Green Juice review....
You live in Chicago, IL. You are surrounded by the absolute best restaurants on every corner - the list is endless & mouth watering delicious.
You are also being inundated with health information daily and well, when it comes to cleaning up your diet, it just seems like too - much - work. I know this to be true b/c I've been there & in many ways, I'm still 'there'. My struggle with cleaning up my own diet has been nothing short of 'challenging'. If you are healthy now, please do not wait until your body crashes with some form of degeneration in whatever nasty form. I always think it is ironic that when someone is diagnosed with diabetes, they are told to give up sugar - AFTER THE FACT. Be proactive when it comes to your health and you won't be in the healthcare mess that many of us are in.
Alright - I am jumping off my soap box. So, you have heard all of the buzz surrounding 'green juicing' & it's miraculous benefits. You are hearing of people healing from allergies, depression, chronic health conditions, cancer, AIDS, ADHD, anxiety, acne...on & on. Oh & might I mention the weight loss and green juice 'glow' they talk so much about. It seems too good to be true - too unrealistic. It's not. It takes commitment & consistency if you are going to cleanse your way back to glowing health. If you are unhealthy, healthy, vegan, not vegan - you can still enjoy the benefits of a daily green juice.
Approximately one year ago, I was so intrigued & desperate to find relief from pain that I decided I wanted to give green juicing a try. I was not willing to commit to buying a juicer (they are really expensive) or buying the amount of greens it takes to make a large glass of juice (OY), etc. I deemed it all 'too expensive'. The irony in that last sentence is uncanny - if you compare the cost of staying well to getting ill...and working your way back to health. I have come to the conclusion that you pay for your health anyway - so it's your choice where to put your dollars. I digress...my apologies.
A friend on facebook had posted a restaurant update that there was a new juice bar opening in 'Bucktown' - how convenient for me. The name of the juice bar is Green Corner. Thus, I fell in love with the world of green juice. Below is a review of both Green Corner & JuiceRx. In addition to the reviews below, I will be doing several blogs on the benefits of green juicing.
Green Corner Review: www.greencornerchicago.com
- 773-292-4393
- 1880 North Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647 - Hours : Open 7 days: 8am-5pm
- They can also be found on both facebook & twitter.
Green Corner is located in the heart of Bucktown. It's quaint with an ambiance that oozes 'healing' and 'excellent health'. I love the irony in it's location in that it is located directly next to 'George's Hot Dog's. You have your choice between health and heart attack - right in front of you.
The staff is incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. There is definitely a family vibe there (for obvious reasons as you will read below) but I am referring to that local establishment where everyone knows your name - kind of vibe. They have captured that beautifully. After ordering at the counter, you can find a seat in their small cafe upstairs or along the bar - loaded with books on detoxification, raw food diets, veganism, etc. You can also bypass this option and simply chat w/ the staff while you sip your juice - as yours truly does (that be me).
Below is an excerpt from the owners which can also be found on their website:
Colleen and Elizabeth Murzyn are sisters who are dedicated to a fun and healthy lifestyle. We believe that happiness is derived from the food we put into our bodies, and the people and ideas we surround ourselves with. Green Corner was developed with these ideals in mind.
Our goal here is to provide nutrition for the whole family, including fresh juices that are all organic, vitamin packed, and food that is both enjoyable and healthy. This way, you and those you love can continue about your day filled with the energy you need to work, play, and relax.
In the fall of 2008, Colleen and Elizabeth participated in a week long detox program in Bodrom, Turkey. It was there that they learned the many benefits of a juice fast. They both delved into the literature provided there, and by the end of the cleanse program, they both felt a newfound sense of rejuvenation unlike anything they've ever experienced before. They realized that this service could be of value to many people they knew back home. Though the idea of a cleanse may be extreme to many, they realized that simply including a vitamin packed juice into ones diet is enough to enhance ones health and overall energy level.
To this day, they both continue to educate themselves on the benefits of a balanced diet, juicing, juice fasts, and the overall positive effects of nutrients derived from plants exclusively upon our bodies. Their hope is to being able to expand the communities knowledge of these benefits, while at the same time, opening a space for indulging in healthy snacks and juice.
Green Corner has fun & creative names for their juices and the taste is always so unbelievably good - I have yet to drink a juice that I haven't liked. When you head over, consider the King Kong which consists of chocolate hemp protein powder, bananas & coconut water (seriously tastes better than a chocolate milk shake) or The Winter Cure which consists of carrot, orange, apple & ginger (the ginger in this juice is great for clearing the sinuses). When you incorporate their juices into your daily menu, you will start to see subtle changes in your health - the more green juice you drink, the healthier you will feel.
