

Fitlife takes healthy eating to a new level. Each store — there are twelve in Florida that offer pick-up or delivery — also offers one-on-one health and wellness coaching as part of its Project U.

So, if you’re looking to lose weight, have more energy or just eat healthier, Fitlife’s certified wellness coaches can customize a plan for you…for free. They will check your body composition and determine how and what you should eat to achieve your goal, whatever that may be.

You could choose to have as many meals, which are all broken down by macros and portioned out, supplied by Fitlife as you like. While there are many meal delivery companies out there, you have to prepare them yourself and determine the portion and macros yourself. Matthew Soboski, the Community Store Leader (or manager) at the Wesley Chapel location, says Fitlife does all that work for you.

He says all 60 meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks) are prepared in their culinary center in Plant City, and are made with only the best ingredients. There are 39 sauces and 13 special house spice blends used in preparation.

Does it taste good? With dishes like Crème Brûlée French Toast, Asparagus & Goat Cheese Torta, Butternut Coconut Curry, Jamaican Pork Tenderloin and Cuban Beef Picadillo, it certainly sounds like it.

“The don’t taste healthy,” Soboski says. “But they are.”

FitLife may not be a cheap option, but it is a healthy and convenient one, a combination difficult to find when you are strapped for time.

For more information, call (813) 365-3255 or visit EatFitlifeFoods.com. — JCC

BALANCED FOODS: The new prepackaged meal supplier on the block, Balanced Foods (as we reported previously) is a six-store chain which started in Woodlands, TX, and is now open in the former La Prima Pizza location next to Super Target in the North Woods Plaza at 1211 Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (just north of County Line Rd.), only about half a mile south of Fitlife Foods.

Balanced Foods offers small, medium and large portions for lunch and dinner and the store’s in-house kitchen provides these fresh, healthy, house-made entrées like roasted vegetable and tenderloin, City Grilled chicken (right) with mashed sweet potatoes and green beans and even a really delicious chicken salad snack with gluten-free crackers and celery.

Speaking of snacks, Balanced Foods also offers a large variety, including packaged items like yummy ChipMonk banana chocolate chip sunflower Keto Bites and addictive ICON Meals peanut butter vanilla Protein Popcorn.

Balanced Foods has a current promotion to get you started — spend $25 and get 20% off when you show a staff member a social media check-in.

For more information, call (813) 778-4874 or visit BalancedFoods.com. — GN

URBAN GRID NUTRITION: Located at 26244 Wesley Chapel Blvd. in Lutz, Urban Grid Nutrition owners Luis and Fiorella (Fio) Diou say their goal is to provide healthier fast food that tastes good.

Only open since March, the quaint location has a coffee house feel —though it is currently curbside pickup only — with treats that are healthier than what you can get at other places.

“We are basically like a brunch place, but with healthier alternatives,” Fio says. “Everything on our menu has protein, and it’s all very low in sugar. It’s a healthy option for people to have a treat, but still stay on track with their fitness goals.”

Fiorella says most of the sweetness in their menu items comes from the fruits and sometimes, stevia is used as an alternative. They cut back on flour and will subsitute protein powder to achieve that healthier balance.

Urban Grid’s hottest items are their donuts, which are popular with the local crossfit crowd. They are sweet enough plain, with 18 grams of protein, but you can get them topped with Oreos, Cocoa Pebbles and other sweets.

*Healthier waffles are popular at Urban Grid Nutrition on Wesley Chapel Bl*vd.

“Instead of three Krispy Kreme donuts, which I love don’t get me wrong, if you get three of ours instead, it makes a huge difference,” says Luis.

Urban Grid offers healthy shakes, energizing teas, waffles (only 300 calories, and with 35 grams of protein), oats and açai bowls that all have less sugar, more protein and still taste like a guilty pleasure.

A Dulce de Leche and Cookies n’ Cream shake, for example, has 200 calories, 24 grams of protein and only 10 grams of sugar. And, you can pay for extra protien, fat reducer, fiber of probiotics if you choose.

A skinny coffee has 100 calories and 15 grams of protein, and there are sugar-free “Refresher” teas — with flavors like Gummy Bear, Urban Mojito and Starburst — made with green tea extract that have only 15 calories.

Luis and Fiorella live healthy lifestyles, and are committed to their fitness. And, their store caters to the athlete on a strict diet. But, Luis says, after eating right and exercising all week, “it’s nice to have a treat, and nice to have those healthier options.”

For more information, call (813) 388-9278 or visit “UrbanGrid Nutrition” on Facebook. — JCC

Refuel Energy & Nutrition’s Jemiola Smart.

REFUEL ENERGY & NUTRITION: Another non-chain newcomer to the Wesley Chapel nutritional scene, Refuel is located at 30004 County Line Rd. in Meadow Pointe (in the small plaza next to CVS) and specializes in healthier, lower-sugar beverages which can be enhanced with fiber, protein, probiotics, “new mom” boosts and more.

