Since Acai became pretty mainstream in the US (or perhaps it was always quite popular on the West Coast); differentiating between authentic and a blended version has been a silent taste test for me. It wasn’t until I was getting breakfast near my workplace and I found an Acai-specific juice bar near the University of Maryland College Park. They go by “Roxa Bowls.” It’s a Brazilian-inspired juice bar and offers other flavors of smoothies and Bowls. This juice bar was the first time I tried real Acai, without any fillers or additives. It’s quite impressive. Some neat products they had was a Gaurana soda. What I like about Gaurana is that I feel it gives me a natural stimulation slowly throughout the day, instead of an automatic incline like caffeine. I don’t experience a crash and I find I’m able to go to sleep quite fine at night after consuming it. Trying several South American, specifically from the Amazon region’s foods, I believe from that part of the world may be the Superfood’s headquarters. The juice bar is central to the college campus. It’s was great to know for me at least that there’s a healthy spot near the sub shops and coffee shops. The University of Maryland, as well as other University’s nationwide are great atmospheres for fitness lifestyles and recreation. Being that Roxa Bowls is near there makes perfect sense, as within that area many gyms, bike trails, organic promoting grocery stores are in very close proximity to each other. That’s some of the benefits living near a college town. They tend to be quite trendy. It’s a reminder that living near a college town will probably be up to date with fitness amenities, including healthy eats, then not being near one. Roxa Bowls really gives the option, like many other juice bars to customize your Bowls or smoothies. I always aim for a spinach-based item. Wherever I could get extra iron, I’m down for it. I tend to get a nut-milk based bowl or smoothie, then balance it off with a water-based item. So if I do a bowl with almond milk, then I would get a smoothie with coconut water. Roxa Bowls is fair price-wise in my book. It’s possible to get 2 items at Roxa for less than 2 specialty drinks items at a coffee shop. Roxa Bowls could be enjoyed by people of all ages. There’s something there for everyone. If checking out the College Park, MD area, consider trying Roxa Bowls. It’s likely to not disappoint. More details about this establishment can be found on their website: https://www.roxabowl.com/
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Sunny Health Fitness helping create an Indoor Gymnasium
Outdoor morning jogs are not always the best option for me. I feel I have a number of good excuses as to why not. One is that it could be too dark out; not feeling safe enough to workout early in the morning before the sun is up. Another is not planning enough time for an outdoor workout session before going to work. I have to track how far I walk away from home when exercising outdoors to make sure I’m back in time. Another is maybe I overslept and I’m not mentally preparing myself to get up and do it. Last, could be… I’ll blame it on the weather. So an indoor workout routine would hopefully be a great backup to still get the job done. However, one major hurdle I face working out indoors is that I have to figure out how to replicate the quality of a workout I get from walking or jogging outdoors as I find it so crucial for my weight loss maintenance routine. Without a treadmill, simulating cardio walking moves just don’t come naturally to me. So just speaking for myself, if I had an effective cardio workout equipment system, I would greatly benefit from it. An upper body and leg machine would certainly be effective. Resistance bars would be great for strength training. Pilates is known to be really great and for the Upper back and the Torso area, which are problem areas of mine. In an ideal situation such workout equipments would not take up so much space and be lightweight. The ease of mobility of it would be an extra bonus. I went looking on Sunny Health Fitness’s website for equipment that could really best support me in my home gym creation. To my luck I stumbled upon these items: (the) “Air Walk Trainer Pro, (the) Compact Foldable Manual Treadmill, (the) Essential Multifunction Squat Power Rack, (the) Upright Row-N-Ride® Squat Assist Trainer Machine for Abs, (the) Glute Workout, and (the) Smart Compact Hydraulic Rowing Machine”. All of this equipment was less than two-grand total, which I would say is not a bad investment, considering that each individual piece of quality cardio equipment could cost that amount by itself. For people who are serious about committing to their physical fitness, an investment of that amount may be worth it. I had the chance to review these items. For starters, they are really easy to set up. Practically no assessmbly is required at all. These items are sleek enough to store under a bed, if the bed is raised really high. It could be stored in a closet of large dimensions. Some of their items are also flat enough to hang by a wall and not block an entry walkway and the surrounding space. A great scenario would be if some of the items could possibly also fit into a large enough drawer. These cardio equipment items are major game changers for an alternative or substitute workout for indoor’s. If Sunny Health Fitness machines seem as though they may be able to fit into your workout routine, home space, and fitness life, then please check out their official website.Their homepage is: https://sunnyhealthfitness.com/
