(Actually That is Up to You, But These Local Juices Can Help)

As Thanksgiving fades into the past and January approaches, health and weight loss take center stage for many. The obvious answer often times is to up fruit and vegetable intake. Thing is, it’s not always as easy as it sounds. One way to ramp up veggie intake is to slurp down a juice. Perhaps not all day every day for 30 days. That kind of major change is between a person, their doctor, their loo, and the tissues they’re going to cry into. However, swapping a juice for an afternoon bag of chips and cola, could be considered a smart move.

There’s some debate about the health benefits of juice. One major setback is that the fiber from the whole food often doesn’t make it into the finished product. But, if we consider the chip example, 12-ounces of veggies contain many more vitamins and minerals than chips and soda. Fresh-pressed juices do contain calories however, so they shouldn’t be considered a free-for-all. For instance, a cup of carrot juice contains about 100 calories.

Around the Rogue Valley, there are many juicing options. Here are four we love:

Pear-A-Glide, NW Raw, $8.00 (one size)

Nestled into downtown Ashland, this raw-food based eatery and juice bar offers a selection of juices and whole-food based dishes like salads and bowls. With eight juices on the menu, visitors can experience a variety of juices, from chard-based concoctions, to apple-wheatgrass medleys. The owners of NW Raw strongly believe in organic food and vow on their website that no non-organic food will pass through their doors. Adventurers can try a flight of juice, $7.50, that includes sips of the juice bar’s six most popular mixes. One juice that stands out is the Pear-A-Glide, a concoction of pear and house-made cashew coconut milk. This milky white mixture is creamy, just the right amount of sweet, and pear-forward. Coconut gives it a tropical feel.

NW Raw Organic Juice Bar
370 E Main St, Ashland, OR 97520
(541) 708-6363
nwraw.com

Green Hornet, Ashland Food Co-Op, $6.25 (12-ounce), $8.25 (16-ounce)

Some people like to eat kale. Kale all day, kale all night; kale in salad, kale in soup. This juice is for those people. But it’s also for the non-kale loving people. Why? Because while one might guess that kale would lend a bitter, bold flavor to juices, it really acts as a subtle side note. The blend of celery, cucumber, green apple, parsley and spinach drown out the cruciferous vegetable. In fact, the spinach isn’t very noticeable either. Instead, the juice is mild and watery with a neutral flavor somewhere between celery and apple. For those who don’t enjoy kale, even if it’s well hidden, there are eight other juices, six of which are kale-free. The Co-Op also provides a handy list of ingredients so guests can build their own drink as well.

Ashland Food Co-op
237 N 1st St, Ashland, OR 97520
(541) 482-2237
ashlandfood.coop

Heart Beet Hotel, True Juice, $4.95 (8-ounce)-$6.95 (16-ounce)

True Juice Organic Juice & Smoothie Bar is the newest addition to the Rogue Valley juice scene. In the mood for something with beets? Two of True Juice’s seven options contain this heart-healthy root. One of the two options is the Heart Beet Hotel. Somewhere between chestnut and apple red in color, this juice is a blend of beet, carrot, celery, cucumber, spinach, apple and lemon. Beet and apple make the concoction sweet, while the other vegetables provide depth. Sink into the couch with a magazine, or watch passersby from one of the tall window-side tables. Our only wish is that the wifi would work so we could officially move in.

True Juice Organic Juice & Smoothie Bar
124 NW D St, Grants Pass, OR 97526
(541) 441-4541
truejuiceorganic.com

Carrot and celery juice, Sunshine Natural Food & Vitamins, $3.95 (12-ounces)-$5.95 (24-ounces)

Sunshine Natural Foods has been nourishing the Valley since 1995. The business is now officially old enough to take itself drinking. On any given day you can find owner Rob Pell behind the counter prepping food, or in the aisles helping a customer locate something. Sunshine Natural Foods boasts an array of approachable juices, like the carrot celery, which is a go-to for this writer. The simple juice is oh-so drinkable, the two ingredients providing balance to each other, particularly in sweetness. A 12-ounce juice on a recent visit packed an entire six carrots. Other juices range from apple-lemon-ginger to carrot-cucumber-celery-parsley-mint.

Sunshine Natural Food & Vitamins
128 SW H Street
(541) 474-5044
Grants Pass, OR 97526
sunshinefoodandvitamin.com