WASHINGTON — December is an endless cycle of eggnog lattes, office lunches, cocktail parties and cookie exchanges. It’s no wonder so many are left feeling stressed, exhausted and overstuffed during the holidays.
But Shizu Okusa says there’s a simple way to maintain a sense of balance this season: drink a juice.
“It’s a great lifestyle addition to get your green vegetables when you just don’t have time,” she says.
And Okusa knows, firsthand, about limited time. She worked in the demanding field of investment banking in both New York and D.C., and often relied on bottles of cold-pressed juice when grabbing lunch outside the vending machine wasn’t an option.
“When you’re sitting all day, you don’t digest well, you get ulcers from stress, you only go out to drink,” she says about the “toxic” lifestyle that she led.
Two years ago, she bid farewell to the Wall Street grind and launched JRINK with former private equity professional Jennifer Ngai. They saw a growing demand for on-the-go nutrition and a void in D.C.’s juice market. (And just to be clear, we’re not talking about the typical sugary juices that line the shelves of grocery stores. These are juices made from pounds of pulverized fruits and vegetables.)
In November, JRINK opened its fifth D.C.-area location in Foggy Bottom.
Juicing skeptics look at the $100 million-a-year juice market as a trend that will vanish faster than the fiber from pressed kale — but it hasn’t yet. And it’s been years since juicing made its first splash in health-conscious cities such as New York and Los Angeles.
Okusa says that’s because juice is not a trend with an expiration date.
“It’s different from frozen yogurt,” she says. “It’s so health-oriented; it is a lifestyle; it’s something that you can do every day.”
Cautious consumers commonly associate juicing with “cleansing,” but that’s a word Okusa, and many others in the juice business, avoid. “Because we don’t believe in just washing it away and moving on to the next thing. We don’t think it’s healthy to just go up and down.”
Instead, she and others partial to the craze prefer to think about juice less as a swap for solids and more like “a salad in a bottle” when you just don’t have the time to sit and eat a salad.
“It gives you peace-of-mind nutrition so you can establish healthier habits and know exactly what it is that you’re putting into your body.”
JRINK’s menu lists 17 different juices that Okusa and Ngai developed in conjunction with nutritionists. Every day, they press 60 to 70 boxes of produce down to pulp in their Falls Church kitchen to make juices like the Stateside Superfood (made with broccoleaf, wheatgrass, coconut cream, coconut water, vanilla bean, cucumber, pear and lime) and ‘Tis the Season (apple, pear, sweet potato and cinnamon).
For the adventurous, JRINK sells Black Magic, an all-black juice made with activated charcoal, aloe vera water, grape and lemon. It may look off-putting, but Okusa says it tastes just like grape lemonade and is great for hangovers.
Approximately 5 lbs. of produce go into each 16 oz. bottle of JRINK’s juices, which helps explain the nearly $10 price tag.
“To get a lot of juice from kale, you need a lot of kale. There’s so much stuff that goes in it and everything in handmade and fresh,” Okusa says.
Tips to maintain balance and health during the holidays
To keep yourself up to full speed this holiday season, Okusa recommends starting your day with hot water and lemon, rather than coffee, which is less abrasive on the stomach.
“If you start your morning with healthy habits, I cannot reiterate how much that makes such a difference. It’s such a game-changer,” she says.
There’s even room for a healthy boost at the bar. Okusa says if you’re mixing up cocktails, consider using a cold-pressed juice as a mixer. “If you’re going to booze, have some fresh booze with juices.”
She recommends JRINK’s Sweeten me up, made with pineapple, apple and fresh mint.
And sipping on a juice between sweets and treats, or as an alternative to snacking while preparing a holiday feast, will help you to maintain a sense of balance, both mentally and physiologically.
“Have your fun … don’t be [anti-social]. It just means that everything is in moderation. It’s much easier to say no to that fifth slice of pie when you have it in your mind already that you have a workout tomorrow because this is your lifestyle,” she says.
