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Ingredient Spotlight: Almonds

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So…almonds. Let’s think about what we know about almonds (or what we think we think we know about them):

Almonds are brown. They’re oval. They’re actually a little sweet (unless you hit a nasty-bad bitter one). They’re high in calcium and low in sat-fat. And when you soak and blitz ’em up with water, spices and your favorite sweetener, you make a delicious nutmil….

Check it: Did you know that technically speaking—botanically speaking—almonds aren’t nuts? Neither did we, and it stopped us in our cold-pressed juicing, nutmilk-loving tracks. And while we here at The Juice Standard probably won’t stop calling our fave silky-sweet plant-based drink a nutmilk, in the name of vegucation, we wanted in on the skinny so we looked some stuff up.

According to Amy Stewart’s The Drunken Botanist, The Plants That Create The World’s Drinks (2013, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill), “From a botanical perspective, a nut is a fruit with a dry, hard shell. An almond is a drupe, or a stone fruit whose pit surrounds a fleshy seed,” kinda like peaches. But, Stewart continues, “Unlike peaches, apricots, and other drupes, the almond’s ‘fruit’ is nothing more than an unappetizing leathery outer membrane.”

Huh.

So the reality is that all nuts are actually dried fruits that don’t open at maturity to release their seeds. And almonds, in particular, are closely related to peaches and apricots, and likely share an Asian heritage with them (trees were grown in China some 12,000 years ago before heading to Greece by about the 5th century BC).

Thankfully, whether almonds are a fruit, a nut or a seed, all this backstory does nothing to change our knowledge about how healthy these babies are for us…especially when we eat ones that are organic.

So if you see almonds on The Juice Standard’s ingredients list (or any ingredients list), know that they’re incredibly good for you, for a kajillion reasons. And if you happen to be at a trivia night where you’re faced with the Is-An-Almond-A-Nut-Or-Not question…you’re welcome.

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Juice Hacks: Got Kiddos? Hack These Drinks For The Holidays.

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Congratulations! Got kiddos in your life? Then the rest of your holiday season will probs be filled with nights of shopping and cookie-baking, and not as much grown-up play as you’re used to.

Congratulations! Got kiddos in your life? Then the rest of your holiday season will probs be filled with nights of shopping and cookie-baking, and not as much grown-up play as you’re used to.

We know you wouldn’t trade in the werk for all the littleton delight this time of year spreads. Neither would we. But that doesn’t mean we can’t inject a little extra cheer into our own late-night reindeer games.

(And you go right ahead and take that any way you want.)

If your date nights out have morphed into wrap-fests in, huzzah! Here’s our slapdash list of tasty add-ins, swaps and ooh-la-las you can apply to some of our favorite nut milks and juices. Promise they’ll make you taste like you’re out on the town when all you’re really doing is libating through another Elf On A Shelf tableau.

We bee here for you. We admire you. So go fix these drinks. Most serve two or four adults but sharing’s optional. Beecuase while holidaying for a month is hard AF there’s no reason why it can’t taste great. #IfYoureGonnaBeeBadBeRealGoodAtIt

Non-Nog: 1 Singleton (16 ounces) Bee Magnificent; 4 ounces of either rum, brandy or bourbon or for a more traditional interpretation, a combo of all three; 1 strong shake of cinnamon and nutmeg. Combine in a high-speed blender (for froth…and if the kids are still up) or a shaker (for speed) and serve over ice. Repeat if necessary…beecuase spoiler alert: Santa really doesn’t know when you’re naughty. Note we said “when” not “if.”

Goldish Milk: 1 Singleton (16 ounces) Bee Legendary; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 1 teaspoon rose water (optional); 2 ounces rum (not optional); freshly ground black pepper to taste. Gently heat on a stove until warm but not boiling OR combine in a high-speed blender (for froth…and if the kids are still up) or a shaker (for speed). Drink before bed and not a moment before you’re done with that elfin effer.

UnCosmopolitan: 1 Singleton (16 ounces) Bee Cosmopolitan; 2 ounces no-sugar-added cranberry juice (we like Apple & Eve); 4 ounces organic vodka (we like Prairie Organic Spirits); 2 ounces triple sec or cointreau; two shakes Angostura bitters. Combine in a shaker over ice and serve as many people as you’re willing even if it’s only yourself.

