spring cleanse

Time to juice! Meet the Maker!

I don’t know about you but after a long winter I really crave green juice. Not just any green juice but a fresh pressed, organic and as green as it gets juice. My body literally calls for it! And this year it has been calling extra loud. I normally wait for my spring juicing until the snow is gone but since this winter has been extra long I’m already juicing:).

Photo by Ellina Rabbit.

Photo by Ellina Rabbit.

 It always amazes me what a green, nutrient packed drink can do not only for my energy levels but also for my mind. Every single time it gives me a noticeable boost  (and way better than coffee ever did), it makes me feel lighter and clearer and it simply feels good. 

Juicing has been with me since I was little and I will never forget the carrot + apple juice that my mom made. I  didn’t really like it at the time but mom was very determined to keep us healthy so she made it and we drank it. Today, I love her for it because let’s be honest pressing your own juice is not much fun and a rather messy affair. It is a commitment!

Since juicing is so amazingly beneficial to our health and we are approaching the optimal time of the year to do a juice cleanse, I want to encourage you to do this for yourself. Do it for your health, do it for that extra glow to your skin and do it to smoothly transition from winter to spring. Fresh veggie juice contains loads of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, proteins, carbohydrates, chlorophyll (green veggies) and vital water beautifully distilled by nature in the plants. No question, freshly pressed organic juice is health building!

 I know that most will never commit to pressing their own fresh juice, but hey luckily making your own is not your only option. I’d like you to meet Julien THE juice guy.  Julien runs the juicing show for Pure Kitchen Ottawa. Since he is the person with all the juicing knowledge let’s get to it.

Julien with Hydrate - his every morning drink.

Julien with Hydrate - his every morning drink.

Hi Julien, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

My name is Julien Boyce, juice production manager at Pure Kitchen Ottawa. I started with the company from day one in February 2015, with the intention of working specifically in the juice department. A typical day includes taking inventory and organizing juice shipments, putting together juice cleanses, blending, mixing, and chopping a ton of fruits and vegetables! I’m fortunate to have the best staff and co-workers that make coming into work fun and exciting. 


How does one become the manager of the juice lab at the hottest vegetarian restaurant in town?

I became the juice lab manager pretty early on after landing the job at PK. Only me and one other person even mentioned in our interviews that we were interested in juicing. I had spent a few years working in kitchens, but I wanted something different. At the time, juicing was something very new to me, and my knowledge came from what I was juicing at home. We were all pretty inexperienced with juicing, however we learned very quickly and found our groove within the first few months. So much has changed since, new machinery, a larger space, and it’s only gotten better with time. 

Are PK juices organic? How freshly are they made?

All of the juices are made with organic produce and sourced locally whenever possible. We press around 1000L of juice per week, so we are constantly pressing every day. It can be difficult to keep up with the demand sometimes! Any juices we make have to be made with juice that is as fresh as possible, that means within 1-2 days of pressing. Some juices, such as lemon, have natural properties that allow it to have much longer shelf life than something like kale.


How do new recipes come about? What inspires you while you create?

I’m lucky to have such a creative team. We are constantly bouncing ideas around for new juices. One of the most challenging aspects of coming up with new recipes is getting the right colour. Sometimes flavours will work well together, but they won’t have an appealing colour. I love finding new products to use with our juices that make them original. 

Rowan (team PK) pouring the Lush

Rowan (team PK) pouring the Lush

Do you offer juice cleanses? Can you tell us a little bit about them? 

We offer a standard juice cleanse of five juices per day and one nut mylk, which amounts to 3L of juice. They can range from a one-day cleanse, up to as many days as you and a trusted health professional can agree upon (we had one woman do 21 days). We can always accommodate specific preferences and allergies with different juices. 


How does a juice cleanse differ from other types of cleanses?

Juice cleanses give your body a chance to recover by reducing the amount of energy it usually uses just digesting food all day. The benefit of a juice cleanse is that you can still ensure your body is getting nutrients and minerals it needs to function at its best. 


Any tips to follow a successful juice cleanse?

Ease into the cleanse and ease out of it. You should taper off how much you’re eating 24 hours before you start the cleanse and ease back into eating regular whole foods 24-48 hours afterwards. That’s for most cleanses from 1-5 days. You don’t want to start binge eating the day you finish your cleanse, that can lead to digestive issues.


I really crave green juices at this time of the year. Any favourite recipes for a great Spring green juice? 