They also deliver as well as providing various juice cleanses. You can learn more about both options via their website.
If I had to review this on 5 Stars - I would give it 6 (0: I hope that all of you stop by to learn about the benefits yourselves. Please let me know what your thoughts are & what juice is your favorite. I always love to hear how green juicing is benefiting your health as well - so please, do share away!!!!
JuiceRx review: www.juicerxcleanse.com
My sister-in-law recently asked me if I've heard of JuiceRx in Chicago. I had not but headed over to google to locate them and find out more. There are 'many' juice companies out there promoting cleanses and you come to find that the juices themselves are filled with sugars and non-organic juices that have been processed to death.
A couple of days later, a friend came to visit. She brought a copy of CS Magazine and we were combing through the pages. I turned back a page when one of the featured articles was about the founder of JuiceRx & his road back to health through juicing. I would love if you would read his story b/c it is yet again, another testament to how people are literally healing from juicing.
I don't know why but it still floors me every single time I hear a story like the one below. If you want to manage symptoms, medication is your answer. If you want to heal, green juicing, detoxifying, raw food, etc. is your answer. Let me add my own disclaimer that I am by no means promoting you stop your medications and run to a juice bar. I know medication is necessary in many cases and as I stated in initial tabs of my website, I believe it's usually an integrative approach that works. You have to do what is best for your health but please, get educated.
So let's read what I learned in CS Magazine about the owner of JuiceRx:
When life gives you lemons, the saying goes, make lemonade. Or, in the case of Chicagoan Dean Kasal, when the medication for his ulcerative colitis started causing liver damage, he made juices. More specifically, it was life and wellness coach Nicole Misiorowski who made them, and, in the process, Kasal found his disease cured. He was hooked, not only on the healing powers of juicing, but on Misiorowski too. So when Kasal was laid off from his accounting job, he didn’t have to look far for a new career.
Enter JuiceRx, the Chicago-based organic juice company the couple started this summer that specializes in door-to-door delivery of its 1-, 3-, 5- and 6-day cleanse programs. The biggest benefit of their made-that-day juice delivery as opposed to ones that arrive via shipping is simple, says Kasal: "These days no one can be sure about the mail services' evolving security methods, including irradiation, through which certain packages are subjected."
It’s not just the convenience of JuiceRx that has us smitten—the 16 flavors of the juices, including Fat Flush (grapefruit, pineapple, orange and Saigon cinnamon) and Evening Green (cucumber, pear, celery, kale, cilantro and lemon) are some of the best we’ve tried. Kasal credits the delicious drinks to high-quality produce, their state-of-the-art hydraulic press and the flavor-combining skills of Misiorowski. As for Kasal’s "guinea pig" status? "I have the best job in the world," he says. "I always have a steady supply of fresh juices.
Here is what JuiceRx has to say about their juices:
We realize that you have a few different choices in choosing a nutritional cleanse. So WHY JuiceRx? For starters, our juices are live (unpasteurized), fresh, organic, vegan, and made with lots of love. And they are the amazing result of collaboration between experienced chefs and top health experts to ensure maximum nutrition while delighting your taste buds. Our main goal was not compromising on neither. Several months of developing and testing our own in-house recipes have resulted in the creation of 14 awesome flavors, each with their own deliciously unique flavor profile.
Each and every juice in our cleanse has been specially formulated to target specific organs in your body with the intention of detoxifying that particular organ and bringing it back to healthy, balanced and blissful state. Each day of our cleanse includes a comprehensive array of six unique juices (which in combination target all of your major organs (and then some)). Over the course of your 3, 5 or 6 day cleanse this translates to some very happy (and super healthy) organs inside and even outside (think skin) of your body. Woohoo! And best of all, in the process of providing your cells with maximum nutrition, we keep your taste buds (and waistline) happy with minimal sugar and calories.
I cannot give a fair review of JuiceRx because I have yet to try their juices. What I can say is that I have studied & reviewed every type of 'green juice' throughout the city of Chicago & the state of Illinois. What I have found is that both Green Corner & JuiceRx are the two that stand a part & above the rest. They both provide Chicagoans fresh-organic-vegan juice & they do it with passion! Plus, it's a relief to find Chicago establishments that are feeding us health & wellness in the form of juice. Let's support them and in doing so, you will be supporting your own wellness.
Thanks for reviewing,
Girl Gone Vegan,
Kelly Lynn