Rock Toddy: 1 Singleton (16 ounces) Bee Royal; 4 ounces bourbon or rye whiskey; ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, allspice or nutmeg; ½ teaspoon organic vanilla extract. Warm over a low flame to preserve the alcohol as well as your sanity.

For sleep, for stress, for sanity. The holidays can’t get enough maca and neither should you.

Hot ChaCha: 1 Singleton (16 ounces) Bee Happy; 3 teaspoons matcha (we think GotMatcha’s black-label is bomb); 2 teaspoons maca (we like Moon Juice’s but you can use any brand); 2 teaspoons coconut butter or coconut oil; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Combine in a saucepan over low heat and don’t allow to boil. Best enjoyed at the end of your night when you can smile on your accomplishments and gear up for another day of do-gooding.

 

 

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Juice Hack: Mock That Toddy

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Admit it: Sometimes during the holidays you wish five-o-clock-somewhere was around 10 a.m.

S’okay. We do, too.

For when all of us just hafta, hafta adult hard—when daydrinking wouldn’t bring us anywhere but down, or for when we happied our hours too hard and need a kinder, gentler hair of the dog—The Juice Standard’s Co-Founder and COO Marcella Williams gives you a fantastic spirits-free spin on a classic.

The hot toddy is a known cocktail cure-all for cold and flu symptoms thanks to its ingredients that mimic (and in some cases mirror) the stuff in over-the-counter meds…but with hella more taste and way less dye. But the toddy’s also a delicious cold-night sipper. Or on any night. And despite not having the whisky, bourbon or rye that makes a hot toddy all that and more, this recipe’ll do the trick.

All you need is…

  • The Juice Standard’s Bee Royal (roughly 8 ounces)
  • Splash of raw apple cider vinegar (roughly 1 ounce)
  • Pinch of cinnamon (roughly 1/8 teaspoon or half that, pending your taste for it)
  • A stove-safe pot or microwave-safe mug

We like stirring our potions on the stove so we can better control the heat, but a microwave will do. Just stir it every now and then so the cinnamon doesn’t clump.

As we’ve said before, our bees beehind the counter are so damn crafty, it’s a rare day that our juices or nutmilks are only used in one way. We’re always thinking of new thises and thats…which is why we wholly support hacking any and all our menu offerings so you can get the most from your purchases…no matter when you buy (or sip). Or, what time of day. #BeecuaseNoJudgment.

Got some hacks of your own? Email ’em to info@juicestandard.com and TJS’ Content Director, Jen Chase, will be happy to share ’em on our social channels (once we test them…natch). As for our hacks, we’ll be adding them in dribs and drabs to our own social media and right there on these pages. Keep an eye out so your belly will be satisfied.

#ThinkOutsideTheBottle

Ingredient Spotlight: Pumpkin Is Not The New Black

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We’re a few days past Halloween’s sweetness and that means only one thing: With Thanksgiving on approach and December holidays close behind, the food world’s officially drenched in pumpkin and the orangey, spicy forecast ain’t changing soon.

Does that bring glee to your pumpkin-lovin’ heart or is your palate on squash overload? If you thought cold-pressed juices were safe from flavors of da-spice, you’re wrong: At The Juice Standard, we get psyched each fall for the return of a few pumpkin-spicy menu treats (which you can read about here). But unlike lots of other p-based products on the market, when we say our sumpin’ sumpins have pumpkin, we really use pumpkin. As in, real 100 percent organic pumpkin puree.

The ingredients in our Harvest Spice Bee Invincible make for one kickin’ pumpkin latte thanks to our not-so-secret ingredient: Real, honestagoodness pumpkin. (Photo courtesy of TJS Kitchen Supervisor Giselle Caceres and Bee Grace Rincon)

Here’s why: Aside from being a dependable holiday flave in everything from coffee to ice cream, pumpkin’s one of the world’s oldest members of the produce family, dating to when Colonists were introduced to it after arriving in America (thank you, Native Americans). All it took was that first Thanksgiving to fall in love in love with its fleshy orange insides, and by the end of the century—when Colonists chatted up alllll the pumpkiny fun they’d have making pies and lattes standing strong with their new BFFs for their every joint-Thanksgiving to come (sorry, Native Americans)—pumpkin became the First Fruit of the New World. Right along with the corn we stole were gifted by our new friends.