I prefer green juices to be very strong with no sugars to mask the flavour of the greens. My favourite green juice is on our menu, called Lush. It is just kale, cucumber, spirulina, and a splash of lemon.


If you had to drink the same juice everyday what would it be?

I actually do drink the same juice every day! I start every morning with a glass of Hydrate. I get to work early and before I eat or do anything, I make sure I have some Hydrate with extra sea salt. This keeps me hydrated. I think that staying properly hydrated is the key to so many health problems and it’s something people tend to ignore. 


Any plans for writing a juice book?

I personally don’t have any plans to write a juice book. There are so many juice books available already, but I don’t think it’s that complicated of a process to need a book. I would be more interested in writing a book about healthy lifestyles/personal development that would certainly include juices and the role they can play in a healthy lifestyle. 

Squeezing lemons:) This used to be done by hand.

Squeezing lemons:) This used to be done by hand.

If there was something you wanted everyone to know about juicing, what would it be?

One thing about juice I always hear as a warning is that they aren’t good for you because you don’t get any fibre. It is true that most insoluble dietary fibre is removed during the juicing process; however, the soluble fibre is still present. Soluble fibre aids in good bacterial growth in the gut which helps the body in so many different ways!

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us Julien!  And thank you for all the great tips and info. I am always grateful to know the people who make my food, grow my food or juice my veggies . Thank you for what you do!

Ok Ottawa, I was really impressed to hear about the 1000L of fresh juice a week being pressed at Pure Kitchen. That’s a lot of juice! We are definitely on the right path. This makes me super happy:)

I am very lucky to have Pure Kitchen right around the corner from Woman Divine Studio. You can often see  me  running down Richmond Road in between my clients to grab a bottle of pure green energy that keeps me going and going. Pure Celery and Lush are my favourite :)

Pure Kitchen Ottawa, is run by the nicest people you can find and they offered us a 1 day juice cleanse as a GIVEAWAY. Head out to  Woman Divine Instagram to find out how to participate . I hope you’ll win. Make sure to take a look at their Juice Cleanse options HERE and start juicing asap. Now is a great time!

Remember what I always say? What you do to your skin you do to the rest of your body and what you do to your body, you do to your skin. Your skin will absolutely love it!

Pure Kitchen has four locations in Ottawa:

ELGIN

340 Elgin Street, Ottawa ON
+1 613 233 7873

WESTBORO

357 Richmond Rd, Ottawa ON
+1 613 680 5500

KANATA

499 Terry Fox Dr #55, Ottawa ON
+1 613 435 8492

PRESTON

345A Preston Street, Ottawa ON
+1 613 422 0115

Pure Kitchen also offers customized cleanses. So if you have special wishes and/or want to organize your cleanse, you can e-mail: juice@purekitchenottawa.com

Happy juicing,

Magdalena xo

SPRING, YOUR BODY AND YOUR SKIN

We can say that Spring is finally here. Yayyy!!! I am loving longer days, warmer temperatures and no more snow…Personally, it was a strange winter so I am very happy it’s gone.

I thought it would be a great time to share a few tips for your body and skin care as we welcome Spring because every season is unique and we ought to approach it as such.  

If you are already paying attention, you can surely recognize the distinguished feelings both in body and mind that come with Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

It actually is very important to pay close attention to the relationship between our body and the environment we live in. 

When we do, we quickly notice that even if we love all seasons there is always that one that brings our physical and emotional challenges to the surface.

For example, if you are by nature prone to overheat and your skin has a tendency for redness, you may not feel your greatest on a very hot Summer day. If you are always cold and your skin is dry you will probably not love very cold winter months. 

This of course is very simplified but the gist of it is that ‘like increases like and opposite heals’. 

If nature presents you at a given time with qualities that are already very high in your physical and emotional makeup you will want to work to bring balance through diet and daily practices which pacify these qualities. 

We are part of the environment and nature’s rhythms bring us along if we are ready or not. The moral of the story is be ready! From now on, let’s look to transitional time between the seasons as time for personal renewal. 

As seasons change we need to let go of what’s not needed and make space for the new. Breathe in fresh air and breath out the old. Clear our house and closets … you probably already know this and already do this:) 

But there is more and going along with nature’s rhythms rather than against them will bring greater ease to adapt to our environment and will also bring greater health, the skin included:)

When Spring arrives, snow melts, earth thaws and becomes saturated with water (I should know, I just got water in my basement… bummer:( ) and plant life awakens beneath the ground. 

