Be Well Philly Boot Camp Recap

On Saturday, I was invited by Whole Foods to attend Philadelphia Magazine’s Be Well Philly Boot Camp event at Drexel University. I’ve seen photos from previous years’ events and was always interested in attending. I invited my friend Bridgett to come along with me, and we had a blast! 

We arrived in Philly around 8:30am, and made our way over to the Drexel Rec Center. After checking in, we enjoyed breakfast hosted by Whole Foods, and walked around the main vendor hall (aka the Marketplace). The Marketplace had dozens of health-focused vendors and experts. Bridgett and I scored a bunch of free samples, including Kiehl’s skincare, organic vegan lip balms, and a free barre class! 

Of course I had to say hi to my friends from Whole Foods. At their table, they featured the Whole Foods Summer Shape-up Challenge. These challenges occur across all local Whole Foods and include nutrition workshops, healthy shopping tours, cooking classes, one-on-ones, and other tips to get everyone healthy and fit for the summer. I also was able to check out their new spiralized veggies, which are now available in-store in grab and go containers. I can’t wait to get my hands on the spiralized summer squash and sweet potatoes, which are going to save me so much time in the kitchen. 

At 10am, Bridgett and I went to a seminar about ways to find happiness and we learned a lot! One tip that stood out to me was “Find Your Tribe.” The speaker visited a bunch of different types of fitness classes until she discovered where she felt the most comfortable. I thought about my own experience finding my tribe and realized that I fit in the most with dancers and yogis. 

When the happiness seminar was finished, we rushed over to the Whole Foods “Best Dressed” cooking demonstration. The Healthy Eating Specialists showed us how to make simple and delicious sauces, dressing and marinades that would taste amazing on their new spiralized veggies. My favorite dressing recipe included nutritional yeast, a seasoning that is gluten free and vegetarian, and provides a great source of B12. The nutritional yeast gave off a delicious Parmesan cheese aroma! I’ll definitely be purchasing a container next time I’m at Whole Foods.

By 11am, it was time for get moving with some fitness classes. First up was an outdoor vinyasa flow. The instructor played a variety of music during the class, including alternative rock, r&b, and even Lorde! I’m used to relaxing zen music, so this was certainly a bit different, but it was so much fun. We also took a burlesque cardio dance class which was SO MUCH FUN. I wish the studio was in the suburbs, because I’d go in a heartbeat. 

After two hours of classes, we were starving and exhausted. We enjoyed lunch outdoors under the tent and listened to the keynote speaker, Carrie from Making Lemonade. Carrie spoke about how after her daughter’s traumatic birth, she did her absolute best to stay positive and make lemonade out of lemons. Carrie’s story was so incredibly touching and inspirational, and there’s no way I could even begin to do it justice by writing about it here. If you’re interested, please check out this post from Carrie. 

We had such a wonderful day at the Boot Camp and I can’t wait to attend the event again next year! 

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