Category: <span>Women</span>

5 From The Hi5e: Recipes We Love

February 1, 2017 By Jen Chase

From time to time we run a feature with five items about one topic we think is tip-top relevant to your health, or your well being, or something solid funny, or info you just shouldn’t live without. Called “Five From The Hi5e,” the hope is to deliver the skinny on stuff you’ll find more than moderately rad. Like this featurette on how some of us TJS bees do our best to insert comfort into our lives during what’ll probably be the last legit month of winter.

Ed. note: This month? More than five. Couldn’t help ourselves. Sorry. Bonus for you.

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Jamie Stephenson (Co-founder/COO)

For Jamie, “soothe” is the word when it comes to winter care for her bod and belly that keeps her comfortable no matter then temps. “For my health, I drink juice daily (even at home); I love TJS’s Lipospheric vitamin C packs; and I love adding collagen to my coffee.”

As for her self care? Indulging in soft-spun natural fabrics like cashmere keeps her skin happy while sticking to beeswax candles (right?) scented with gardenia or jasmine sets the tone for any room she’s in. And her final tip? “I put coconut oil on the ends of my hair at night and wrap my hair in a bun. Then, I shampoo/condition as usual the next morning.”

If you’ve seen her hair you’ll start doing this, too.

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Mallory Dawn (Creative Director)

Mallory’s artistry isn’t limited to how she beautifies the TJS brand as her other pursuits include creating art for her #girlboss company Ice Cream and Cupcakes…and, making up recipes at home. This busy bee had these concoctions to share. One’s for when you’ve got a sore throat or sickness you just can’t kick. The other is a kickass hair tonic. (What’s up TJS girls and hair?!)

MD’s Garlicky Grateful

1) Mince 2 large cloves of raw garlic and let it aerate on your cutting board for 5-10 minutes (this activates the microbial properties of raw garlic). Then combine it with 4 ounces of TJS’s Bee Grateful.

How so simple? Garlic is powerful natural antibiotic and reported to be roughly one-fiftieth as powerful as penicillin. It’s also a known anti-fungal and anti-viral, so downing it as a preventative will keep the doc away better than a peck of apples…but you have to eat it raw. Garlic has a compound called allicin, AKA the “odiferous” oily liquid that seeps from garlic when you crush it. Cooking garlic kills allicin’s potent healing properties, but eat it raw and you could potentially stave off pretty much anything that could ail you.

Just be aware that breath and bod can emit garlic’s unique daresay “bouquet” long after you’ve swallowed. To be kind to those around you (and trust us…they’ll notice), here are some good n’ funny tips on how to beat g-breath. (Hint? Mustard. Who knew.)

MD’s Fantastique Tonique

“I have a homemade hair tonic I’m totally obsessed with: I mix 3-4 drops each of organic peppermint, rosemary and geranium oil with 6 ounces of spring water, and I put it into a small spritz bottle that I leave in the fridge.

“After showering, I lightly spray it directly into my scalp, massage it in for a few minutes, and using a wet brush, I brush my hair upside down.It’s done wonders for my hair’s volume and stimulating my scalp! Especially after years of extensions and working in the sun and heat!

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Marcella Williams (Co-founder/CEO)

For our multitasking mum of three who beeautifully balances her TJS duties with arguably her most important job, Marcella’s comfort comes from keeping her brood (and herself) healthy. On her list? One old-timey remedy, and one for the modern age: Good ol’ fashioned chicken noodle soup, and TJS’s shot flight.

If you haven’t indulged in a TJS shot flight yet they’re potent, 2- to 3-ounce designed to be a simple and fast addition to your health protocol…whether as a preventative, or as a something you take once you’re already a little under the weather. TJS serves three recipes, which can be enjoyed individually or in succession: the Wellness Shot, Flu Shot and E3LIve® Shot. (You can read more about how good they are for WHealth™ here in this Vegas Seven feature from last year.)