This is a beautiful process of life awakening (except for the water in my basement) but the strong presence of this quality in the environment makes it challenging for some of us.

If you are of a constitution that is prone to stagnation, water retention and heaviness you may want to be particularly ready for Spring. Time to cleanse is here for everyone but if you have many of the earthy and watery qualities in your body and mind, you will need some extra self-loving and discipline to go through it smoothly.

This is what you maybe experiencing as Spring arrives:

Feeling blue, depressed, unmotivated, lazy                                                                                          

Your skin may look dull, congested, puffy, stagnant, lack of luster                                                      

Your body may feel heavy, puffy, more cellulite shows up, water retention, extra weight, general lymphatic congestion.

If you are experiencing a few of the above (not a great feeling) there is lots you can do to get over the hump. 

The suggestions bellow are great for any constitution to follow this time of the year but the earthy type must apply itself very well.

There are few very important things to know before you begin.

Movement is of the essence! You will want to make a conscious commitment to move your body, especially if movement does not come easy to you. Not negotiable!

This is also the best time of the year to cleanse. It does not need to be complicated. 

Here are suggestions related to food: 

Remove dairy, flour products, sugar and all heavy meats and go easy on salt. 

If you normally include a lot of nuts in your diet, go easy on nuts at this time of the year. 

Coffee… let go if you can:)

Add plenty of bitter, astringent and pungent foods… greens and sprouts, dandelion greens, radicchio, arugula, endive… broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, garlic, onion.

Berries, blueberry, strawberry, apples and pears as well as dried fruit will be good choices now.

Barley, buckwheat, rye and millet are good grain choices for Spring.

If you are experiencing a lot of stagnation and congestion and would like to let go of some weight, sip hot water throughout the day.

DAILY ROUTINE:

Wake up by 6am:)

Good to start your day with gratitude.

Drink a glass of warm water with a squeeze of lemon.

Dry skin brushing every morning before your shower, will make you feel awake and light and will encourage healthy lymph flow. Use natural bristle brush. None of that synthetic stuff please. 

Stretch.

Movement: yoga, walk, dance or anything that you like and gets you moving.

Few minutes on a mini-trampoline every morning provides excellent support for the lymphatic system (especially if you are prone to water retention and lymph stagnation). You will be very pleased with the results!  You can buy an inexpensive mini trampoline at Walmart.

But this is the one I love: needak.ca

There are so many practices which can enhance your health and beauty… don’t want to put you in the overwhelm lol

How you eat is as important as what you eat, so sit down and take your time. Favour foods which I have already listed.

Eat a light breakfast.

Have your hot water handy throughout the day and sip.

Lunch should be your biggest meal of the day.

Small dinner no later than 6pm.

In bed by 10pm.

Ending your day with meditation or breath awareness practice or journaling would be ideal. Actually, best to do all of them:)

SKIN CARE:

If you will apply all of the above your skin should be feeling pretty good already. But we can make it feel even better!

A good facial will be of great benefit now. You know where to get one:) I do keep busy so please plan ahead.

I will include more lymph drainage, more stimulation and more detoxification in your treatments at this time of the year. We want to bring lightness, brightness and softness back to your skin after the long cold winter.

There will be more clay and Spring specific herbs to help us achieve this. Kind of like what you will be doing with your body and your diet at home.

You can add a few minutes of self-face massage to your skin care routine at home. This works wonders!

I am not much for scrubbing but a very gentle exfoliation can be beneficial now. If you live in a very sensitive skin... skip it.

You may need to adjust your skin care routine and products you are currently using.  We can chat about this if you’d like.

Good gentle clay mask 1x a week will help with detoxification and exfoliation….

To sum up, free flow, releasing excess and stagnation, movement and lightness are what we are going for. You want to make sure that all channels of elimination are working well.

If you are constipated and congested in your respiratory passages you must address the issue. No free flow can happen if you are pooping every other day and if you are full of mucus…. I can make suggestions and recommend holistic doctors to help you.

If fresh juicing is something that you want to explore I recommend Pure Kitchen. They offer organic fresh pressed juices which are delicious. I recommend green juices from their menu, preferably with a little bit of ginger to warm things up. As a boost, their Healed juice with turmeric is my favourite:)

I think this is it for now. If you apply these suggestions, you will feel an improvement in how you feel and you will experience that healthy glow. You will also prepare your body for a smooth transition into the Summer season and you will become more in sinc with nature's rhythms.  And that's always a good thing!

Have an amazing Spring and may you feel light and bright!

Magdalena