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  • March 25, 2023
You are here: Home / Archives for Just Fo' Men

Is TJS Kitchen Manager Shad MacDonald Our ‘King Bee?’

December 3, 2015 By Jen Chase

ShadBeeauty. It’s logically the first thing we seeing beeings notice about a person, but it’s decidedly not skin deep and hardly a way to judge someone. Yet a lesser soul giving TJS’s Shadrach MacDonald a sideways glance might dismiss his intricate facial tattoos (the kind worn by New Zealand’s wholehearted Māori people) as some weirdo thing that makes MacDonald something he’s not. Uneducated? Scary, maybe? A punk? Fill in the blank.

If they did judge, that lesser soul would be the loser…and not in the snarky sense, but in the truest. They’d lose out on getting to know the passion, ingenuity and heart behind MacDonald’s ink; ink he tenderly chose to face the world with to honor the people he’d met as a boy and marveled at. And it’s MacDonald’s heart that The Juice Standard (TJS) co-founder and CEO Jamie Stephenson was drawn to when they met.

“His clear eyes,” says Stephenson. “When I hired him, that’s what I saw. He’s our artist. And when I think of him, and how he works with us, I think of the word ‘synergistic.’ I’ve been working with some of the team for year, and to have the ability to have a group of people working in a 660-square-foot-kitchen—smiling and laughing—he’s just a synergistic, creative force. He’s wonderful.”

alarm

Since MacDonald manages TJS’s daily 5 a.m. juice and nut milk pressing, does that synergy go straight into your Singletons? If you beelieve that energy transmutes from one place to another—if his vibes are in our juice—we’re a lucky hive to have MacDonald among our King Bees.

Since We Opened With The Tattoos…

“I got them when I was barely 18,” says MacDonald of his tā moko tattoos. Calling the Māori some of the nicest people you’ll meet (“if you’re walking, and their door is open, they will invite you to sit at their table to eat with them”) MacDonald was a rare youth propelled toward body art to emulate, not retaliate.

With swirls, dots and lines even more pronounced than his eyes, MacDonald “practiced” being in public with facial stencils to gauge how people would react. “They’re what everyone calls a ‘job killer’,” he says lightly.

Undeterred, at Chicago’s Harold Washington College, if professorial inclination was to prejudge, it was squelched by MacDonald’s academic creds: dean’s list; Phi Theta Kappa; a major in addiction studies, and a minor in psychology.

phi theta kappa

“I’ll be the first to tell you that people judge you every day,” he says of his tattoos. But they’re not a regret. Not even close.

Talents That Surprise Behind Those Eyes

Renaissance man

Hello…from one Renaissance man to another.

“Lots of people are surprised I’ve golfed since I was 4 and that [members] of my family are junior-pro or pro-[amateur],” shares MacDonald, who the day of this interview was enjoying quiet time at the home he shares with longtime friend and love, Rowan.

“I was a contractor for a while…a plumber, a carpenter. I’m a certified forklift operator. We owned our own bike-rebuilding company, and we turned it into [rebuilding] motorcycles and cars. It’s just one of those things where I feel guys should be able to do this stuff.”

All that Renaissance man stuff has in fact come in handy at TJS, where co-founders Stephenson and COO Marcella Williams marvel at his tackling everything from screwy plumbing to resealing floors. “Working on stuff—breaking stuff and rebuilding stuff—is pretty much what I’d rather be doing than watching TV or playing video games.”

Ask Not What TJS Can Do For You…

Along with Williams and Stephenson, MacDonald’s the guy you want in the TJS kitchen. He’s a master recipe developer who loves learning from the ladies the health bennies of different fruits and vegetables, and then tinkering with ingredients to create the new bites and sips you Bees have come to love. And from homemade kimchi and coming-soon hummus and tahini sauces to alchemizing the company’s juice pulp—ALL that pulp!—into WHealthy™ pastries and muffins, MacDonald’s previous kitchen manager/sous chef experience garnered in Chicago and California restaurants is put to delicious use, daily.