Co-owners Jemilla Smart and Ellie Garza are proud that their quaint little store has attracted everyone from serious athletes to post-natal moms trying to lose the baby weight.

“Our shakes, smoothies, teas and refreshers are lower in calories, carbs and sugar and are higher in protein than what you’ll find at the other smoothie shops,” Jemila (photo below) says. “Here, you can enjoy sweet treats that taste like your favorite ice cream, cakes, candy, cookies and other sweet treats, without any of the guilt!”

Smoothies at Refuel Energy are meal replacements with just 250 calories, only 13 carbs and 8 grams of sugar, with 24 grams of protein and 21 essential vitamins and nutrients.

Refuel Energy’s low-calorie teas come in more than 50 flavors — from Airheads to white peach sangria (with no alcohol) — and they all contain caffeine to jump-start your metabolism. You can even add “enhancers” to your tea or refresher, everything from collagen to protein and they can even be made with sparkling water.

“We are focused on optimum nutrition and fitness for everyone,” Jemila says. “This isn’t a diet. It’s a way to live your best life!”

For more info, call (813) 388-9122 or search “RefuelTampa” on Facebook.

healthy eating

TECO Is Busy Replacing Those Pesky Purple Lights

All across Tampa, purple (or blue) street lights can be seen amidst rows of white and yellow lights. Take a ride down Cross Creek Blvd. and you’ll see almost a dozen of them.

Curiosity about why these lights have randomly popped up has led to a number of television stories and a few Reddit and NextDoor.com threads.

And, even a few conspiracy theories. So let’s clear the air:

* The purple lights are not a super secret crime deterrent.

* The lights are not a super duper light pollution fighter.

* The light are not there to make it harder for heroin users to find a spot to shoot up.

* They are not collecting your vital information through some new technology.

* They are not an homage to Prince on the fifth anniversary of his death last April, and Tampa Electric just hasn’t gotten around to replacing the lights.

(Sorry, the last one was our own conspiracy theory)

Nope, nothing like that.

The purple lights are just, well, good lights gone bad.

According to TECO spokesperson Cherie Jacobs, the lights have merely fallen prey to a manufacturer’s defect that turns them from white to purple.

“We are almost done, but we are replacing all of our street lights with new energy-efficient LED technology,” Jacobs says. “The model that was made in 2019 had a manufacturing defect, and that has affected a small percentage of the lights.

“But, they are very noticeable.”

Indeed they are. The lights cast a purple hue across the road, and turn everything under the light poles a purple color. It has been explained in other stories that each light contains red, yellow and blue filters, but the yellow filters are the ones that have been malfunctioning, and the red and blue filters then create a definite purple tint.

The lights are so noticeable that Jacobs jokes that she is getting as many media requests for explanations than just about anything else these days. Concerned residents are calling television stations to get answers — News Channel 8 WFLA-TV and WTVT-TV Fox 13 recently did stories on the lights — and we’ve even received a few emails about the them.

“We are working with the manufacturer,” Jacobs says. “They are under warranty and we are replacing them as we are learning about them.”

Considering that we are living in the age of crazy conspiracy theories, it should be no surprise that those purple lights have sparked a few, including this doozy — the lights are used to identify if you have been vaccinated against Covid-19, making you glow, and therefore keeping you out of FEMA camps that the government will be setting up for the unvaccinated where you see the lights.

No, not true. At least we don’t think so.

And, the purple lights aren’t just a Tampa thing, or a TECO thing. All across the country, purple lights have been popping up in South Carolina, Tennessee, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, drawing the same kind of scrutiny from residents.

Just a few days after this story went to press, Jacobs informed us that TECO is patrolling its entire system and will replace all purple lights. It should take several months, she wrote, so after originally setting up a web page for residents to report the location of the purple lights, no need to report the lights anymore.

“See a purple light? No further action is required of anyone,” Jacobs says. “We’ll fix it as soon as we can.”

purple lights teco

Esthetics813 Helps Renew Your Mind, Body And Spirit

Kyymara Rose Scott has owned Esthetics813 for seven years and, in that time, she says she has lost count of the number of clients who have entered looking or feeling frazzled who left with a little slice of peace and happiness.

Providing that transformation is exactly why Kyymara started Esthetics813, which is located at the northwest corner of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and County Line Rd., in front of the Super Target (a few doors down from Anytime Fitness).

Kyymara says she knows all about feeling frazzled, and the need to undo that feeling. When she was in her early thirties, life threw everything it had at her. First was a divorce, followed by a job selling insurance that she hated, followed by a cancer diagnosis.

“It was the most horrible, painful experience of my life,” she says.

