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Menu Update: New You? Noö Nectar.

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“Nature meets neuroscience” is the party line from the noöest menu item The Juice Standard is offering for the way it’s designed to increase cognitive function, nudge neurological synapses and boost energy so we can bee the creative machines we were meant to be! (Or at the very least, to live-work-play-parent like the badasses we are with energy left to spare.)

Noö Nectar contains a combination of carefully curated brain enhancers—”nootropics“—to help the body operate optimally. Specifically, these four key neurotransmitters (plus a lot of other stuff):

  • Dopamine
  • Norepinephrine
  • Epinephrine
  • Acetylcholine

It’s important to note that a big component to the nectar’s mix includes a mass amount of vitamin Bs. If you’re noö to liquid Bs, be aware that high doses of ’em can lead to some pretty immediate skin flushing, tingling, itching, or nausea if they’re taken on an empty stomach. And while the Noö Nectar recommendation is to ingest on an empty tum-tum, you might need to fill your belly with food, first.

The potion is delivered via a 1.7-ounce bottle that’s meant to be split into two swigs a day (though some folks who are noö to noötropics may do better spreading a bottle across two days).

At TJS we’re selling this $5/shot (Remember: One shot can be a two-day dose if that better suits your system.)

Bees, if you glean nothing else from this little update, simply do this: Run from fakemeout vitamin and biohacking boosters and toward this noö treat at our stores.

(And for the record, this “noö” spelling stuff doesn’t get old. In fact it’s noö. Soooo very noö.) Wink.

 

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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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Ingredient Spotlight: MCT Oil=Superfood for a Super Summer

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Hiya, Bees!

So, since we’ve still got another month left of Summer 2017, who doesn’t want a lil’ more energy for work and play? Right: No one…and precisely why we’re highlighting a superfood upgrade that is continuing The Juice Standard’s juicy journey toward #MissionNutrition (and #HellaFunDaysAndNights), by being a naturally occurring energy source that can be seamlessly—tastily!—added to any of our juices, smoothies, nut milks, and hot cacao and specialty espresso drinks.

(And even if the mere thought of a hot bevvie makes you sweat, for the days when your office AC is JACKed…you’ll thank us for this. You really will.)

For years, NOW has been a popular entry-level brand for folks dipping their toe in wellness waters.

MCT oil is clear and flavorless, and can be added to everything from beverages to salad dressings (seriously: sub out your olive or flax oil at home with one of the brands we mention at the end). MCT stands for “medium-chain triglycerides”—also referred to as “medium chain fatty acids”—and to fully appreciate TJS making MCT oil an available upgrade, we’re gonna vegucate you a little about different fatty acids and how they can benefit our health.

All Fats Are Not Equal

Fats are classified as one of three types depending on their chemical structure:

  1. Short-chain (meaning the fat has a structure with five or fewer carbon atoms);
  2. Medium-chain (the fat has six to 12 carbons); and
  3. Long chain (it contains more than 12 carbons).

Now. When we’re talking MCTs, there are four types:

  1. Caproic acid (abbreviated as “C6” which means it has six carbons);
  2. Caprylic acid (C8);
  3. Capric acid (C10); and
  4. Lauric acid (C12).

Truth? All you need to know is that the fewer carbons in an MCT, the faster the carbons are absorbed by the body. We’ll explain why that’s important next.

So…Why Fatty Acids? And Will They Gimme Me A Fatty A(ss)cid?

(Cute.)

Well: It’s all about energy, Bees! When digested, fatty acids are used as energy…and what dictates how our bods break down fat is the fatty acid’s structure.

Most dietary fats that comprise standard American diet are long-chain triglycerides, and because of the many carbons in a long-chain triglyceride, our body has to do some hard w-e-r-k to digest it. But that’s where the awesomeness of MCT oil comes into play:

MCTs’ fewer carbons mean our body can break down the fatty acids fast…allowing them to passively diffuse from our GI tract to our bloodstream where our liver converts them to energy really quickly.