Food history lesson aside, we use pumpkin because it tastes good. And, beecause…

  • vitamins A and C (for peepers and immunity)

  • beta carotene (also good for peepers)

  • fiber (for digestion and weight loss)

  • low-cal (49 per cup)

  • phytosterols (in the seeds, which reduces bad cholesterol)

  • carenotoids (for pretty skin)

  • troptophan (an amino acid that helps your gut produce smile-inducing seratonin)

  • potassium (more than a ‘nana; way less sugar)

Moral? Like we said in this month’s inbox e-newsie, maybe we oughtta cut pumpkin some slack and not whine so loud when the industry goes a little cray by adding it to anything that’s edible. It’s the foundation of Thanksgiving, after all, and dang if it cures a lot of what might ail you. We should show respect, and not just in November.

(And we know just where you can start….)

#KnowPumpkinKnowThanksgivingNoPumpkinNoThanksgiving

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TJS Juice Hacks: Hacks Are Where It’s At

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#ThinkOutsideTheBottle

Honestly? That’s what we want you to do. To think outside the box, er bottle. #RethinkWhatYouDrink. Take what you know about TJS products and deconstruct them juuuuust a little…Singleton by Singleton. Sip by sip.

Beecause a hack-is-a-hack-is-a-hack. And a hack (as we ‘splained in our cray-informative feature last month) is something you do in an effort to improve something…even if that “something” is you. You usually drink something cold? Warm it up! Steam it! Or do the reverse and order that Bee Invincible or Raw Cacao Mocha, throw it in the fridge and enjoy an icy treat whenever you’re ready.

Honestly, the possibilities are endless. But for this month’s purposes, we’re starting easy with a hack that anyone with a microwave (or a saucepan) can do…

Bee Royal Gets The Royal Treatment

Bee Royal. So much more than a cold, cold-pressed juice.

For as long as we can remember we’ve been lovin’ on the versatility of our Bee Royal.

Made from three delicious little ingredients—apple, lemon and extra ginger (and, yes: the Southern Nevada Health Department made us say “extra” since Royal’s got so much of-a da-spice…)—while this baby’s scrumptious cold, from the get-go, our bees have been…

• Heating this one up during cold-and-flu season

• Steaming it for a delicious non-caffeine warmer-upper drink, any time of year; and…

• Using it as a mixer in upleveled cocktails.

It’s a rare day that any of our juices or nutmilks are only used in one way. That’s why we wholly support hacking any and all of our offerings so you can get the most out of your purchases…not matter what time of year you buy (or sip).

Got some hacks of your own? We’ll be adding these in dribs and drabs to our social media and right there on these pages, so keep an eye out so your belly will be satisfied.

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Ingredient Spotlight: The Thrilla of Vanilla and its Sad Organic State

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Organic vanilla is having a moment, and unlike the actual Thrilla in Manila between prize scrappers Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, not much cheering will emerge from this story.

As of this writing, the world is massively short on organic vanilla beans, making them massively expensive. The cause? To understand…a short ag-lesson.

Similar to harvesting things like saffron threads and poppy seeds (not to be confused with milk of the poppy, for all Game Of Throners), vanilla beans are one of the most labor-intensive foods on the planet, according to this June 17 NPR feature. Orchids produce vanilla bean seeds, and if flowers are not naturally pollinated (and in some parts of the world they are not), pollination must be done by hand much like how U.S. crops have needed help from pollination farmers in light of the bee plight.

From pollinating, to harvesting, to soaking, to all kinds of other ing-verbs that have to happen to result in a vanilla bean being born, the months-long manual labor exceeds most expectations and leads to why vanilla is so damn ‘spensive. As a result, a whole lotta fake vanilla started being made under the not-so-crafty name “vanillin,” which smelled good yet tasted like bunk…but was so much cheaper than the real stuff, it was a way for butchers, bakers and vanilla-stuff makers to flavor their goods without going broke. But when more and more companies started opting for all-natural flavors, vanillin was out and vanilla was in…except that there haven’t been enough orchid plants to support the world’s craving for chocolate’s cousin.

Add to all the above an organic designation to the mix, and prices really skyrocket: In the last few years, it’s all but quadrupled.