Kimchi

As you read this newsletter, Shad’s kimchi ferments away in a secret, undisclosed location, preparing itself to be eaten for your dining pleasure.

What Free Time?

MacDonald and Rowan prefer nights at home tinkering in the kitchen (he cooks her breakfast and lunch every day, and by night they cook together…natch) and hikes suggested by fellow avid hikers Williams and Stephenson. Whether he’s working on menus and juice recipes or playing Mr. Fixit around the store, for MacDonald, “It’s nice to have an entire group of people working [together]. It’s nice to have all of their knowledge….I am truly blessed to be a part of the TJS family.”

Filed Under: Just Fo' Men, Lifestyle, Who Are The Bees In Our Hive? Tagged With: Profile Shad MacDonald, Shad MacDonald kitchen manager The Juice Standard, Shad MacDonald Las Vegas renaissance man, Who Are The Bees In Our Hive Shad MacDonald

Crafty ‘Juicetails’ For Father’s Day

June 3, 2015 By Jen Chase

He may have said, “Don’t play with your food!” but we’re pretty sure if Dad saw these playful juice-based cocktails in the offing it would’ve been more like, “Fill-er up, Kiddo!”  

The Juice Standard was psyched back in April when Vegas Seven magazine’s Xania Woodman paired her mixology smarts with a TJS Singleton Six-Pack to concoct some luscious libations. It wasn’t the first time we had some Seven love. That was here back in 2013. But Ms. Woodman had the good graces to write about her tasty exploits here  and for that we’re grateful. So for your free press (boom!) and your delicious suggestions, Ms. Woodman…we salute you beecause you juice.

But now it’s June, Bees, and this month we’re featuring our own cocktalian machinations to honor the gents in our lives who’ve gone out of their way to show us what being a real man is all about. And while we love the Dad bod as much as the next bee, for the pops trying to keep it (healthy) real while indulging in all that’s deliciously sacred in this world alcohol, beehold…TJS Juicetails for Dad’s Day. Drink up, sweet men.


 

The Bee On Vacay

...By far the healthiest piña colada you'll ever make, and the easiest vacation-in-a-glass a Dad'll ever take.

…By far the healthiest piña colada you’ll ever make, and the easiest vacation-in-a-glass a Dad’ll ever take.

Spirulina’s grassy quality in TJS’ Bee Excellent lends some pretty interesting depth (and health) to what would be an otherwise calorie-laden riff on a piña colada. Please: Don’t skimp on the lime zest topper. Makes a difference. And for God’s sake, ain’t Dad worth it? 

Makes 1 drink.

Ingredients

  • ¾ ounce coconut rum (Trader Vics’ is coconutty and not too sweet)
  • 1 ounce TJS’ Bee Excellent nut milk, chilled
  • ½ tablespoon fresh organic lime juice
  • Lime zest to garnish

Method

In a shaker with ice, combine the rum, Bee Excellent and lime juice, shake vigorously, and pour over a short glass filled with ice. Using a microplane, gently grate the skin of a washed organic lime. Take care to only grate green and avoid the white pith.

Bee On Vacay. Don't skimp on the zest. It makes it. Really.

Bee On Vacay. Don’t skimp on the zest. It makes it. Really.

 



Frozen Mexican Haute Chocolate

Creamy, cold, spicy, sweet...complexity at its best, just like Dad.

Creamy, cold, spicy, sweet…complexity at its best, just like Dad.

Papa gotta sweet tooth? Papa like a little Mexican? Kids love TJS’ Bee Happy but it goes to a whole new level with some heat and spice. And alcohol. Patrón XO Café Incendio is the brand’s latest baby that mixes rich chocolate flavor with ancho chili. Not for the faint hearted, if you like-a da spice, add more Patrón. Too hottt-with-three-Ts to handle? Add more nut milk. Easy peasy.

Makes 1 drink.

