When it comes to juicing, Thrive Juice Lab is the real “real thing”. “Real” meaning they use organic vegetables and fruit and then cold-press (no heat to destroy vitamins) to extract the juice and retain all the vital nutrients. Vegetable juice is a liquid vitamin and it beats soda and sugar-laden coffee drinks any day. Drinking green juice is a better idea, but If you want an optimal juicing experience, drinking juice for the health benefits, it should be 100% organic and freshly cold-pressed.

Many juice companies are using the HPP (high-pressure pasteurization) process, which kills bacteria and allows for a longer shelf life, but the downfall is that it reduces the active enzymes, antioxidants and vitamins to the juice. Because vegetable juice and smoothies are so popular now, many large corporations have jumped on the bandwagon including Coca Cola and Pepsi. Coca Cola owns the brand Odwalla juice and PepsiCo owns Naked juice and also has recently acquired the probiotic drink KeVita. These larger companies use the HPP method for a more shelf stable product. Your best bet is finding a juice bar that does it right, like Thrive Juice Lab, located in Newport Beach and Laguna Niguel.

Thrive Juice Lab is a casual, all organic, juice and wellness café. Their menu features juices, smoothies, wellness shots, bowls and salads. Organic coffee and loose leaf tea are offered as well. Feel like it’s time to do a cleanse? They offer that service, too. Everything they carry is organic and gluten-free. Their menu items and cleanses are specially created with the help of raw food chefs and certified nutritionists.

The salads, wellness shots and juices are made fresh daily and can be found in their open refrigerator section. Kombucha and various other items, including “healthy” desserts, can also be found there. Smoothies and bowls are made to order with either sprouted almond milk or coconut milk. They do offer a curbside delivery service if you call in your order 5-10 minutes ahead. They offer many superfood boosters you can add to your smoothie.

Thrive Juice Lab is proud to be a “farm to cup” establishment and takes pride in serving high quality products. When you drink one of their juices, you feel the healing power of the pure and simple ingredients. Your cells drink up the green elixir of vitamins, minerals and enzymes immediately. I love their Green Wonder smoothie, which has spinach, kale, banana, apple, lemon and sprouted almond milk. It helps me feel nourished and ready to take on the day. How about you? Have you noticed a boost in energy by adding green juice to your diet?

(review originally posted 4/7/17)