WILD ABOUT IT: CEDAR Cold Pressed Juice

October 14, 2015October 12, 2015Leave a comment

I’ve shared my love of cold pressed juice before, so when I was offered the opportunity to take a CEDAR Cold Pressed Juice Cleanse and their door step juice delivery service a spin, I couldn’t say no. Well I could’ve actually, because as an endurance athlete in the past I have, many times.

As someone who is training almost 10 out of 12 months a year, I don’t have time to do a multi-day detox. I need nutritious fuel all the time to sustain my daily workouts and my recovery. CEDAR happened to catch me just before a pull back week, and with a rest and cross training day coming up in my schedule, I knew at this point of my schedule I could fit a one day cleanse in, so I gave it a try.

Who Is CEDAR?

Stripping away all the complexities of superfood nutrition, CEDAR focuses on what’s important –packing their juices with the nutrients our body needs to perform at its best. Toronto based, you can order their juice delivery service from anywhere in Ontario, but if you’re in the city, you can find them at a variety of locations including the Bulk Barn, Second Cup, Jimmy’s Coffee, and many more.

They also offer a group discount, so if this is something you and a few friends are considering, the company will be great and you can save a few dollars.

Why Cleanse?

Why do people cleanse? Here’s what CEDAR has to say.

Why did I do it? I have often been intrigued by the buzz I hear regularly in the yoga community – feeling energized, clearer mind, resetting the body – so wanted to give it a try. I am also very aware of my sugar addiction and thought this might be a way to take a step to dropping it.

Delivery to Your Door Step

Now, the juice delivery service is only available with a cleanse. But what I like about the process was that it was so simple! You picked a start date for the cleanse, and the juices get delivered the day before. I picked a start date that was the following week and like clock work everything arrived. I had been looking forward to how all this juice would arrive and I wasn’t disappointed. A cute white cardboard box that was cold to the touch. When I opened it, I found my juices surrounded by reusable ice packs (score the endurance athlete in me thought!) and a cooler style box lining.

The Juices

The 5 juices are well labeled which lead to no confusion and lots of excitement when they arrived. They came with with directions to get the most out of your cleanse which included what to eat the day before and how to ease your way back into the “real world” after the cleanse was finished.

My favourite juice was absolutely number 2, Pineapple Head. It was sweet and delicious and the total opposite of the two Kale juices (those I liked the least – mainly because I just don’t like green juices of any kind). The Lemon’s Your Lucky Day (drink 4) was perfectly sour and the Cracked it (drink 6) cashew juice was great as well – those were my three favourites for sure, and ones I would certainly consider grabbing in store.

My Cleanse Glows and Grows.

While I realize a one day cleanse isn’t the best example of what CEDAR has to offer, I did come out with a few observations.

The next day I felt great! I felt light and energized. I don’t feel that this one day had any negative impact on my training and as you’ll see next, it really made me aware of my much needed hydration.
Following each juice you are to drink a lot of water. I’m not someone who often drinks water (a very bad habit for my sport). So this one day, certainly forced me to get back into regular hydration and I am thankful for that. I also noticed that I was sweating more during subsequent workouts, so I’m thinking I was likely even more dehydrated then I realized before starting my day with Cedar.
I missed chewing! I know that sounds weird, but by 6pm I just wanted to eat something. I wasn’t hunger, felt great actually, but I really just wanted to chew – I missed it. Weird, but that’s really what happened.

Is a cleanse for you? You definitely need to consider why you are doing it. For as much research as there is supporting a cleanse you can equally find research against it. The Cedar products were great. The process was simple, and the delicious taste was motivation to keep at it.

Wild About It: Healthy Planet

March 25, 2015Leave a comment

Today’s Wild About It Wednesday is all about shopping online with Healthy Planet Have you heard of they?

They are an in person and online retailer of all things which support a healthy lifestyle – vitamins, supplements and remedies, as well as healthy groceries, and to my thrill, Vega! Healthy Planet’s personal goal is to make high quality products readily available and affordable for consumers, and it was that affordable part that really caught me eye.

I’m always looking for a deal on my Vega products. While they have always been part of my race plan, it was during my training for my Half Ironman in the fall, when their products really became part of my daily diet and lifestyle. And as a result, I’m always looking for ways to get it on a deal, and Healthy Planet has helped me do just that.

Their regular prices are substantially cheaper then most retailers, and often time’s they have a sale or promo code to get that price even lower. An example of this is their current web deal,Vega Energizer Acai Berry Sugar Free 30 packs, regular price: $55.89, Healthy Planet price: $42.99, on sale for $19.99. Such a great deal!