Bennie of the shots? You can indulge in them at any time of day…though some bees like to one-and-dun-’em first thing in the morning.

As for Marcella’s shout-out to chicken noodle soup, if you haven’t tried your hand at making homemade broth for said soup, read below because our last installment has a recipe for that, too. (Nice segue, huh?)

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Jen Chase (Content Director)

Jen’s diet of choice comprises nearly no meat and nominal grains, but like Marcella, her go-to food for when she’s a sickie or wants to throw comfort on someone else in a hurry is homemade chicken broth with bites of teensy-cut pasta…think orzo, stars, alphabet letters, or pastina.

Note: Her all-time fave plant-based broth recipe is this tried-and-true from the New York Times, and it’ll make you forget you ever ate chicken. But when only chicken broth will do, here’s Jen’s no-measure Kitchen-Sink Broth:

1) Remove the meat from 1 store-bought rotisserie chicken (preferably organic and without hormones…you know the drill), and save for other uses. Then, into a stock pot add the chicken carcass (with skin) along with two celery ribs, two carrots, one large onion, and one small handful each of whole peppercorns and whole cloves.

(Optional Awesome Add-Ins? A handful of whatever fresh herbs you have on hand—even fennel fronds; if you happened to have made a pre-cooking cocktail with freshly squeezed lemon, throw in half a retired lemon rind (seeds and all…they’ll strain out); and if you freeze your Parmigiano rinds when your cheese is gone—and here’s why you must!—add a healthy hunk into your broth too. Adds killer taste.)

Then, add to the lot enough cold water to cover (4-6 cupsish) and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer for about an hour (longer if you want stock, less time for broth).

When done, strain the liquids from the solids and add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. At this point you can cool the broth to congeal it and scrape away the fat. When you want a bowl o’, comfort, cook pasta on the side and add it to your soup serving, finishing it off with coarsely grated parm, hot red pepper flakes, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

Encourage Mom’s Play With ‘Queen For A Day’

May 3, 2016 By Jen Chase

Question: Did you ever drive your mother to drink? (At least that you know of?) On the off chance you ~~still do~~ did, this month—in honor of Mother’s Day—here’s The Juice Standard’s best recipe for salving the world of hurt our teenage selves laid on Moms. It doesn’t even involve therapy.

It’s a breeze, really: Take her to The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and hand her a bevvie worth all the love and care she spent turning you into the human being you be.

Queen For A Day

So what exactly is this Moms-worthy concoction?

Queen For A Day (also on the TCOLV menu as King For A Day…because we don’t discriminate, Yo) is Marcella’s mixology masterpiece of BEE ROYAL (think spicy lemonade), plus a brown liquor of your choice (like bourbon or whisky) topped with the sassy spice of some ginger beer.

If we had to tell you what to tell Moms it tastes like, we’d compare it to a Dark & Stormy but with a side of citrus attitude. Imbibed by you and your BFFs it would perfectly fuel your night on a casino or dance floor. Enjoyed with you’re with Moms on a Kid-Momma Night out, it would be a perfectly light little pre-supper sipper to get you feeling cozy enough to rehash those stories you know she and your dad are just waiting to roll out the night before your wedding.

Drink up, Sistahs and Bruthas. Grab your mutha. Enjoy a cold one on us. And maybe plan to elope.

We Are Motherlovers (plus…a #TJSMomsForJLo Promo)

May 3, 2016 By Jen Chase

Whether it was your mother, your grandmother, a teacher, or a trusted mother figure, this time of year makes us reflect on the women who raised us to bee the Bees we are today. We say it all the time but it bears repeating: #ItTakesAHive. That’s why we’re thankful to the moms out there who gave us wings (…and why some of us can’t wait to onpass them to our litteltons, when it’s time for them to flee the hive).