In between cancer treatments, when Kyymara needed some zen, she visited a spa for soft massages — her body was too run down from cancer treatments to tolerate a traditional massage — and facials. They helped her relax and escape, if even for only a few minutes.

One day, while waiting in the lobby for her appointment, she couldn’t help but stare at the woman working there, and her big smile.

“I asked her, ‘Are you always this happy, or is this just for us?,’” Kyymara recalled. “And she told me, ‘I work at a spa, everybody is happy to come here. Why wouldn’t I be happy?’”

It was that moment that Kyymara says set her on a path that led her to open Esthetics 813, where she runs a spa that relishes wellness, renewal of your spirit and satisfying happy clients by offering a plethora of comforting and revitalizing services.

Although she had attended the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, NY, for advertising when she was younger, Kyymara reversed course and returned to the Dominican Republic, where she spent much of her youth, and attended a skin care institute for 18 months.

She then returned to the U.S. and studied Esthiology for a year at the Aveda Institute in Clearwater before opening the original Esthetics813 in the Windfair Professional Center behind Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in 2013.

As her business grew, so did the need for a larger space. In 2019, Esthetics813 moved in front of the SuperTarget.

She says that unlike other “closed cabin” type designs, Esthetics813 is loft-style, like you might find in Europe, California or even the Dominican Republic, where Kyymara used to wash hair as a teenager at a spa so she could afford to get her own hair done every Saturday.

Because a different location fell through, Kyymara says the current spa was built with “blood, sweat and tears in the 11th hour.” She says she couldn’t have done it without husband Kurt “The Duke” Wickiser.

Lourdes Alers has been coming to Esthetics813 since the original spa opened in the Windfair Professional Center. With her husband working and her kids at a friend’s house, Lourdes decided to pop in at an Open House.

“I was going to get a free swag bag and then take off, but I ended up being the first one there and the last one to leave,” she says. “I booked a facial and I haven’t looked back since. (Kyymara) works her magic and I trust her completely.”

Esthetics813, however, offers more than just facials. It offers body sculpting and wraps, microneedling, waxing and tanning, various light treatments and a variety of spa packages.

Kyymara strongly believes that visiting a spa shouldn’t only be a birthday present or an occasional treat for you; it should be a regular part of your wellness and self care. And in fact, she says the majority of her clients come in once or twice a week.

Clients are provided a robe and a glass of water or wine, and all of their personal items — especially their cell phones — are put away in a locker. The spa’s staff — Anna Mazzei, Tyra Richardson, Crystal Santos and Hanna Mazzilli — make it a personal experience by remembering what you like, right down to your drink preference.

The most popular treatments are often seasonal and, for this time of year, “everything that has to do with stripping away the old and rejuvenations are very popular,” Kyymara says. “That includes chemical peels, micro-needling and miraculously, and to my delight, body treatments.”

The Art Of Body Sculpting

Body sculpting is the most requested spa treatment, which Kyymara thinks may be a byproduct of the Covid-19 pandemic, which trapped people inside and led to many of us putting on a few extra pounds.

Body sculpting (see after-and-before photos on the next page) involves eliminating cellulite and localized fat through muscle therapy and non-invasive ultrasonic cavitation, which uses vibrations to break down fat cells, which can then be expelled via lymphatic massages.

Other popular body treatments are waxing and tanning.

“These were all very popular in the Dominican Republic,” Kyymara says. “I tried to get people to like it here but couldn’t at first. But now I’m like, ‘Yes!’”

Esthetics813 also has two nurse practitioners on staff to administer Botox and other fillers, which remain go-to treatments for many.

Another offering at Esthetics813 is Red Light Therapy (RLT; see photo above), which Kyymara says was created by NASA “so it’s actually rocket science!”

Kyymara says RLT helps cells bind themselves together again, which helps skin and muscle tissue re-tighten, helping to reduce wrinkles, cellulite and sagging.

Blue Light Treatment (BLT) oxygenates your skin, helping with acne, and Green Light Treatment (GLT) helps reduce inflammation, Kyymara says.

Kyymara thinks there are many things that differentiate her spa from others, and one she is most pleased about is that facials at Esthetics813 are oxygen-centric, as opposed to merely products with oxygen in them.

“We use actual oxygen,” she says. “It’s antibacterial and we infuse it, so it penetrates the skin. It fills, plumps and gives you a nice glow. It’s a more advanced facial.”

Kyymara says Esthetics813 uses top-of-the-line effective products like HydroPeptide, PCA SKIN and FUSION.

Always looking to offer the latest and the greatest, Kyymara says her spa will soon be offering a Blow Out Bar, to liven up your hair-do, which is expected to open by Nov. 1.

There are even treatments for men, including facials and upper and lower body waxing.

“We even have man-sized slippers and robes, so you can be comfortable and not feel like you are tip-toeing around in a woman’s space,” Kyymara says.

