After leaving Oklahoma City, we headed to Santa Fe. I’ve always loved Santa Fe… I really feel a sense of belonging there (although it’s too cold for me during the winter). It’s beautiful, from the Sangre de Cristo mountains, to the adobe architecture, to the warm and eclectic people. As my husband so eloquently stated about Santa Fe – Gentle Seattle-fleece vibe meets Southwest style, artists, and old-world authenticity.
The food: Other than Whole Foods, we had a few places from which to choose for eating organic, vegan, and some raw (whether as salads or other raw dishes). We only had time to sample two of them, Chocolate Maven (which was disappointing in its limited organic and vegan options) and Tree House, which we really liked. We look forward to returning to Santa Fe soon (only 8 hours by car), going back to Tree House, and trying some of the other restaurant options. My husband, a huge fan of Southwestern and New Mexican cuisine, has made it his personal mission to catalog all the vegan options at many of Santa Fe’s famous restaurants.
At a cute coffeeshop in the historic district, I had what instantly became my favorite brand of kombucha. It’s produced locally by the Santa Fe Tea Company. (I’m going to see if our Whole Foods will carry it.) Unfortunately, I’m mostly staying away from kombucha while pregnant due to conflicting information I’ve read about it. I’d rather play it safe than sorry. But, I did try some to know if I liked it, and I love this brand. My favorite flavor is the Rasta with my second favorite being the Sangria, but there are others I’ve yet to try.
We spent time walking around the downtown area and look what I found: Santa Fe Hemp! I was so excited! We probably spent an hour in the tiny shop. I bought a sticker for my computer that reads: Eat Organic. I also bought my little Monkey an organic cotton onesie that reads: Organic Baby – Save The Whales.
The most exciting part of our time in Santa Fe was stumbling upon a gem called El Milagro Herbs – Organic Skin Care.
We interviewed the proprietor, Tomas Enos, a brilliant man who has his PhD in ethnobotany and has been making organic skin care products for almost 20 years. As you’ll learn in the video, he makes only small batches of product to ensure freshness and only uses the best ingredients. His formulations are nothing short of amazing and I’m happy to be one of his loyal followers now.
We interviewed the proprietor, Tomas Enos, a brilliant man who has his PhD in ethnobotany and has been making organic skin care products for almost 20 years. As you’ll learn in the video, he makes only small batches of product to ensure freshness and only uses the best ingredients. His formulations are nothing short of amazing and I’m happy to be one of his loyal followers now.
One of the things we discussed regarding herbal skin care products is that when you buy products from a place where big factories are creating the product, the product starts to lose its energy from the plants. As the number of steps increase from harvesting to packaging to shipping, and the number of hands increase who get involved, the precious energy goes down. I really believe in that philosophy.
I bought a face wash, skin lotion, toner, sea weed mask, hair oil, as well as some herbal tea to drink. I haven’t tried the hair oil yet, but I enjoy the other products so far. They smell and feel great. And, as you’ll learn in my video below, they harvest all wild and/or organic seasonal herbs, and they make them in small batches right there in the store.
OH! And awesome news! He is currently working on a Raw organic skin care line! He should have his face cream done next week, with other companion Raw organic products following shortly. I highly recommend checking his wonderful goodies out.
I should add that my husband was delighted to meet a real ethnobotanist and had a nice chat about toxic pufferfish and the ethnopharmacology of Haitian Zombieism… um, did you say zombies?… kinda scary, but good timing, as Santa Fe was all adorned with sugar skulls and flowers for its upcoming Day of the Dead festivities. Gotta love Santa Fe!!