Feel Good Winter

Many of us are still on that healthy life trend from January or are wanting to get back on track after indulging for Valentine's Day, but also want to enjoy ourselves and maybe get some comfort food without feeling guilty. Here are some options for having a feel good winter without as much of the guilt, as well as some Portland-area food delivery services. Portland has a little something for everyone, whether you’re in full hibernation mode or not!
 
If you’re feeling the juice/smoothie vibe:

• Blake Orchard Juicery (19 Exchange St): They have the best and prettiest smoothie bowls, fresh pressed juice and recently started serving up gluten free and vegan soups. 

• Maine Squeeze Juice Cafe (multiple locations): You can grab one of their many juice or smoothie options at lots of places around town, so convenient.
• Flying Fox Juice Bar (98 Washington Ave): Spend a colorful morning or afternoon here with juice, smoothies, coffee or tea on Munjoy Hill.
• Portland Pulp (116 Free St): This little space is the perfect stop when you’re running errands downtown and need a quick juice, smoothie or salad pick-me-up.

           
Grab a Healthy Bite:

• LB Kitchen (249 Congress St): Get some creative and healthy comfort food- think comforting bowls for breakfast and lunch.
• B. Good (15 Exchange St): This place feels like a much higher quality 5 Guys with counter order style and casual seating. You can still get a burger if that's what you'd like, but all of the ingredients are locally sourced with a list of the local farms they use for everything on the wall. They also offer amazing grain bowls, salads and smoothies, so this is the best of all worlds! 
• Daily Greens (28 Monument Sq.): Located on the second floor of the Public Market, this salad place is not only delicious but incredibly filling and made fast. And it’s in the same area as one of the Maine Squeeze Juice Cafes, so you can grab a juice to go with your salad.
• Local Sprouts Cafe (649 Congress St): A cozy breakfast and lunch place that has vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options as well as kombucha on tap. They also host a bunch of local music events and performances. 
• The Green Elephant (608 Congress St): A Vegetarian/Vegan Asian Fusion restaurant that will make you feel cozy while eating lighter.
• Bam Bam Bakery (267 Commercial St): A gluten free bakery- not necessarily healthy since there’s still the goodness of sugar and butter, but we can pretend it’s a little healthier!

 
And for those of you who may still want to enjoy eating from your favorite places without leaving the comfort of your couch, here are some takeout delivery services that will help!

• 2 Dine In: https://www.2dinein.com/restaurants

 

• Greater Portland Takeout Online: http://gptoonline.com

 
Fun/active things to do:

• 33 Elmwood:  This space has it all- lanes to play bocce, cornhole, bowling (candlepin and regular), as well as a bar and restaurant area!
• Great Maine Outdoor Weekend (Feb 9-19): This is a series of events led by outdoor oriented organizations and companies to celebrate the how, where and what of being active outside in Maine. Their goal is to connect friends and neighbors with the natural world, to promote fun, physical activity and good health. Traditionally just a weekend, this year you can enjoy the event for a full week! See the list of events happening near you here: https://www.greatmaineoutdoorweekend.org/events/
• Maine Audubon Winter Carnival (Feb 17th 10am-2pm at Gilsland Farm- free for Audubon members, $7 for non-members): Join Maine Audubon for a celebration of winter weather and wildlife made possible by L.L. Bean! Learn, create, and play at a variety of indoor and outdoor activity stations, including a winter wildlife touch table, giant snow shelter, scavenger hunt, tracking activities, snow science and art, face painting, snowshoeing with L.L. Bean Outdoor Discovery School, and more! Matt Loosigian of Earth Jams will play two interactive concerts at 11am and 12:30pm, and you can fuel up with treats and eats from The Marshmallow Cart, Mashed in Maine, and bird-friendly coffee samples courtesy of the Nature Store. 
  
• Ice Skating:
  • Thompson’s point: Monday’s are BOGO for tickets and Thursdays are college night where admission + rentals are only $7!
  • William B. Troubh Ice Arena (Indoor)- 225 Park Avenue, Portland, MaineOpen seven days a week, this indoor rink (formerly the Portland Ice Arena) offers a busy schedule of public ice skating sessions. 207-774-8553
  • Breakwater School Pond- Capisic Street, Portland, Maine. Open December through February, conditions permitting. 207-772-8689
  • Deering Oaks Park Pond- State Street and Park Avenue, Portland, Maine. Usually open December through February during normal park hours. 207-756-8275 or 207-874-8801.
  • Payson Park- 755 Baxter Boulevard, Portland, Maine. Open December through February. 207-756-8275 
  • Presumpscot Park- Ludlow Street, Portland, Maine. Open December through February, conditions permitting.
• Cross country skiing or snow-shoeing: You can borrow snow shoes at Finley Rec! Portland has two locations within 10 miles of downtown that offer Nordic skiing and snowshoeing.
  • The Gilsland Farm Audubon Center is a 65-acre nature preserve with 2.5 miles of walking trails that become snowshoeing and cross-country ski trails when the snow falls.
  • Smiling Hill Farm, less than five miles from the Portland airport, is a working dairy farm with more than 12 miles of groomed trails for both traditional Nordic and freestyle skiing.