Below, TJS’s Co-Founders, Creative Director and Content Director (Jamie Stephenson and Marcella Williams; and Mallory Dawn and Jen Chase, respectively) share thoughts and memories about their mothers…the stuff they gleaned from them; the stuff they hope they give back to them; and the ways in which being a mom has moved some of us like nothing else in life could.

Jamie and Mia, and Being Led Down the Garden Path (…Literally)

For as long as I could remember, my mom was a single mom working at least two jobs. It wasn’t until I was 17 that she met Walter, and it was then that I saw her soften into what it felt like to be a woman who could enjoy a life lived with a little more time for her pursuits. He allowed her the time to explore her cooking and gardening skills. Both were parts of her life that would give back to him (and all of us) for many years to come.

I’ll never forget the day I went to their home for dinner. I was 22. Mom handed me a set of kitchen shears and a paper-lined colander, and asked me to go into the yard to harvest our dinner salad. I was freaked out.

“We can’t eat that! We grew it!” I said.

Her reply? “Exactly. We grew it, and it’s the very best. Now hurry up.”

Later at dinner, my mind was blown. Those leaves were delicious and tender, and they’d been growing in her garden just minutes before. That was the day the proverbial seed was planted in my mind—that the power of fruits and veggies—fresh, raw and powerful—was truly food for the body and soul.

Thanks Mom.

Thanks Walter.

Shit Jamie’s Moms Says:
“Eat your veggies, they’re good for you.”
“Maybe. In the future.”

Marcella: On The Inexplicable Joys of Motherhood

I will never forget the day my ex-husband and I decided we were ready for a baby. A month later we were expecting, and I knew it was a little girl. I could feel it in my gut. I could actually see her face in my mind… her warm smile, her kind eyes. I knew her name, envisioned her laughter and could not wait to finally meet her.

She changed my life in so many ways. It was not until I knew I was pregnant did I start to really be conscious about what I put into my body. It began with increasing my fruits and vegetables and minimizing anything processed or refined. I wasn’t just feeding myself, I was literally creating another human…a human who would grow to be a thriving toddler, an energetic child and eventually a young adult. She needed the best quality foods and nutrients I could give her in this most crucial time of development.

They say love is a verb, and though I couldn’t voice it to her yet, I could show her love in the best way I knew how.

I remember sitting in History 102 class and was about 15 weeks along when I felt the first kick. People say it feels like butterflies, but this was just little bit stronger. I pushed on my stomach right where I felt it and she kicked back! We went back and forth a few times and I started to tear up. My professor looked at me kinda crazy. He must have thought I had a soft spot for the roaring 20’s and The Great Gatsby—and I did!—but the welling of my eyes came from my first interaction with my beautiful baby girl.

I remember reading all of those baby books and about how she was developing, and the minute I knew she could hear my voice, I began to sing to her. I sang anything from lullabies to random love songs. One song in particular was You Were Meant for Me, by Jewel. I will never forget the first time I sang it to her at five weeks old, she looked up at me and smiled her very first smile!

Sophia Maria was born on July 12, 2006, 8 pounds, 3 ounces and 21 inches long. I knew I loved her before I met her but never could imagine how much you could truly love someone unconditionally…until 6:30 p.m., when she laid on my chest for the very first time. Watching her grow over the years has been a blessing that so many people do not get to experience. I live each day with gratitude, trying so hard to make each day count and live in the present.

Shit Marcella’s Moms Says:

(To my little brother:) “If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie and wipe the seatie.”

“It’s too quiet.”

“Can I pee in peace?”

“Take pictures because it’s gone in a flash.”

“Because I said so…that’s why!”

Mallory and Mimi: Childhood Lessons Enrich Long Into Life

My mother was a teacher while I was growing up. A lot of my friends knew her (and, her large collection of colorful high-top Reeboks). She taught my brother and me a lot of lessons, but one in particular has completely affected my course of life.