Air Walk Trainer Pro
Compact Foldable Manual Treadmill
https://sunnyhealthfitness.com/collections/special-treadmills/products/smart-manual-walking-treadmill-sf-t1407smartEssential Multifunction Squat Power Rack
https://sunnyhealthfitness.com/collections/squat-racks/products/squat-stand-power-rack-sf-xf922059https://sunnyhealthfitness.com/cdn/shop/products/sunny-health-fitness-strength-squat-stand-power-rack-SF-XF922059-03_1780x.jpg?v=1704996298
https://sunnyhealthfitness.com/cdn/shop/products/sunny-health-fitness-strength-squat-stand-power-rack-SF-XF922059-04_1780x.jpg?v=1681430040Upright Row-N-Ride® Squat Assist Trainer Machine for Abs and Glute Workout
https://sunnyhealthfitness.com/cdn/shop/files/RW1205SMART-00_1780x.jpg?v=1697475783
https://sunnyhealthfitness.com/cdn/shop/files/RW1205SMART-05_1780x.jpg?v=1697475788
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Calling all Raw Veganers! Puree Artisan in Downtown Bethesda MD
Smoothie shops and juice bars sometimes serve as my grocery store. If one were taking a look at my prior post, its quite clear I’m a major Juice Bar hunter. I was looking into trying a Juice bar, but this time one that also specialized in as much raw vegan food as possible. Frequenting the Washington DC metropolitan area much as I do, I came across a place called Puree Artisan Juice Bar, located in Downtown Bethesda, MD.
First time there, instead of wanting to go for my usual of a slushy or creamy blended fruity delight, I tried several of their raw vegan food items. I had their Walnut Collard Green Burrito wrap and their Cauliflower Cous-Cous with Tumeric, Honey, and Ginger dressing. I also had their Raw vegan Carrot Cake. I had a strong feeling that I would enjoy the Walnut Collard wrap. The filling in the wrap was the star of the show for me. The filing was a mix of avocado, walnut and some spices. A little fresh salsa mix was offered on the side on top of a little bed of kale. I felt I didn’t need any extra sauce. I certainly didn’t miss any bread for the green leaf burrito. Another item I loved from there was their Cabbage Roll. That came with a tangy Walnut filling and Cashew Cream sauce. Oh my goodness, it was delectable. They have many Seasonal items, but it appears most of their items are year-round staples. They offer glassed-bottled fresh press juices and vegan nut-based drinks. I enjoy their “Vanilla Nut Mylk”. Its simple yet so filling for me. Not to forget, they offer smoothies and smoothie bowls. Some are seasonal items as well. I assume since many of their products are made daily as it’s mostly fresh vegan dishes, the quality of their food definitely reflects the price. The cost could be considered as upscale for the value of their bottled-juices, and other menu options. I find its certainly worth it. If you live near the Washington DC metropolitan area, Puree Artisan is a great place to check out, even to perhaps grocery shop for ready made healthy dishes for the week. Check out their website for more on Puree Artisan Juice Bar: https://pureejuicebar.com/
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Vitality Bowls- Superfood Smoothie Palace
Superfoods being the heart of a brand is a remarkable strategy to promote I find. A juice bar that follows this ethos is Vitality Bowls. To my knowledge Vitality Bowls appears to be the first major Superfood specialty smoothie shop. Wow say that tongue twister four times “Superfood specialty smoothie shop”. They had a location in the Washington DC metropolitan area once. When I first checked them out, they had superwaffles offered on their menu. I believe it was grain-free. It’s was so delicious and I was fine paying about $30 just to have someone deliver it to me. The location cease to exist in the DMV, at the time I write this post. It wasn’t until I did a family trip to Florida where I visted a location near the Orlando area. Eating their smoothie bowls and drinking their smoothies reminded me how much I really benefit from their products. They introduced superfoods I never even heard of before. A signature superfood ingredient with Vitality Bowls is Graviola. It hails from South America, and boasts a lot of nutritional benefits from helping your metabolism to brain health. Other popular superfoods they incorporate in their smoothies or bowls are camu camu, and goji berries.
Vitality Bowls may be seen to have a bit of a price tag. I personally find I have gotten so much value from their products, that the price stands to be worth it. I have ordered 4 large smoothies and 3 large bowls before, and it practically replaced my groceries for about 5 days for under $80. The benefit of having superfoods incorporated into your daily meal plan cause its in most of their menu options is priceless. Vitality Bowls has mostly vegan and diary free selections, so it should satisfy hopefully the non-meat eaters and vegetarian taste buds. I would say that if you are someone into holistic health and clean eating, Vitality Bowls maybe right up your alley. Vitality Bowls has select locations throughout the US. The link to their website is listed below: https://vitalitybowls.com/ -
Enjoying the Tropics of “Tropical Smoothie Cafe”
If you are looking for a juice bar with the convienience and affordability similar to a fast food chain such as a McDonald’s, 7-11, or perhaps even Starbucks; then Tropical Smoothie appears to be that answer.