There is actually a location near my work, but their website, with free shipping when you spend over $49.99 (it’s only $7.50 if you are below), just makes fitting shopping into a busy lifestyle so much easier. When I went to the site I had a one track mind – Vega. I quickly searched in the tab and every current available Vega product came up, including the hard to find Coconut Almond and Mocha shakes. Both $20 off the regular retail price, and available in three different sizes. Amazing! I stocked my cart full of various Vega bars – no need to buy a box of one flavour, with the great price here you can mix and match and get a variety of yumminess.

Checking out was simple and fast. I choose to have them send me email alerts and I’ve been receiving additional promo codes to save on the items I love about every other week.

If you frequently buy health related goodies, I highly suggest you check out Healthy Planet online and search their thousands of products for the ones you love. To get you started here is a coupon code to save you 10% on your purchase! Enter Heather10 at checkout and save!

How do you save on the healthy products you love? Share your tips in the comments!

Wild About It: Village Juicery

January 21, 2015January 21, 2015Leave a comment

Who They Are.

Last week I had the pleasure of checking out Toronto’s newest cold press juicery, Village Juicery, located at 540 College Street (near College and Bathurst). The Village Juicery is a small juice bar, with an extensive menu of cold press juices, freshly squeezed juices, and nut milks made daily here in downtown Toronto.

Cold press juices are all the rage right now and juicerys are popping up everywhere, but it was the connection to community and value in education that drew me in. Village Juicery is founded on three core principles “You are what you eat,” “Knowledge is power,” and “Be a villager.” And during my visit I witness each of these values in action.

When I first entered the Village Juicery the scent of their wood interior washed over me, it was divine, and highlighted how truly new this space was. About 80% of the space is occupied by their juice bar. A large fridge of product, a wall of educational materials, and a wall of other salable products make up the remainder of the space.

I met with their nutritionist Jessica and marketing director Karen, both incredibly pleasant and well educated on all things juice. A drawer filled with shot glasses was opened and the samples began to flow. From checking out their website I knew what I wanted to try prior to my arrival, but what I didn’t expect was their education focus and interest in learning more about me so I could pick the perfect juice. I had an awesome conversation with Jessica about fitness and the importance of nutrients and fueling. Jessica was also in fitness, so was able to speak very well to what my potential gaps and needs were and direct me towards the juices that would support that – energy and recovery.

What I’m Wild About.

With an Ironman 70.3 training season under my belt, I was more then knowledgeable of the benefits of beet juice and was intrigued to learn that they had two different juices which contained beets. I gave the Be Active a try and as someone who actually doesn’t enjoy beet I was impressed. The predominant flavour for me was the pear (also the first ingredient) with also a small zing from the lemon and ginger. I ended up taking a bottle of this with me and enjoyed it prior to an intense indoor ride I knew I’d be having later that weekend.

After my conversation with Jessica we also determined I’m more of a nut milk gal when it comes to recovery style juice. Their most popular nut milk, Be Happy, was sold out, it’s a cashew milk with dark maple syrup, so I enjoyed a sample of the Be Smart, an almond milk sweetened with dates and took a bottle home, which I pretty much had to fight myself to save for after my long run. What i enjoyed about the almond milk was that it wasn’t gritty as I’ve had in the past from other juicery’s. It had a smoother more consistent taste and perfect amount of sweetness from the dates.

I did also leave with a bottle of their freshly squeezed orange juice. After seeing it on their website this was my one must grab and I enjoyed it the next morning with breakfast. It was delicious. And as their website states, it goes from the farm to your hand in less than 12 hours. It is important to note that some of these products are only offered seasonally.

Final Thoughts.

Prior to checking them out I did quite a bit of research on their website. Their products are 100% organic, avoid pesticides, have a high nutritional value, and support the environment. But I wanted to know what made them different and I experienced it for myself when I met their team and saw them living their core values. I left with a great product, plenty of education, and heard about their many connections to Toronto. I liked that they don’t promote their juices as meal replacements, but as supplements to healthy diets, and for those who are looking to use their cold press juices for cleanses, they suggest a consultation with their nutritionist so the specific goals and needs of the client can be met.

Want to give Village Juicery a try? This Thursday Tribe and Lululemon are teaming up with Village Juicery as part of our four part Runners Workshop. Following this weeks 5km run we will be meeting them in store and sampling products appropriate for athletes. Details here. Can’t make it out? Then I highly suggest you head up to 540 College to check out their full menu, and learn something too!