About ALMA
Owners Ari Taymor and Ashleigh J. Parsons teamed up to open Alma, a fresh farm to table restaurant in downtown Los Angeles in 2012. That same year they also founded Fresh Beginnings, which focuses on assisting and educating the Alma community through experimental learning.
Named Bon Appetit's 2013 restaurant of the year, Alma is a true innovator in the food service industry and making a true impact on the community by bridging the gap between restaurants and wellness.
Ari & Ashleigh's 5 tips for clean living
1. Drink Water, A Lot of It
With working 16 hour + days, we’ve found that the key ingredient to staying energized and feeling good is drinking water. Each day we fill large mason jars of water and lemon and remind one another to drink it throughout the day.
2. Be A Mindful Consumer
Whether it’s food or something else, it is important to pay attention to what you are consuming. Do a little research to find out where the product is coming from, who’s producing it and whether it’s local and sustainable. This sense of awareness educates you on the product and also empowers you to make decisions that align with your own philosophies about consumption.
3. Take Pleasure In What You Consume
Often we are told that we need to restrict ourselves, with diets, with financial decisions, even in our personal lives. But this sense of restriction can inhibit our ability to take pleasure in the good stuff. When you make a decision to eat a large meal or purchase a new outfit, we recommend fully embracing that decision and taking pleasure - mindfully, of course – in the act of consuming.
4. Find Balance Even If Your Career Is Crazy (ours sure is)
It is important to find some sort of balance and release within the intensity of that career. When you work long days, make a conscious decision to take a pause; remove yourself from your work and allow your mind and body to escape. Even if that means walking across the street for a 15-minute cup of coffee. That fifteen minutes can go a long way.
5. Slow Down
Our chef de cuisine, Brian, always says “slow down to speed up.” With Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Gchat, and everything in between, we are moving at a pace that often is inefficient. Slow down, take a pause. This more relaxed pace can actually improve the interactions you have with others as well as the decisions you make in terms of your mind, body, and health.