The Amazing Metabolization of MCTs (And Other Cool Bennies)

Bonus? Instead of metabolizing through digestion (like other fats), MCTs are taken straight to the liver where they act similarly to carbohydrates by providing instant and sustainable energy. But it’s not just the energy you get that’s interesting. MCTs improve blood sugar regulation (yay!), improve metabolism (especially fat metabolism), they may improve thyroid function, and they improve appetite regulation.

The most common whole-food source of MCTs is coconut oil: About 65 percent of its fatty acids are considered medium-chain. Palm kernel oil and full-fat dairy are two other food sources of medium-chain triglycerides. But nothing says energy-lovin’’ like a pure MCT oil, and that’s what TJS is bringing you.

Enjoying MCT Oil at TJS

Wanna feel the effects for yourself? Ever hear of the Bulletproof® coffee phenomenon? It’s a riff off an ages-old Tibetan drink called “yak butter tea” that uses yak butter the way Westerners use typical dairy in our coffee. (Tibetans have more yaks than cows so they turn yak milk into butter…butter that can be kept shelf stable for up to a year if wrapped properly.)

“Buttered coffee” became all the rage when a bee named Dave Asprey researched the tea he tried on a Tibetan trek. After understanding the energy it gives Tibetans living and working the land in high altitudes, he learned that yak butter tea is super high in—say it with us—MCTs. Once back in the United States, to mimic the Tibetan drink’s health bennies he combined a serving of freshly brewed coffee with a tablespoon of coconut oil (which you now know is high in MCTs and lauric acid and rootin’-tootin’ tasty). He also added a tablespoon of grass-fed butter or ghee (close cousin to that yak butter…and, very tasty) to create “buttered coffee.” When you blitz it all up in a high-speed blender, the coffee froths like a latte. And it’s just as creamy, without the dairy.

It’s true: From chocolatey cacao drinks to espressos (even all our icy sips), MCT oil can go into any of ’em.

There’s a lot of info on the Internets about how the oils combine with coffee’s caffeine to slowly release energy rather than in a typical surge or crash. TJS’s Bee Invincible is Marcella’s own riff off Bulletproof® Coffee, but for a super-simple recipe without sweeter or cashew cream, add a tablespoon of our MCT oil to your coffee and we’ll blitz it up for you. It’s also terrific in smoothies.

Seriously: Especially in coffee, you’ll be rewarded with an effect you WILL feel—and the feel will be like there’s rocket fuel in your system. And really, who doesn’t want that?

Curious? Try our MCT oil. We think you’ll be glad you did.

Insider Intel

Curious about MCT oil but aren’t sure where to begin? There’s a lot on the market. Here are a few to check out:

• This brand has been ’round for ages and the price point is usually friendly.

• This is Asprey’s “octane oil” that he sells for your cuppa. We’ve sampled it, and it’s as colorless and odorless as the rest.

• Whole Foods’ trusted 365 brand jumped into the market last year. It’s pretty much avail across the country, now.

Shout Out to TJS Manager Bean Ream for handily helping us compile this MCT goodness!

 

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TJS News: Our Year In Review

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Haters gonna hate, Bees, but if you know The Juice Standard, you know that’s not our jam.

Peaks and valleys prevailed in 2016, for sure…but in these early new-year’s days of self reflection, we’re unabashedly proud of what we accomplished last year, and most of it had to do with your support.

How? Think about it: Like plants, puppies and our BFF’s endless obsesh with Wentworth, things grow when they’re fed. And as with those three awesome things, thanks to your passion and pride for TJS products made from 100 percent organic produce (and our team’s dedication to ensuring everything you sip and chew is as delish and delish can be), when you’ve wanted more, we’ve given more.

Simba. Mufasa. It’s the circle of life, Bees.

In the opening of one of the articles in December’s newsletter we hinted at our inception story. And because we can be suckers for those TV retrospectives that kick off a new year, here’s a glimpse of what went down the TJS way last year in hopes it’ll tantalize you to stick with us as we bloom and blossom in 2017.

 

January

In the first clip of the year, the Las Vegas Review Journal included TJS in its roundup of juiceries to celebrate Fresh Squeezed Juice Week (which this year falls on Jan. 23, so get ready). Also in January, we lifted the cone of silence on what had been worked on for months: the makings of a new TJS at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. February was shaping up to be a stellar month….

