Business Profile: Blend It Healthy

Blend It Healthy’s fresh, never-frozen ingredients are on full display and customers are encouraged to sample the flavor. – Photo by Gus Herrera

By Gus Herrera

Transparency and health come first at Blend It Healthy in Arcadia. Owned by the husband and wife duo of Albert and Emily Li, the business was created to be an honest destination for healthy and nutritious drinks.

With nutrition awareness at an all-time high and seemingly growing every day, there are many smoothie shops and juice bars that claim to sell healthy products. Most average customers seem to assume that since the main ingredients within these drinks (i.e. fruits and vegetables) are considered inherently nutritious, then it should follow that the end product, the smoothie, is also nutritious.

Herein lies a very common misconception: despite containing fruits and vegetables with the healthy qualities we so desire, many times these benefits are negated by the addition of unknown, artificial components. Many smoothie and juice shops also use a press technique and frozen ingredients. This process extracts the juice from the fruits and vegetables, as opposed to blending which breaks down all the components together.

By separating the juice from rest of the body, this technique removes what contains the majority of the vitamins and fiber that actually compose the nutritional value. As a result, stores that use this technique, add artificial ingredients and vitamins to make up for the loss of nutrition.

Moreover, in order to create the consistent, sweet flavor that customers enjoy, syrups and other artificial unknowns are thrown into the mix.

Owner Emily Li and her husband wanted to create an honest destination for healthy drinks. – Photo by Gus Herrera

At Blend It Healthy, the drinks are all blended from fresh, never-frozen ingredients. By blending the entire fruits and vegetables, their drinks retain all the fiber and vitamins.

No sugar or artificial ingredients are added and all smoothies contain at least two full servings of fruits/vegetables. In other words, if you order a smoothie with banana and apple, you will get a full apple and an entire banana.

By providing customers with full servings, Blend It Healthy maximizes the nutritional value, while at the same time reducing the amount of waste they produce.

All their ingredients are on full display and customers are encouraged to sample them. Furthermore, all blending takes place in plain sight, so at Blend It Healthy there are no secrets and you truly do know everything that is going into your drink.

Customers can make their own creation or choose from the menu, where each item is specially tailored to exhibit certain nutritional values. These recipes are also designed to taste as flavorful as possible, without the addition of any syrups or artificial ingredients. As a result, Blend It Healthy’s menu boasts a variety of creative and exotic combinations you might have never imagined could taste so delicious.

In addition to the traditional fruits and vegetables, other possible ingredients include almonds, organic chia seeds, organic flaxseeds, wheatgrass, organic coconut oil, whey protein, and more. There are also some seasonal fruits and vegetables that are added to the menu every once in a while.

The store is open early (7 a.m.) for those seeking a healthy complement to a morning workout or a breakfast meal replacement before work (there is also a loyalty rewards card for frequent patrons).

For those looking for a bit of healthy energy, there are also organic tea and coffee blends available. The AvoCoffee (milk, coffee, avocado, honey) is a unique, yet simple creation which has become a favorite amongst customers.

Blend It Healthy also offers special pre-paid, 10-day weight loss and detox programs.

Blend It Healthy is located at 411 E. Huntington Drive, suite 114, in Arcadia. For more information, call (626) 656-3718 or visit www.BlendItHealthy.com. Check them out on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for up-to-date news.

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