You see, growing up I knew my parents were “hippies” because they listened to The Beatles, wore tie-dyed clothes, told us stories of protests they attended at Edinboro University and other rebellious behavior from their younger years. At the same time, they also encouraged my brother and me to create a life we loved, and to love all living things. My mother, unbeknownst to my lack of musical skill, even encouraged us to start a band together.

For the longest time, I thought that these impressions my mother left on me were things all children got from their parents. In fact, it wasn’t until I started sharing this one lesson in particular that I realized that not everyone grew up with parents like mine.

This lesson started in my earliest childhood. I remember coming home from school worked up and complaining about something that had happened (and, about the person who was to blame). My mother said to me: “Mallory, I want you to think of 10 reasons why that person did what they did to you, and none of your reasons can be about you.”

Of course I attempted to use the “They don’t like me,” “They’re mad at me” arguments, but she’d catch me every time, reminding me those were reasons that in fact included me. Sure enough, by the fourth or fifth reason (“They got a bad grade”; “They were feeling sad”; “They got yelled at by their parents,” etc.) I had settled down and actually felt empathy for the person I was upset with.

My mother had me practice this skill throughout elementary school, junior high and high school. So it became natural for me to “step back” from situations that rattled my copacetic bubble, and to mentally address at least 10 reasons why someone could behave in a way that was void of me. Today, I still make those mental lists as I consider what someone who upsets me may be dealing with. Maybe they had a rough drive to work; maybe they couldn’t get their child/pet to eat or potty that morning; maybe money is stressing them out; maybe they’ve lost someone they love; maybe they just woke up on the wrong side of the bed….And maybe—just MAYBE—their behavior has nothing to do with me.

It’s much easier to feel peaceful and calm when you feel a connection to others. My mother’s lesson taught me how to feel connected to anyone, no matter the situation. Today, I love sharing my experience with others because I know the power it will create in their lives and attitude if they choose to hone the ability to understand and empathize with the feelings of others.

Shit Mallory’s Moms Says:

“But are you bleeding?”

“You are my sunshine.”

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Jen and Heidi: Sacrifice Leads To Mother-Daughter Soulmates

Before she was my sister’s mother or mine, she was Heidi Ange Morris. Ange wasn’t for Angela but Ange, with an a sound like in hand. Heidi was because her mother loved the book. The Morris was from a man whose liquid demons pissed away the love he could’ve long enjoyed from his wife and kids but couldn’t. And Chase was from the man who blessed her with her children.

Motherhood hasn’t been my mother’s easiest-won gift, but she’d probably say it’s her life’s greatest. And fortunately, because she shares herself freely beyond the boundaries of blood, her mothering has been a gift to others. As a longtime elementary school teaching assistant, I’ve watched her foster deep relationships with younger colleagues. My lifelong girlfriends have turned to her during times of painful coming-outs, or when they needed care for their children when their own families were miserably unsupportive. My high school sweetheart and his wife are wholeheartedly friendly with her. She’s that mom. And growing up, despite a few naturally occurring blue periods in the lore of estrogen-heavy households, I deeply knew I was lucky.

I wrote most of that recalling our relationship from my youth through college years. But if you’re lucky to have been raised by certain parents, under certain circumstances, a paradigm shift can happen in your 30s if the proverbial shit hits your fan and you start grasping for their experience-based guidance. Maybe we hope their Smart Genes will save us from stupidity, but around 30-something is when you realize your parents are real adults with real-life chapters…and that maybe they really do understand, because they’ve experienced similar challenges long before you did. In my case, one lived out West before admitting like Dorothy that there’s no place like home (…in Massachusetts). One was married when the two of them fell in love. One had a mid-life crisis and lived in a hotel for a week. One lost a business, mojo and life way too young. Both of them had to navigate raising a special needs infant beside a typical toddler. And ironically, neither ventured far from their own mother. Least never for long. They made all these disparate parts of their lives work, coming together to be the kind of parent I often wish I was.