#DilemmaOfVanillicPorportion

So, what’s The Juice Standard been doing about v-beaning products with the quality of vanilla you’ve come to depend on? In days of recent past, organic vanilla beans have been so hard to source, the only sub deemed suitable by Jamie and Marcella has been conventional vanilla beans (…beecause even liquid organic vanilla extract can’t compare to the warm depth lent by a bean, the whole bean and nothing but the bean).

“It was a difficult decision to switch to conventional, especially beecuase we have built a business whose cornerstone is using organic produce 100 percent of the time,” shares TJS Co-Founder and CEO Jamie Stephenson.

Nothing shows off our vanillovin’ like our nut milks, and Bee Magnificent is da vanillabomb.

“We felt, however, that we would be doing our clientele a bigger disservice by not providing the quality our products are known for—especially our creamy nut milks—beecause even we love seeing those floating vanilla-bean specs as we sip! That’s why after interviewing many of our customers, we learned they would rather we inform them of our choice to use conventional vanilla beans rather than simply discontinue product, or move to extract.

“We value 100 percent transparency…and clearly, our customers do, too.”

That said, last week, TJS caught a beany break when Jamie and Marcella found organic vanilla beans priced at 40 percent higher than typical organic pricing, but far less than recent costs for conventional vanilla beans. Course, the world’s still in a shortage, so TJS can only tap this source for six weeks until the farm we’ve partnered with runs out, too…but at least that’s six more weeks of vanilla bean specs as we’ve all grown accustomed.

Our point in all this sharing? Like Jamie says, TJS hearts transparency, and having these worldwide convos close to home is important in our adult understanding of where our food comes from, and it’s important if we wanna help the littletons in our lives to better understand why global warming; supply and demand; and taking care of Mama Nature is so important to the food we eat, too.

As for vanilla, we’re gonna keep bringing you the good stuff as long as we can. And when the big-O runs out, we’ll move to conventional for as long as it takes before we can get back on track. And as long as you can see those bitty brown flecks of goodness in every nut milk you open, know that we’re looking out for the best interest of your tastebuds, too…one nutritious sip at a time.

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Menu Update: Hot Cacaos To Fuel Your Fall

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So last month, Marcella’s Harvest Spice Bee Invincible got all kinds of crazy media props (it’s bomb) for containing natural pumpkin (take that, Schmarbucks). This month? She’s got a handful of new hot cacao bevvies that are brewin’ like you’ve never tasted before.

Didn’t think hot chocolate could be good and good for you? Organic, raw and delish? C’mon, now. Remember who you’re talking to here.

raw-cacao

SOME LIKE IT HOT

Like your chocolate with some sweet sassy heat? This one’s perfect for chilly Vegas days or nights and destined to be drunk by vegans and non-vegans alike.

Ingredients (all of which are organic):

  • Raw cacao powder
  • Raw agave
  • House-made cashew cream
  • Cayenne pepper

L’ORANGE CREAM CACAO

Wine, chocolate and certain liquors are often described as having notes of this and that…including citrus. In this holiday-inspired cacaoction, Marcella developed a healthful liquid throwback to the old Terry’s Chocolate Orange Balls found on many a holiday table this time of year.

All TJS hot cacao bevvies are made with the highest quality raw cacao.

Ingredients (again…as we say in our standards, we can’t source organic, we simply won’t serve it):

  • Raw cacao powder
  • Raw agave
  • House-made cashew cream
  • Orange extract* (this item isn’t raw, FYI)

CBD(C)

With the rollout of both these new cacao drinks and our CBD oil addition to menu, you had to see this coming….Now, these two great tastes will go great together since the flavorless oil can be added to up the ante of any espresso or cacao drink that TJS serves. (Though we think it blends particularly nice in this straight-up recipe.) Note: The CBD(C) is only available at our neighborhood stores and is not sold at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

Ingredients (organic, organic, blah-blah-blah…)

So here’s to the onset of the holiday season. Speaking of delicious balls (we were, weren’t we?), here’s a throwback to when John Francis Donaghy was blazing his acting path, pre-President Elect Donald Trump.

Take it away, Pete.

