Put a healthy twist on the usual dinner and a movie date with your someone special in Atlanta, Georgia. You could go the traditional route and make reservations at a restaurant serving organic fare from local farms that practice sustainable agriculture. You could also make your date more personal by cooking your own dinner or more intimate by learning how to massage one another with a spa treatment. Whatever you choose, Atlanta offers many eco-friendly ways to get to know or spend time with one another.
Atlanta Botanical Garden
Appreciate the city's local flora with your date at the Atlanta Botanical Garden in Piedmont Park. Take in the sights and scents of the flowers in bloom coloring the Cascades, Children's, Rose, Southern Seasons and Trustees Gardens.
Learn about sustainable produce with the farm-to-table philosophy in action at the Botanical's Edible Garden, which is an acre of a converted parking lot. The Edible Garden also has an outdoor kitchen where chefs lead afternoon and evening cooking classes.
As of May 2010, the Botanical features a canopy walk 40 feet in the air through the treetops of its forest. Supporting the Botanical Garden also means supporting its local and international conservation work.
Restaurants with Organic or Locally Grown Food
Be romantic and ecologically responsible by sharing an intimate dinner that is organic or locally grown. At the R. Thomas Grill, for example, both carnivores and vegetarians have plenty of healthy choices on an Earth-friendly menu designed with the help of nutritionist Donna Gates, author of "The Body Ecology Diet."
The Grill serves American fare with Asian and Italian inspiration and homegrown herbs from the grill's own garden. Body-conscious diners can choose their side vegetables from four categories: nonstarchy, starchy, grains and ocean veggies.
A similar belief in the healing power of food, both for us and for the Earth, guides the menu selections at the 5 Seasons on Atlanta's westside. The 5 Seasons only serves organic vegetables from local farms that practice sustainable agriculture. In line with its philosophy about locally produced food, the 5 Seasons also brews its own seasonal beer.
Cook a Meal with Produce from a Farmer's Market
Cook a special meal for your companion with locally grown produce from one of Atlanta's farmers' markets.
In East Atlanta at the Village Hardware on Glenwood Avenue, the East Atlanta Village Farmer's Market sells produce, artisanal goat's cheese, grass-fed beef, honey and handmade granolas and cereals on Thursday evenings from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. from May to November.
You can also buy organic baked breads, pastries, pizza, dog treats, handmade soaps and cleaning supplies as well as laptop bags and accessories made from recycled and re-purposed fabrics.
Or you could shop at the Peachtree Road Farmer's Market, which is at the Cathedral of St. Philip from mid-April to mid-December of each year. There are 56 vendors selling produce and handmade goods. On Saturdays, there are cooking demonstrations to give you ideas for what to make on your date.
Book a Couple's Spa Treatment
Book a spa treatment for the two of you and rejuvenate your bodies together.
At The Mansion on Peachtree 29 Spa you can book the "Napa for Two" treatment, or book a complete retreat package, in the private relaxation spa suite that features facials with the Grape Seed Age Protecting cosmetic collection developed by Lydia Mondavi.
Or, book one of the couple's treatments at the Om Magie Holistic and Wellness Medi Spa. With their Instructional Couples Massage, the massage therapist will teach you how to massage one another while you learn about the health benefits of regular massage. Or, you could book their Massage for Two or Retreat for Two packages.
Dance, Fitness and Recreation Classes
Work up a sweat with your companion and extend the date to between four and eight sessions by taking some dance, fitness and recreation classes at Emory University.
You can keep a romantic mood going with swing, salsa or ballroom dancing lessons. Or, you could bond through sailing, tennis or line dancing lessons. You could also take Pilates, yoga or Tai Chi classes together. Prices and dates over the summer between June and August vary for each type of class.
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