February

Yep: February brought the opening of The Buzz—what we affectionately call our location at The Cosmopolitan. Seemed like a fantasy—bringing cold-pressed juice to the Strip that was pressed that very morning at 5 a.m.—and in short order we were totally welcomed by the morning crowd, pool crowd and Marquee crowd looking to imbibe a little differently.

In February we also got a little shout out from Al Mancini at Vegas Seven for something we hold near and dear: TJS’s shots and how amazeballs they are at fighting the cold and the flu. (I mean we know this stuff, but having it promoted by others is bomb.) And for something totally fun and different, our co-founder and CEO Jamie Stephenson was a guest on this rockin episode of the Downtown Podcast (which you can enjoy on YouTube).

Proud? The way she commanded that stage? You bet. Look at her.

March

March marked a few shifts for TJS, especially in the kind of info we decided we wanted to bring to you, our bees.

For starters, we used our newsletter space “From The Humble Bee” to explain our shift toward calling our juice cleanses juice fasts, instead.  (Don’t remember? Read about it here.) And March marked our first time delving into what at the time seemed like a relatively quiet convo that was mostly taking place behind closed doors.

Bathroom doors.

In Poo and You, through great graphics and straight talk we edged toward making our gut-health—and the ever-present notion that what goes in must come out and it shouldn’t be embarrassing when it does—seem not so taboo.

TJS also got its first national press hit (thank you MasterCard™) when we were recognized as a notable juicery in the increasingly WHealthy™ city of Las Vegas (#ItTakesAHive) along with friend Shane Stuart, now the owner and founder of Panacea.

It was a good month.

April

April was big for one delicious reason: TJS started hyping the cold-pressed cocktails launched and served at The Buzz at The Cosmopolitan (and only at The Cosmopolitan). In the piece Less Is More, we announced that from April on, bees looking to marry taste and WHealth™ could do it with cocktails made from the most luscious mixers on the Strip: our made-fresh-daily juices and nut milks pressed from 100 percent organic produce.

  

May

May brought us a chance for members of the TJS Team—founders Marcella Williams and Jamie Stephenson; TJS’s Creative Director Mallory Dawn; and Content Director Jen Chase—to shine a light of mother-lovin’ love on the women who helped shape us in this, the first, first-person narrative feature in our newsletter. We used the feature We Are Motherlovers to also salute the Las Vegas mums who choose to make TJS a part of their parenting prowess.

June-July-August

Despite its rich pool life, summer in Las Vegas is the slowest of the seasons beecause it’s so damn hottt, so our focus was on maintaining calm, coolness and getting the hell outta dodge. The calm was introducing you all to maca, one of our fave adaptogens; Juicing Across The Map showed off where we like to go for juice when the going gets steamy in the city; and our Summertime Slimdown gave you the skinny on how to stay just that by chewing and sipping your way through our menu.

And beecause Vegas is nothing if not built on the ol’ “and-not-or” concept, to create a little party-esque buzz of our own, August brought us our first ever Customer Appreciation Night, where we served sips and bites and had Daniel Park play for all to enjoy.

September

Two words were the highlight of September: Robin Leach. (Okay, five: Robin Leach and Marcella Williams.)

Every summer, Mr. Leach travels to faraway lands leaving his column space in the Las Vegas Review-Journal open for hand-picked space fillers. Last year it was Jamie. This summer, Marcella revealed her touching come-to-juicing story by way of motherhood in this first-person narrative all about her.

We also got our first Thrillist hit thanks to prolific Vegas writer Rob Kachelriess, and we were thrilled that the beeautiful-in-and-out Ms. Andrea Bennett at Vegas magazine sought TJS fit to add to her list of ways to #DetoxBeforeRetox in Las Vegas. #Proud.

Even more pride-worthy was the massive overhaul to the TJS chewable menu which now features avo-breads, updated chia seed puddings and more plant-based sweet treats that help balance your desires for food that tastes good while it’s doing good.

It was a super-good summer.