 

Ingredient Spotlight: CBD Oil

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What exactly is CBD oil and why should you add it to your diet? Below, the oil of cannabis excellentis is explained.

nevadamarijuana1-1-copyWhen this newsletter hits the e-presses, Nevada’s fingers-crossed legalization of the recreational use marijuana on Nov. 8 could mean widespread regulation of a substance already enjoyed by throngs of Las Vegans. (It would also come with a healthy 15 percent tax to go toward enforcing the letters of the law, and be earmarked for school improvement.) But the legalization would mean more than just having the right to toke up without needing a prescription.

What Question 2 Means To You

As evidenced by the media coverage in the last few years about cannabis as a treatment for cancer  and uncontrolled seizure activity, cannabinoids—aka, the name for some 85 components in cannabis that make weed, weed—have significant and proven health benefits…even for those of us without diagnoses as threatening as the ones just mentioned.

That last point is what’s most interesting to us here at The Juice Standard. Because it means Nevada’s answer to Question No. 2 could help change how many of us enhance our health with plants rather than meds made from them. And it could all start with the simple addition of a tasteless, odorless, colorless oil that when combined with foods you already love could add some pretty WHealthy™ bennies.

(Three guesses who’s gonna sell you this superfood upgrade, and the first two don’t count….)

WHealth™ Beyond Plain Weed

First…how do we know weed could even elicit such liquid gold? Research into our body’s endocannabinoid system started in earnest in the 1990s, when Raphael Mechoulam—a prof in the Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products department at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem—lasered in on chem relative to the bio-activity of natural products and medicinal agents. (Read more about him at the university’s website here.)

What did Mechoulam find? Not only do our miraculous bodies come pre-loaded with receptor sites designed specially to make good use of cannaboids, but we’re actually able to produce natural endocannabinoids similar to THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)…otherwise known as the The Most Well-Known Cannabinoid in Cannabinoidom, or the stuff in weed that can make us feel clear, calm, collected, soothed, and deeper into all of our perceptions.

That’s right, kids: Your bod just might’ve been made for marijuana.

plant

So About Our New Oil

Now that you Bees are up-to-speed on weed, now’s the time to get gushy about our newest menu addition.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of more than a dozen chemical compounds that affect cannabinoid receptors in the body, brain and nervous system. As mentioned, those receptors are tied into our endocannabinoid system…which is involved in a bunch of body processes like appetite; mood; memory; perception; how we feel and regulate pain; and maybe most important for long-term health…how our bodies regulate inflammation and immunity.

Enter CBD oil (also known as hemp oil). The Juice Standard’s new whole-plant CBD oil from the company 2Rise Naturals contains a whole-plant, all-spectrum hemp extract rich in phyto cannabinoids, omega 3s, terpenes, and chlorophyll. The oil is then combined with medium chain triglyceride oil (MCT) derived from coconuts, wild-crafted turmeric oil, and some other wicked good stuff. When mixed into our smoothies, juices, nut milks, and hot espresso or cacao drinks, CBD oil may very well help unlock the benefits of our endocannabinoid system. (At least that’s why we’re bringing it to you. Hopefully, next week…and only at our neighborhood stores, not at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.)

human-endocannabinoid-system

Annnnnd…How Will You Feel?

What CBD oil won’t do? Get you high. High in CBD and low in THC, CBD oil is often dosed out to reverse people’s ick feelings from having THC hit them the wrong way.

What CBD oil could do? Help relieve pain. Or, help you sleep. Or, possibly alleviate side effects from fibromyalgia; pain from migraines. Anxiety. Arthritis. Insomnia. And other things a doc could tell you.

IN Closing….

At TJS, we’re hopeful you’ll put your curiosity and desire for total WHealth™ and glowing self to the test and give our CBD oil a try. We’re equally hopeful that folks won’t let arrogance and ignorance cast aspersions on the benefits of cannabis at large. Because honestly, Bees? Red-wine bennies excluded, when was the last time you heard a doc prescribe a Manhattan to cure cancer?

#MissionNutrition

#FactsBeforeFallacy

#WeedForWHealth™

#StokedUpToTokeUp

The Functions of Superfood Mix-Ins

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Remember Dairy Queen, Bees? And those mix-ins? Good Lord, you could blitz up soft-serve ice cream with pretty much anything, turning it into an icy up of your very own whirly, swirly candy-filled fave.