Kurt jokes that while men may be hesitant to try the spa, “Once you try it you won’t want to leave.”

Each service can be purchased individually, and Esthetics813 also offers VIP memberships. Groups and parties also are welcome.

Because the community has been so good to her, Kyymara does what she can to be good to it, too. She is an Ambassador for the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Wesley Chapel Rotary Club and recently organized a fashion show that raised $1,600 for Bridging Freedom, a child and human trafficking rescue organization. She has even run a diaper drive for the Oasis Pregnancy Care Center.

Esthetics813 is located at 1051 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. Its hours by appointment are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, call (813) 474-4486 or visit esthetics813.com.

esthetics813

Why I Will Always Honor Our Military Veterans, Even Though I Never Served

Veterans Day is today and although I never served our country myself, I have always tried — both personally and professionally — to support those who serve and have served in our nation’s armed forces.

Gary Nager Editorial

I know I’ve mentioned it before in these pages, but I was 14 years old when the draft ended, but had I been 18, my birthdate was number three on that last draft list.

But, had I been called, I probably would have done everything I could not to serve. My father, who served in the U.S. Army shortly after the Korean War ended, and seriously considered a career in the military, called me a coward. I told him that I had been reading a lot about the Vietnam War, which the U.S. exited the same year the draft ended, and that I couldn’t understand why 3 million U.S. men and women were deployed to Southeast Asia to fight an almost-20-year war that didn’t seem to threaten our country in any way.

I definitely was influenced by the anti-war music, movies and media of the day. Like many young people, I had problems with our government forcing people who didn’t want to be in rice paddies and foxholes having to risk making the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

The people I never had a problem with, however, were those who actually served. I saw the news reports of U.S. military members who were spit at when they returned home, even though so many of them were forced into their service. But, even if they chose to wear the uniform, it wasn’t their fault that their job was to kill the enemy and sometimes napalm villages, as they had to deal with not only Vietnamese soldiers but also the guerilla tactics of the Viet Cong.

Even though I may have been in the minority of young people during that era, I believed that every person who served deserved to be thanked and honored for their service, not spit on, attacked or simply forgotten. As I grew from sometimes angry teenager to adulthood, I met many wonderful military vets, not only from the Vietnam Era, but also those who served in World War II, Korea and, like my dad, during peace time.

And yes, I always shook their hands and thanked them for their service, not just to our country, but to me personally. Just because I didn’t want to carry a gun myself didn’t mean that I didn’t appreciate what these folks did — whether it was their choice or not — to keep the country I loved (and still do) safe and strong.

Once I had purchased the Neighborhood News, I knew that I would do just about anything I could to help the local people who served and the organizations that support them. I have given free ads (see pg. 11 of our latest issue), written stories and attended dozens of events honoring our nation’s heroes and I still pledge to always do so.

One of the things I’ve tried to do is come up with a way to ensure that no U.S. Military Veteran should ever have to be homeless. I heard that in Hillsborough County alone, there were between 2,000-3,000 homeless vets, which actually made me sick to my stomach.

I even pitched my idea to State Sen. Danny Burgess, who was the executive director of Florida’s Dept. of Veterans Affairs at the time. Danny, who still serves in the U.S. Army Reserve, liked my idea and promised to help me get this unique program off the ground, especially since it also will provide jobs for these heroes.

The fact that we haven’t gotten started on my idea yet isn’t anyone’s fault and it will always be one of my goals to make it happen, but I hope that everyone reading this will at least join me in honoring all of those who serve or have served.

*The Bohannon Family mourns the passing of Dale (2nd from left)*

In Memory Of Dale Bohannon

Even though I only personally met him a few times, I have known local Realtor Dale Bohannon’s parents, Doug and Annette Bohannon, for more than 20 years and I was appreciative that Dale’s sister Laura let me know about Dale’s sudden passing from a massive heart attack at the too-young age of 56. Dale is a lifelong Tampa native who is survived by his wife Melody and three children, ages 12-22. Rest in Peace, Dale.

Veterans Day

Rep. Driskell To Seek A 3rd Term

State Representative Fentrice Driskell, considered to be one of the rising stars in the Democratic Party in the Sunshine State, has officially announced that she will seek to retain her seat in the all-important midterm 2022 elections.

Rep. Driskell will be running to hold the Florida House District 63 seat she won in 2018 when she defeated Republican Shawn Harrison and retained in 2020 when she was unopposed. Driskell held her launch party on Oct. 27 at Acropolis Greek Taverna on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. (photos)

District 63 includes New Tampa, as well as Carrollwood, Lutz and the Lake Magdalene and University of South Florida areas to our south and west.

Driskell already has at least one opponent lined up for next year — New Tampa Republican Lisette R. Bonano.

The General Election will be held on November 8, 2022, with primary elections scheduled for August 23, 2022. — JCC