I feel on average Tropical Smoothie may have some of the lowest prices for smoothies compared to the other juice bars I have given a try. Tropical Cafe also tends to be located in a broad range of zip codes and income bracket areas. They appear to try to be as readily available similar to other popular eateries, but they would be the hopefully healthiest option.
A great pro with Tropical Cafe is that many of their smoothie formulas are pure fruits and vegetables. So you can get a pre-formulated smoothie with out added refined sugar or nut milk. However, I usually prefer to create my own smoothie when I visit the juice bar. I like to try to customize their green spinached- based smoothies like their Green Energy more to my liking.
A signature item of theirs is Bahama Breeze. I find it to be really neat for kids and adults to enjoy. Various locations offer Acai Bowls. Wraps and salads are quite popular on their menu as well. At Tropical Smoothie I have found many of their selections to be under $10 at the time this post is written. Also, most of the selections are child friendly as the concern of additives such as collegan, electrolytes, and caffine are not pre-formulated in most of their menu flavors.
So if perhaps you want to get a healthy meal while you are out and about on the road, or feel you have to go towards the nicer or hipper side of town to get something that fits your dietary food lifestyle; be on the look out for Tropical Smoothie Cafe. It’s most likely to be closer to your neck of the woods compared to other juice bars.
If you would like to check out their various locations, please see the website link here at: https://www.tropicalsmoothiecafe.com/
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Always be a: “Playa Bowls”
Nostalgia can be heavily invoked when you visit some places. Even a place that one hasn’t been to in person. Mine comes from this TV show I used to watch as a kid. There was a juice bar where the cast of the show, who where teens, would go hang out at as their afteschool spot. A juice shop that gives me flashbacks of one of my favorite childhood series is “Playa Bowls.” A lot of the decor is very beach and surfer inspired. It looks so similar to the set of that program.
It makes me think about scenes where the cast would go to either plan out the main event for the episode or where the most comedic acts would take place. Funny enough, in actuality from what I’ve witnessed; many of the Playa Bowls locations appear to be a popular hang out spot for teens and groups of young adults. I could see why. It feels like a cool place to be.
What draws me to be a frequent Playa Bowls customer is that I feel they have the most eclectic range of smoothies and smoothie bowls out there. I’m on a mission to try them all! Gotta catch them all! Their menu looks like a continuous array to try from.
Playa smoothie bowls comes with several bases. I usually go for the green base, which is a spinach and kale combo. Totally right up my alley. Either coconut milk, coconut water, or almond milk could be added. We haven’t even gotten to the toppings to top it off. No pun intended. In addition to the green bowl there’s a dragonfruit, oatmeal and coconut-base bowl. So there’s definitely a range in the thickness or fulfillment one can get out of their products. Most of the pre-formulated smoothie bowl options gives me a satisfied feeling fast. One of my favorite items from Playa Bowls are their either Peanut 🥜 Butter 🧈 or Fudge snack balls. It feels like a more guilt free version of a granola bar. It doesn’t bog me down, and is sweetened with agave. Which brings me to another reason why Playa Bowls is a smoothie bar winner in my book: most of their in-store made products use natural sweetners. No refined-sugars, at least to my knowledge.
Other thumbs up for me with Playa Bowls is that most of their menu items are vegan. Agave is a main ingredient used to sweeten their juices. I feel very comfortable ordering most of their items without the need to customize, cause there’s a good chance something from the menu has all the perks I would want.
Being very young crowd friendly, Playa Bowls accepts cash and card payment. With the creativity of their products, their prices could be seen as quite reasonable. I’ve have gotten a Bowl, smaller size smoothie and a snack for less than a meal than some popular sandwich shops. So a standard lunch price could get one a meal to a degree at Playa Bowls.
Lastly from my Fan List of why I dig this spot is their cross-country presence. It’s great to know if I’m traveling, there’s some convenience maybe within reach of an eatery that compliments most of my dietary wants, which heavily benefit me.
If Playa Bowls is new to you or if a fan like myself, their may be new products hitting their shops on any given season.
Certainly their website can provide much revelant details on how you can hopefully get your hands on one of their Bowls or smoothies!
