Getting Juiced in Long Island City

Getting Juiced in LIC 

by Daniel Sennet 

It’s a New Year, and for many, the resolution of losing weight or getting healthy is still top of mind. There is an endless supply of information, blogs, magazines, commercials, people and media hammering all kinds of messaging into our minds about the right and wrong things to do to be a better version you. Personally, I think it’s all BS in that the amount of raw information is overwhelming, everybody has their unique set of facts and what’s right today is likely to be proven wrong tomorrow. I digress. Eating ‘properly’ and exercising are at the core of any healthy lifestyle (we all know that) and it is with that in mind that I visited a few LIC spots to sample their juices and smoothies as I explored my own desire to be healthier.

foodcellar/4-85 47th road

First on my list was Food Cellar, the all-too-familiar super market. Walking up to their smoothie counter that shares space with their coffee, pastry and bakery counter, I noticed what appeared to be a well-curated, but somewhat expensive smoothie menu. Amongst the various choices are the Soy Protein Vanilla Smoothie ($6.99) that was made with Vanilla yogurt, soy milk and protein powder and the Iron Fist Smoothie, made with blueberries, raspberries, soy milk, strawberries, chia seeds, protein powder, bananas and flax seed oil ($9.99). I went with the Protein Breakfast Smoothie ($6.99) that was blended with Acai berries, nonfat vanilla yogurt, peaches, bananas and juices.  Now, it was tasty, but pretty much anything can be made tasty with enough sugar (care of the juices). The texture was grainy and I was left wondering what I just spent $7 on. It wasn’t filling, so I couldn’t count this as a meal supplement and it wasn’t particularly healthy in terms of additives (like antioxidants or vitamins). My first impression was that particular drink wasn’t a good fit for Food Cellar. I’d be better off at a JambaJuice or my next destination on Jackson.

Natural Market/12-01 Jackson av.

And so, the next day, I ventured to Natural Frontier Market, a health food store at 12-01 Jackson Ave. (at the corner of 48th). This place epitomizes the organic, healthier food trend in a store, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, the place offers a great alternative to Food Cellar in its selection and variety of staples. 

There is a dedicated smoothie & juice stand, which looked promising, but in reality, was somewhat of a letdown. Upon ordering a Tropical Tango smoothie, made with orange juice, strawberries, bananas and non-fat yogurt ($6.99, scratch-written over an older, and probably cheaper price), the second of two employees in the whole store went downstairs to grab the ingredients. At least five minutes later, the drink was ready, but in abundance. In fact, I was given two glasses for the overflow. The result was closer to a juice than a smoothie, dyed red by the strawberry, and noticeably less grainy than Food Cellar’s. Notwithstanding all of the above, the drink was very sweet, and again, probably miles away from being the healthy alternative to a traditional meal or snack. Perhaps some of the other offerings, like the Green Machine ($6.99), made with Soy Milk, Green Powder, Spirulina and soy protein powder, or the Mother’s Milk ($8.99) made with coconut water, coconut meat, avocado, raw agave nectar and ginger offered more nutrients for my dollar. Here’s the thing, if I don’t know what it is, I don’t want to ingest it. For example, what is ‘green powder’ or coconut meat (isn’t coconut a fruit)?

 Finally, the Paris Health New Direction store at 49-11 Vernon Blvd offered up my last hope. As I walked in, I couldn’t help but notice how unpretentious it was, how opposite it was in every respect to the counters at Food Cellar or Natural Frontier. This place was legit. Looking around, you notice a massive fridge with a (understated) broad assortment of commercial drinks and another fridge with nothing but raw ingredients. Upon ordering a Super Detox Smoothie ($5.25) blended with anti-oxidant berries, Acai, strawberries, bananas, blueberries and my choice of milk (skimmed, in this case), I was astounded by the fact that 95% of the blender was raw fruits; the remainder was the milk – no juice, no added sugar, and not artificial sweeteners. I think I had found the real deal. Then I started looking around the unassuming storefront and noticed upwards of 50 variations of smoothies, including an Oatmeal Smoothie, consisting of Flax seeds, oatmeal, soy milk, bananas and protein powder, or their version of the Green smoothie, consisting of spinach, kale, pineapple, banana, grapes and either water or aloe! The green coloring was explained! That was number 50 by the way. Not only was this an actual healthy smoothie, but it was delicious. Actually rich in texture, flavored by the fruits and not the juices and satisfying, owing to the proper ratio of ingredients to juices.

Unless you happen to find the unicorn (in this case, the Paris store), my quest yielded an interesting result to me: make it yourself. The best way to control your quality, your calorie count and your quantity is to just buy the ingredients and hold yourself to proper standards. Otherwise, you’re flying blind and likely to fall prey to an overly-juiced, deceptively-delicious calorie bomb that will undue your other efforts to live a healthy lifestyle.