Mum has devoted her life to making my sister’s life comfortable. And as my parent, she’s been selfless; honest; and at times, her advice has been so right as effing rain I’d swear she was a seer. But most important, as she’s balanced motherhood and personhood (and isn’t it amazing that as kids we don’t really see our parents are “real” people?) she raised me with love. Boundless. She is my friend, my comfort, my confidante, my heart. She doesn’t like what I eat but loves what I cook. She rarely finds what I find funny but finds me funny, which is 10 kinds of awesome since hers is a laugh I seek. I choose her company and she chooses mine. And if I’ve learned anything from her, it’s strength. Strength by example. I don’t display her gumption on the reg, but I’m glad it’s in my marrow. Somewhere.

The picture above was from before Heidi Chase was anyone’s mother. It’s a candid from a shoot where she was asked to model hairdos. Frankly, it embarrasses her because she’s incredibly shy—she was 20s-ish, maybe?—but man, I love her look. Quiet and sophisticated. Soft. Eye makeup just so, always and still. She wasn’t thinking about doling out Erin’s seizure meds or worrying if I’d smile again after my marriage ended. It was just her, back when it could be. And the pic drives me to be a daughter that gives her moments of her past life in this one, where she need only think of herself. Like kajillions of adult kids like you or others who have been raised by amazing people (blood variety or not), I’m grateful to be my mother’s daughter, to have her as my friend, and to be allowed to be hers. Because that stuff is never a given, but a blessing to be earned on both sides.

Shit Jen’s Moms Says:

“I wish I liked to eat what you eat.”

“You’re so much like your father.”

“The grass is always greener….”

Now ABOUT that promo….

Mother’s Day 2016: #TJSMomsForJLo

It’s true. TJS wants you to celebrate Mom’s Day with JLo.

And no, we’re not sending her to your house. (Fo sho we’re rad but not *that* rad.) Read to the end, though. This deal’s still the goods….

For everything the mother figure in your life does to keep yo’ shit in line, we’ve got quite possibly the best booty-shakin’ promo of all time. (At least for the first quarter of 2016.)

Since TJS is all about maintaining WHealth™ on the inside and out, we like encouraging you Bees to push your personal healthy-choice envelopes. And since occasional incentives are swell, here’s a doozy.

Ready?

We wanna see you and your three-day fast bottles! Why? Beecuase we frikkin’ heart you, and we want you Bees to have a little extra pusha-push-push to enjoy one of our crazy-delicious three-day juice fasts. We honestly think you’ll love it enough, you might make it a tool in your healthy-living toolbox every quarter or so to improve your WHealth™ and glowing self. So we seriously hope you’ll do this:

1) From now through 31 May, show us your prettiest Instagram pics(s) of you and your three-day fast. And in the comments of your pics, use your very best words to express one of the following thoughts:

Your best “Shit Moms Says” advice (and it doesn’t have to be from your own Moms—it can be from a mother figure in your life). What’s something Moms says that makes your eyes roll? Belly laugh? Heart sing? Do tell.
Best thing you’ve learned from Moms or your moms-ish figure.
Your fave thing about being a moms yourself…either to your own littletons or littletons in your life whom you cherish.
What’s something you’ve vowed to do when you become a parent someday?

2) Hashtag all that with #TJSMomsForJLo.

3) Wake up June 1 and hope like hell you were picked to win two tix to JLo’s June 8 performance at PH (“Planet Hollywood,” if you’re not local).

And that’s pretty much it.

Deets:

* Gift value is at about $517. (Thought you’d like to know.)

* Must you take Moms? No. But if she’s likes JLo you’ll be Kid of the Year. ’Til 2019.

* The show is June 8. That’s the only date. It may not be changed. It may not be exchanged. Do us a solid and don’t ask, beg or plead for another option. We cry when friends cry in front of us.

Play fair. Good luck. And go Moms. (You, too, JLo.)