Check out the link here: https://www.playabowls.com/
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Partying it up at the “South Block” Smoothie and Juice Bar
There may be a thought that having a smoothie as a main meal is not enough to fulfill one. I largely disagree. As an avid Juice Bar customer, I’ve had some smoothies and smoothie bowls that just 2 of those items would take me several days to finish. Sometimes it’s been 4 days. One of those establishments I go to from time to is South Block.
This juice bar offers smoothies, juices, and Acai Bowls. It’s a treasured hotspot in the triad of Maryland, District of Columbia, and Virginia. On their official website, it was founded by a former Georgetown University student, who at his time on campus, felt there were not enough juice bars and healthy eats around. So from there South Block was born.
One of the unique differences of South Block smoothies unlike other smoothies from other juice bars I’ve had is that they don’t use ice to make their products. Just frozen vegetables and fruits. That makes so much of a difference in the consistency and volume of their products, resulting in a more satiating feel.
South Block severes mostly vegan options. There are side snacks that may not be totally vegan. However, I’ve had some that were. Of their store made products, I haven’t run across many non-vegan items on their menu. Which is a thumbs up for me. When visiting one of their shops, they tend to have a very trendy vibe to it, like a café. One can sit and work on their laptop, mobile device, or read a book for perhaps an hour or two, and it’s completely normal. I’ve seen small groups have meetings there. It’s the coffee-shop alternative, where instead of a latte, you can get a blue Spirulina frozen blend.
In addition to full size items, South Block offers miniature Bowls and drinks. I’ve had mini sizes of both of those items and I felt like I was able to still achieve a satisfied appetite from one meal without the need to save for later. The miniature smoothies are actually from the Kid’s menu. Certainly a well liked spot for that size crowd! Most stores may have a display for their pressed bottled juices in their fridge section. In my humble opinion, I find their bottled juices are some of the most effective in helping with a juice cleanse and goes straight for offering the most direct nutritional value. Most of their bottled juice formulas contain a superfoood ingredient. From charcoal, to beets, or camu camu, there’s a nutrient boost that almost severes as mother nature’s medicine.
Being a chic spot where one can eat healthy at and provides the environment to work on personal projects, South Block likes to keep it green. Keeping it green by actually going environmentally green that is. They are a cashless entity. So it would best severe customers to use only credit or debit card as that’s the most accepted from of payment. Related to payment is the cost of their products. In terms of the price of South Block items, it could come to mind one might have to own a pretty penny. Although I feel it’s quite visible to see the value in the quality of their products. As for me, if I knew I could eat 2 of there items over the course of 3 days, I’d say it’s the equivalent of buying daily at your local quick mart store. Which in some instances when I do the math, I spend less getting South Block food lasting me for days, than getting a meal lets say from a burger joint. Plus I’m eating food less likely to give me a sluggish aftermath.
So when I know I want to perhaps go out to read a book, or write and not feel I need to injest a caffinated beverage in order to do that, it’s wonderful to know that South Block gives a cleaner dining option.
If a local of the Washington DC area, feel free to stop by and check out one of the many South Block locations. Store locators are on their official website: https://www.southblock.com/
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Great vibes at “Pure Green Smoothie Franchsie”
Just passing by in select grocery stores, it was to my surprise that Pure Green bottled juices actually had a smoothie and juice shop. They have several locations throughout various cities in the he United States.
As an avid smoothie drinker, I checked out one of their juice bar franchises. Most of their smoothie options from reading their menu are focused on fresh ingredients, and many have whey protein incorporated into their formula. There are some all vegan flavors with a good-portion being non-vegan.
A few of Pure Green’s Smoothies uses cocoa butter in some of their precrafted selections, which can give their products a rich-buttery taste that I quite like. In some flavors that contain chocolate, you may find cocoa buter as a combining fat. From visiting their stores, it appears all their refrigerated bottled juices are vegan. Pure Green offers precrafted smoothie bowls, as most are Acai based. Some selections include their Protein smoothie bowl, and a Collegan Bowl. I’ve had the Collegan Smoothie Bowl, and I must say in addition to tasting great and being fulfilling without a heavy weighed-down feeling, I noticed more suppleness and resilience in my skin after eating that bowl. You can swap certain ingredients for another for most of their menu options, including creating your own.
Pure Green is very customizable. In terms of price of there products, a pretty penny may be felt if being spent on certain flavors from the menu. Now with there smoothies made to be fulfulling, its possible that their smoothies could last for breakfast and lunch or even several days, where then the price can certainly feel worth it. I find many of their products are good for people of all ages.