Mmm, the good ol’ days.

Don’t go getting too nostalgic. Because what you were throwing into that little microbiome of yours sure as shootin’ wasn’t doing anything to raise your serotonin levels, or calm our nerves, or improve your digestion. Plenty of studies suggest that sugar’s basically the devil, no matter how good it tastes. But at The Juice Standard, you can relive a little of that mix-in nostalgia without shading yourself with guilt if you hit up any of the three TJS locations, order a smoothie, and then add some whole-food mix-ins to your meal…ones designed to up-level your health, one powder or potion at a time.

Here’s our cheat sheet of how to up the ante of your health (having a little fun in the process), sip after smoothie sip.

Avocado: A heart-healthy fat that adds a delicious creaminess to anything it’s mixed with. It’s also excellent for workout recovery by helping balance electrolytes; aid in muscle activity, nerve function and maintaining a healthy metabolism; and it’s excellent for taming inflammation.

Bee Pollen: A plant-based protein filled with vitamin Bs and essential amino acids that when taken regularly can help boost immunity to local allergens. Plus, all those Bs (vitamins, that is), help keep stress at bay.

Bee Pollen

Chia Seeds: This phytonutrient-filled, high-quality plant protein is rich in antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, iron, calcium, and zinc. It’s a great way to add extra protein to pretty much anything that hits it.

chia seeds

Coconut Oil: The answer to what seems to be everything (Wanna take off makeup? Coconut oil! Wanna whiten teeth? Coconut oil!), this darling of the health world really is all that. This anti-bacterial, thyroid-boosting, metabolism-enhancing healthy fat is high in lauric and medium-chain fatty acids, which means it’s easily digested and converted to energy.

Coconut Yogurt: A tasty, protein-rich alternative to diary yogurt so good you won’t miss the cow, goat or other version.

Flax Seeds: Rich in vitamin B1, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and manganese, flax seeds can also help lower cholesterol and regulate glucose levels. Add them ground up to your smoothie (…you won’t even taste it).

flax seeds

Ghee: Clarified butter with a slightly nutty flavor and a robust nose unlike butter, yet rich and delicious like butter. Along with grassfed butter or coconut oil, we offer ghee as an addition to our Bee Invincible (our version of buttered or “Bulletproof®” coffee).

Hemp Seeds: Yet another highly digestible plant protein. This one helps improve muscle performance, stamina and recovery, and it’s rich in omega-3s and 6s as well as GLA and vitamin E. Could this be your exercise routine’s BFF? Maybe.

L.O.V.E. Whole-food supplement*: This portion powder is a wholefood super meal made by a company called Purium. We recommend adding it to any smoothie since it’ll truly turn one into a meal.

Maca: Earlier in the year we ran a great piece about the beeauty of this beeautiful little adaptogen. Read about it here. (For a shortcut? It’s a libido- and energy-inducing powder that kinda tastes like malt, so it tastes great in pretty much anything that’s creamy. Nut milk, anyone?)Maca-pulber-mahe

Matcha: The ground green tea leaf, the whole ground green tea leaf and nothing but the whole ground green tea leaf! Powerful, potent and highly antioxidant, matcha has a grassy, earthy flavor and is supreme at keeping up your energy without coffee’s typical jitters.matcha

Nutritional Yeast: A delicious vegetarian source of vitamin B12 that’s high in protein, folic acid and fiber. Often added to salads and savory foods for the way it mimics parmesan cheese.

Powershake: A superfoods blend by Purium, the same company that provides us with the L.O.V.E. whole-food supplement.

Raw, Local Honey: Like its bee pollen cousin, raw local honey is anti-microbial, and can help boost immunity to local allergens.

Spirulina: A high-quality, plant-based protein loaded with energizing chlorophyll which helps oxygenate our blood.

Stack of spirulina algae powder isolated on white background

Collagen: An amino acid that’s protein-rich and good for brain activity and beauty.

Note: All of our add-ins are $1.50 (with the exception of the collagen which is $3.50). The brand we use is from grass-fed bovine and it’s non-GMO…so as always, you can feel good about what you’re getting once you walk through our doors.