October-November-December

Fall is one of the most amazing food-and-drink times in Las Vegas, beecause creative culinarians and mixologists like Marcella and her Bee Team have to balance our near-intrinsic humanoid bent toward fall’s root veggies, warm spices and pumpkin-all-the-time ‘tude no matter how temperate the weather stays.

This fall marked the return of last year’s Harvest Spice Bee Invincible; a host of delicious hot cacao drinks that blow the tops off conventional hot chocolate; and with the legalization of marijuana, we juice-u-cated you bees about the benefits of CBD oil…our most recent superfood upgrade that can now be added to juices, nut milks, cacaos, and espresso drinks, at both of our neighborhood stores.

The end of December brought other clips, too. Jamie and Marcella were invited to be interviewed for the venerable business e-newsie published by Crain’s where they shared an experience in small-business ownership (a BFD for women in a predominantly male-oriented pub). And Women’s Health magazine highlighted TJS as a great tool to have in your toolbox for staying fit in Las Vegas.

So, yes: It was an amazing year of firsts…new stores, new menu items, new courage to lean into the hard discussions, new partnerships, and new friends.

Honestly, sitting down with a calendar and reflecting like this, month by month, is something we all can do when we need a gut check about our accomplishments…and it doesn’t always have to be in January. Large companies do it all the time to evaluate, but a personal check-in—or one for a growing business like TJS—is sometimes exactly what you need for a little self-soothing gratitude, as well as for planning your company (or life’s) next steps.

One thing’s for certain: It would be zero fun to do all this without the support, feedback and juicy love all the bees that visit us at The Rose (St. Rose Parkway), The Hive (on Ft. Apache) and The Buzz (at The Cosmopolitan). We only exist beecause of you, and we’re thrilled to see what 2017 will bring.

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)

Screen Shot 2016-06-09 at 11.25.03 AM

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.

Evolution’s Announcement, HPP (Or Not) And You

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HPP ain’t the way to bee (for The Juice Standard) but many juiceries use the process. We don’t judge…but we do have opinions. Read below and decide for yourself what’s best for your WHealth™.

True: All that cucumbery goodness would keep in an HPP bottle for up to six weeks, but where’s the honest-to-goodness freshness in that? We don’t judge companies that use HPP…but we won’t.

Did you see today’s news about how Evolution Fresh (makers of cold-pressed juices and smoothies) is adding a bevvy of fruit and veggie juices to its already gargantuan lineup? (It’s not long. You can read it here.) This spring, five new flavors of its cold-pressed juice—plus a current flavor already in its repertoire—will join Evolution’s 42 others…but they’ll be available in smaller bottles (11 ounces vs. the 15.2 ounce-bottles they make now).

As always, juicy news of any variety gives us reason for pause because there isn’t a company on the planet that doesn’t get a little antsy when someone does something different. But instead of useless hand wringing, Evolution’s announcement gives us a perfect podium for talking about something major we think sets The Juice Standard from the rest:

We’re committed to sourcing organic, and we don’t use the process called HPP.

What’s HPP, you wonder? “High pressure processing.” It’s a technique that lets juice producers extend the shelf life of their product by up to six weeks. Now, that’s rad for sales…but honestly, TJS beelieves that juice is pretty much dead by then. And since we’ve built our biz around the premise that juice should in fact be super fresh, vital, and rich with the enzymes Mother Effen Nature intended, we’d never dream of using HPP to bottle our juice. ‘Cause like our name says…we gots standards.

In our bumblebee-humblebee opinion, HPP is something to avoid. But to be fair—because around here we beelieve in karma—we get why companies use the process. There’s also plenty of lit on the Internets about why and how this process isn’t as damaging as people like us think. But we just happen to think that our way is the best way…both for our WHealth™, and yours. No disrespect to those who do it different. It’s simply not our choice.

The juicery playground is an expansive space. Lots of options out there. Our hope is simply to be a bastion of awesome information so you can make the best decisions possible. Meantime, see you as you stock up on TJS’ raw, cold-pressed, committed-to-organics, knock-your-socks-off-tasty, badass Singleton bottles at Ft. Apache, The Rose, or The Buzz over at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.