Ingredients

  • ½ ounce Patrón Incendio
  • 1.5 ounces TJS’ Bee Happy nut milk, chilled
  • One pinch each cardamom and allspice (optional)
  • Freshly ground black pepper for garnish (optional)

Method

In a shaker with ice, combine the tequila, Bee Happy and spices (if using), shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds, and pour into a chilled martini glass. Top with a grind of freshly ground black pepper, or serve and sip as-is.

Like with the Bee On Vacation's lime zest, adding a sprinkle of spice or the suggested grind of black pepper keeps this drink way interesting.

Like with the Bee On Vacay’s lime zest, adding a grind of black pepper keeps this drink way interesting.

 


The Buzz-Inga

Chocolate and coffee are two great tastes that taste great together, but if Dad likes his coffee straight up, swap out Bee Happy for Bee Magnificent or Bee I'm Possible.

Chocolate and coffee are two great tastes that taste great together, but if Dad likes his coffee straight up, swap out Bee Happy for Bee Magnificent or Bee I’m Possible.

Kahlua? We hardly knew ya. TJS staff at The Hive and The Rose suggest adding espresso to nut milks for added energy, but seriously…energy never tasted this good! Patrón steps it up with its XO Café, a coffee-laden liqueur that’s great on its own but better in chocolatey Bee Happy. If Dad likes his coffee straight up, sub Happy for something more vanilla-y like Bee Magnificent or Bee Legendary. 

Makes 1 drink.

Ingredients

  • 1 ounce Patrón XO Café
  • 2 ounces Bee Happy (for mocha) or Bee Magnificent or Bee Legendary (for coffee)

Method

Similar to the Frozen Mexican Haute Chocolate, in a shaker with ice, combine the tequila and your nut milk of choice and shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds. Pour into a chilled martini glass, and serve.


 

The Bee WHealthy™ Cocktail

There's a ton of play in this recipe, so take Dad's palate into consideration and experiment since variety is the spice of life (said every dad, everywhere).

There’s a ton of play in this recipe, so take Dad’s palate into consideration and experiment since variety is the spice of life (said every dad, everywhere…or maybe just mine). Love you, Daddy!

Martini purists loathe fancy-schmancy takes on the classic martini, so whatever you do, don’t just throw stuff in a shaker and call it something it’s not. This, Bees, is a cocktail, and a forgiving one at that. Use the recipe as a guideline, but tweak to your palate toward more vodka, juice, bitters, or anything else that tickles Dad’s fancy.

Makes 1 drink.

Ingredients

  • Equal parts best-quality vodka (we like Tito’s and Ketel one) and TJS Bee WHealthy™

Optional add-ins:

  • Dash celery salt
  • Fee Brothers Old Fashioned Aromatic Bitters or Angostura Bitters
  • Fee Brothers Lemon bitters
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Dash Tabasco sauce, chipotle version

Method

In a shaker with ice, combine the vodka, Bee WHealthy™ and your choice of add in and shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds. Pour a sip into a glass and adjust for taste before serving in a chilled martini glass.

Original recipes by TJS Content Director Jen Chase.

Filed Under: DIY, Food+Drink, Ingredients, Just Fo' Men, Lifestyle, Menus, Recipes, Vegan-Vegetarian Tagged With: best cocktails with Juice in Henderson, best cocktails with juice in Las Vegas, Best juicetails in Las Vegas, cooking with juice, juice cocktails, juice recipes, The Juice Standard for Father's Day, TJS Father's Day, TJS juicetails

Well hello there, Beeautiful Juicer!

The Humble Bee is the lifestyle blog of The Juice Standard (TJS), Las Vegas' premiere cold-pressed juicery and pressers of supreme nut milks, sublime superfood smoothies, and the healthiest, most delicious espresso drinks in all the Las Vegas land, and a rad chewing menu that'll keep you chompa-chomp-chomping on bites as good as our sips.

Beyond sharing mad pride in our products (...beecause shameless, er, "wholehearted" self-promotion hurt a successful company never), you're invited to visit early and often for some advising, some opining, some educating, and some laughing as we explore how raw, fresh, cold-pressed juice and mindful living can help us take charge of our WHealth™ and glowing self...one healthy sip, one healthy thought at a time.

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