 

Adaptogen Abounds: Much Ado About Maca

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By virtue of our name, The Juice Standard is a juicery…but if you haven’t explored our whole menu–maybe even dabbled in our “chewables,” too—you’re missing out. Especially on our smoothies. Co-founder, COO and mum of three, Marcella Williams, is kinda the unofficial Smoothie Maven in these parts because she’s deft at creating some kickass combos that are so much more than bananas blitzed in a Vitamix. And one of the things the TJS smoothie menu loves to rely on is its “superfood upgrades”…a list of more than a dozen powders, seeds and greens that up the nutritional ante of any smoothie you choose to sip.

adaptogen

Now, amid TJS’s list of superfood upgrades is an add-in that’s growing in popularity thanks to companies like Moon Juice and Healthworks making it more available for home consumption: Maca. Maca is a special little somthin’ known in the health world as an “adaptogen”—a plant, root or herb that when introduced to the body it “adapts” to what the body needs. And when we talk about how maca adapts to what the body needs, it soothes the things that put stress on us. Anxiety. Inflammation. Lagging energy. Stuff that happens to us, but not stuff we want.

A Little About Adaptogens

Because they come from nature, adaptogens work with our insides to soothe and normalize us without meds or chems. They’re recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a real thing in the herbal medicine world, and some folks who are sensitive to medications (or just choose to steer clear) integrate adaptogens into their diet to either right a wrong that’s going on, or stay their already healthy self.

There’s a goodly list of ‘gens that do everything from energize (American Ginseng and reishi) to immunize (cordyceps) to calm us the eff down (ashwagandha). Filled with amino acids and key vitamins like B and E, maca’s benefits brilliantly tow the line as a combatant of more than a few stressors, making it an excellent addition to your diet if you want to better deal with life’s typical ups and downs. (Though key point here: As you know, we here at TJS  aren’t medical professionals, nor did we stay at a Holiday Inn last night or any nights of recent past. So any time you introduce something into your diet, do what we do and do it with great care or under a healthcare advocate’s watchful eye).

More About Maca

So back to magnificent maca. How doth it tow? It can be good for…

  • Coping with stress
  • Normalizing anxiety
  • Decreasing menstrual symptoms
  • Energy and stamina performance (and apply that to annnnny activity you wish)

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It’s that last benefit that TJS particularly loves…especially our Smoothie Maven. “I clearly like maca because it enhances the libido…and I’m a Libido Lover!”

Right on, Marcella! Course she’s talking about The Juice Standard’s newest menu addition, the Libido Lover smoothie (which you can learn more about by clicking here). It’s just one in our menu’s lineup that contains this mystical, malty powder. Along with the Libido Lover’s other ingredients (alkaline water, cashews, cacao powder and nibs, banana, dates, avocado and mint), the smoothie’s secret weapon is the maca that can help give you energy and, er, “flow” in all the right places. Plus, it plays super nice with chocolate, coffee and vanilla flavors thanks to maca’s slightly sweet caramel notes. At home, experiment adding a teaspoon to steaming cups of creamy hot raw cacao or “Bulletproof”coffee; milkshakes or frappes; or even top your chia seed puddings, oatmeals and cereals. Better yet, upgrade your fave summertime dessert the old-old-old Newport Creamery way and make it a Dusty Sundae. (Holla to our ice cream-eating, East Coast readers.)

Adaptogen? AdaptoTHIS…and enhance your diet with maca, one of nature’s many culinary, restorative gifts that giveth as much as you taketh.

Hydrate WHealthfully with TJS Cold-Pressed Juice

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hydrate with cucumbersWe totes hate to sound like your mom, here but hydration is beeyond imperative for good health. It’s good for the skin, it’s good for maintaining body weight, it’s good for facilitating digestion, and it’s especially important as the temps rise on us during our beloved spring and summertime outdoor activity. (And that last one is especially important in the desert of Nevada.)

But for as much as mag articles and health professionals talk about hydration, there are still some misnomers about it. Truth be told, it’s not only about slogging enough H2O. There are good ways to hydrate…and even better ways to hydrate. The best way to do it is to implement plant-based water. And the best way to learn about it is straight from our resident lover of all-things Touting the Juicy Holy Grail, our co-founder Jamie Stephenson.