Pure Green is a great food selction for post workouts or athletes who need their vitamins with notable menu ingredients like whey-protein helpful in muscle building, or collegan for youth-preservation already offered in select smoothie formulas. For several locations in which I visited, their juice bars have a chill vibe to them where perhaps you can study and work, while getting a bite to eat like a coffee shop. Several locations may also offer free wifi if you ask.
To check out the closest Pure Green Smoothie and Juicey Franchsie nearest you, please view their website: https://www.puregreen.com/
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Sweet like-Nektar Juice Bar
Aside from checking out bicycling trails for walking or jogging as a hobby of mine, I would say my next greatest mission is to find the most nurtrient dense juice bar in my local area.
I’m exaggerating with that self-imposed assignment a bit, however I do enjoy trying out juice bars. They are definitely a necessity thus far in my life, and help me tremendously with my weight management. When I get a chance to travel or if I’m considering living in a certain location, I look for local juice bars to go to for my breakfast, lunch and dinner needs. I came across a YouTube video once where the hostess, who seemed like a personal fitness trainer, mentioned how the more simpler a food is, the easier it is to digest and can more likely assist in revealing a slimmer and slender shape. That’s why food that is softer or more liquified can digest a lot smoother and hopefully cause less bloating. Softer foods can reduce the waistline a lot faster if eaten for most of the day, compared to solid foods when digesting.
So all this to say, smoothies that have a thicker consistency to them achieve 2 major benefits for me. A lightweight meal but giving me a satisfied feel.
A juice bar I like to treat myself to as a meal or dessert is Nektar Juice Bar. They use a lot cashew milk as a base for many of their smoothie formulas to give it an ice cream like taste, making it more decadent than a smoothie with almond milk or traditional diary. They have sometimes seasonal items on the menu. Once at my local Nektar juice bar, they had a Tajin Smoothie for the summer season. I also enjoyed an L-carninite Raspberry Smoothie they promoted during the summer as well.
They also have nutrient packed Smoothie Bowls and a head-over-heels Chai parfait you can feel good about eating. They also have pressed bottled juices if you just want to juice.
Most of Nektars menu items are vegan and grain free, a major plus for me. Nektar also doesn’t add any refined sugars in any of their precrafted menu options. Many of their items are sweetned with agave or natural fruit juice.
Nektar is ideal for the cooler weather days I would say. I get their products year-round, but in particular during the winter season, after I do a workout or 2 hour walk and jog, a smoothie from Nektar can be so refreshing while also warming me up on the inside since their cashew milk addition can be so fulfilling.
Nektar, again for me, serves as a healthy eats option and a dessert shop all in one. I hands down love all their products.
Nektar is nationwide. To find a Nektar Smoothie bar in an area near you, please click on the link below to check out more of their products or items: https://www.nekterjuicebar.com/
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The King of Smoothies: My Amigo Smoothie King
When I mention I love smoothies to serve as one of my meals throughout the day, I get assumptions from most people that perhaps I am a frequent customer of Smoothie King. They would be correct, I certainly do visit and consume many of Smoothie Kings products.
It makes me think about how perhaps Smoothie King might be the most popular name brand of the smoothie franchise if not in the US, than the world. Their flavors and way of how they do their smoothies have grown on me over time.
I realized by the taste of many of their smoothies, Smoothies King likes to employ vitamins and supplements for whatever nutrients could be needed for whatever the workout purpose is. Whether its for muscle building, weight loss, or energy boosting, many of their items are pre- formulated with a vitamin or supplement as part of the base ingredients. It could of course be swapped out for something else or not.
Their smoothie categories range from from bulking up, slimming down, kid friendly, and vegan options. I usually go for their vegan options when I visit their shop.
I must say my favorite item from them is the Super Nutty whole grain and definitely their Daily Warrior.The Daily Warrior is perfect for me as it has ingredients I usually look for to fulfill my nutrition needs. It has spinach for iron, berries for energy, and nut butter for protein. It fills me up right everytime.The Nutty Whole Grain, is so ideal for regulating my digestion system. It’s packed with fiber. I customize a lot of their green smoothies. I usually ask to add almond milk or almond butter if available. Smoothie Kings products satisfy a whole array of ages and dietary needs.
As with many smoothie shops, you can also make your own option. Their prices to me are really affordable, while in many of their establishments you can get a decent size smoothie for under $9. Quite a bargain. They also have Acai Bowls offered at many of their locations. I would rank their bowls awesome as well.
As mentioned earlier, Smoothie King is nationwide, and some stores work with third- partry food delivery services if you cant pick it up in person.
For more information on Smoothie King, please check out their website here: https://www.smoothieking.com/