In a recent request for info for an L.A. Times article, Jamie had this to share about how to hydrate WHealthfully:

In the bloodstream, there are minerals called electrolytes that keep our brains, muscles and organs functioning well. Too much water but not enough electrolytes can be as dangerous as not enough water. TJS’s organic, daily-made, cold-pressed juices are essentially reverse-osmosis plant water…aka, ‘sunshine water in a bottle.’ The rain falls from the sky onto mineral-rich earth; the plants’ root systems suck up moisture and minerals to their leaves; and we press out that liquid for you to drink. The vitamins and minerals (and everything else that’s good for us in plants and produce) are far more effective in their bioavailability than any supplement because they’re not been denatured in any way. With our juice…nutrition and hydration go straight from the plant into a convenient glass bottle to your thirst-quenched lips! 

hydrated appleSomething else of high import to remember (and this goes for no matter where you live) is that gauging your hydration levels can be hard when you’re active…and it can be especially hard to judge hydration in littletons as they get their outdoor play on. We’re not medical professionals, nor did we stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but we do want to share the common-sense knowledge that summer is a prime time to watch for heat stroke signs.

Headaches, weakness, dizziness, and even cramps, nausea or vomiting can all be precursors to heat stroke. And even more important to remember is this: By the time heat stroke actually hits, the skin presents with less sweat, and more red, hot and dry skin. Over-active breathing and heart rate are also signs that can be mistaken for the normal reactions to activity…but all of it is heat-stroke related and requires immediate attention.

Our point in all of this? Drink more plant water! And while we tout the bennies of cooling veggies like cucumber and watermelon, the truth is, all plant water is beeyond good for you. So to maintain your safety and your body’s optimum levels, during warm weather (and any weather), keep the liquids coming. Beecause we are what we think and we are what we drink!

Facts About Fructose

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If you’ve read this blog; met Jamie and Marcella and heard them wax poetic about health; or if you’ve visited any TJS location in person and have talked ingredients with our Bees beehind the counters, you know that no matter the health concern, we beelieve there’s a healing juice for everything that needs some healing. That’s why whenever we hear folks bestowing green juice with bountiful accolades (which it deserves) and poo-pooing juice with some fruit in it (which they shouldn’t), we worry. We worry, because fruit being considered “unhealthy” couldn’t and shouldn’t be further from the truth.

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TJS juices do contain naturally derived fructose—also known as “fruit sugar”—and when consumed in mass quantities, like everything else in life, too much can certainly cause harm. But all TJS juices are in fact healthy (assuming you maintain a healthy lifestyle in the first place).

How?

1) According to this journal article by the National Institutes of Health (and others), we  humans were born to detect sweetness…so to some extent, we probably shouldn’t defy nature, right? Our tongues have receptors all over the place that get great pleasure from a drippy bite of watermelon, the sweet-tart pop of ripe berries or the crunch of a crisp apple. And all of that makes indulging in fruit—like, for instance, a chewy date—just as satisfying and so much more healthful than opting for a processed candy bar.

2) Fructose or not, fresh, unprocessed fruit is filled with vitamins, minerals and nutrients. In moderation, fresh fruit is as healthful as it is satisfying.

3) For folks with metabolic issues or conditions that require living in a high-calorie world, TJS’s fruit-forward juices provide a perfect balance of healthy calories and nutrition by serving up two-to-three pounds of produce in every bottle…along with the absorbable vitamin and mineral bennies that come from lovin’ on your fruit.

4) All it takes is 15 minutes (or fewer) for the blood to start absorbing nutrients without having to break down and digest fibrous food to get to the goods. And that makes cold-pressed juice a huge help to people with diabetes, or anyone else with a condition that requires quickly raising sugar levels because the body absorbs juice so fast.

Cold-pressed Juice with Fruit In It: 1

Haters: 0

chill watermelonWith all this fruit love, let’s dial it back to the green stuff for a sec so we can remember something important:

TJS’s lowest-sugar juices—ones that are mostly vegetable?—can equally be a part of someone’s healthy diet for the way they won’t send someone down an unhealthy path thanks to their low fructose content.

So, see? TJS juice proffers a win-win for everyone. Every TJS juice is beneficial. And if you’re an otherwise healthy person, the calories and healthy fat in a full bottle of nut milk is never going to be like the calories in a burger, either.

Calories are calories. But for sure, some choices are better than others.