When Pressed Juicery first opened its Brentwood doors in 2010, the three co-founders never imagined the immense thirst for green juice that their little shop would quench. Fast-forward four short years, and Pressed Juicery is now helping juice lovers pop bottles across the country, with over twenty store locations up and down the California coast and countless juice cleanse home deliveries nationwide. If you haven’t tried a Pressed Juicery Greens 3 yet, we’re tempted to say you haven’t really tasted green juice – it’s that good.

In their very first book, co-founders Carly de Castro, Hayden Slater and Hedi Gores are sharing the heart and soul of what makes their growing company tick: incredibly delicious recipes for juice. The book is filled with thoughts on juicing and detoxification from top experts (many of them Chalkboard Guest Editors!), tips and tricks for juicing at home, and recipes to help make the juice cleansing process a success. For the Pressed-obsessed and juicing lovers everywhere, JUICE is an easy, accessible, and beautiful guide you’ll keep on your kitchen counter for years.

We asked Carly to sit down with us and share a little about what inspired the making of the new book – and about the roots of Pressed Juicery itself. Enjoy her practical thoughts on living well, plus her favorite recipe from within JUICE‘s pages!

The Chalkboard Mag: Pressed Juicery began in such a natural way. Talk to us about that and why creating this book was such a passion project for you…

Carly de Castro: JUICE was really the first time I’ve been able to have a platform to talk about what inspired my co-founders and me to start Pressed Juicery and our first opportunity to have a broader conversation about how drinking juice can have a profound effect on our health and wellness.

The past decade has been such a journey for me – truly life changing. The lows that I experienced with my mental and physical health and how I was able to make positive changes and come out of all of that, for me, that was a story worth sharing. The way I see it is, if I could do this, anyone can. And for both of my partners, I know they had similar experiences in coming to the realization that what you put inside your body matters so much more than can be put into words.

You don’t know it until you experience it, but when you’ve been unhealthy for a long time and not taking care of yourself and you start to make that turnaround, it’s like you return to your true essence or something – you feel better on a level that you want to share, and that is what the book is really about. It’s about inspiring people to use something that seems small – like drinking a green juice a day – as a gateway to overall well-being and holistic health. When I say holistic I am talking about mind, body, soul… all of it.

One of my personal goals with the book, which I have described in the past, was to emphasize that everyone is different, no one is perfect, and all we can do each day is make small strides to be better. You don’t have to cleanse for three days or three weeks to achieve this, but what you can do is start thinking about making everyday choices that help you feel your best. If you do that consistently, it adds up over time, and you begin to crave foods and behaviors that are better for you because you feel so great.

TCM: Some of the buzz about this book comes because Pressed Juicery is sharing some of their own recipes. Pressed makes some of the best green juice around! Talk to us about that decision…

Cdc: Yes, people tend to wonder why on earth we would give away many of our recipes! Truthfully, this company has always been about democratizing something (the holistic health and wellness industry) that has had a reputation of being somewhat exclusive for a long time. Juice is for everyone. We want to sell our juices to as many people – and as many types of people – as possible. And if, for whatever reason, it isn’t feasible for someone to get their hands on our particular product, then we want to give people the tools to do it themselves.

The more people out there who are juicing and eating food that makes them feel good, we believe the more likely they are to inspire others to feel good and to act accordingly. In my humble opinion, feeling better makes you a nicer, happier human being. You are more clearheaded and confident. You tend to be kinder to your friends, your family, even the people you see on the street. We need more of that in this world, and it starts on the inside. It’s a ripple effect. We felt it ourselves, and it had an amazing impact on us personally. We were also lucky enough to have mentors who were incredibly generous and willing to share their expertise with us early on, and without them we wouldn’t have experienced our own transformations. Some of those people even contributed to our book, which was an amazing honor.

We founded Pressed Juicery not because we are experts, but because we are human and wanted to share the joy that juice brought to our lives. Publishing our recipes is a big part of that, and it was really a simple decision.

TCM: Favorite Pressed Juicery flavor:

Cdc: Right now it’s Greens 3 and Citrus 1.

TCM: Favorite use of a Pressed Juicery flavor:

Cdc: I tend to chug Apple Lemon Ginger when I’m sick. I heat it up and add a ton of cayenne and Manuka honey. It has an instant alkalizing effect and is the perfect remedy for a fever or a cold.

TCM: You are one healthy chick. We’re always getting new tips from you for The Chalkboard. Can you share a couple of the best tips from the book?

Cdc: It’s no secret to my friends and family that I am obsessed with infrared saunas and colon hydrotherapy. I always tell people that the best way to maximize the effects of a cleanse is through eliminating toxins. When you’re cleansing, the toxins are all coming to the surface, but they still need to get OUT of the body. These are two great ways to do that.

The skin is the largest organ, and it is also an elimination organ. Far infrared heat penetrates on a cellular level, increasing circulation and oxygen flow. It can truly have long-term healing effects. If you can’t get to a sauna, we recommend a detox salt bath in the book, and we include a recipe to make your own soak. It stimulates the lymph system, as well as digestive enzymes. Plus it’s easy and inexpensive to make at home.

Aside from my juice, the other most important thing I do for myself every day is take my probiotics. I believe that health starts in the digestive tract and in order to have a healthy colon, we need to have healthy bacteria to suppress the growth of harmful bacteria and keep the gut in balance. For more info, read Clean Gut, by Dr. Alejandro Junger – a life-changing resource!

None of this stuff is really dinner party conversation, but guess what? It’s bound to make you feel amazing, and that’s worth the awkwardness that sometimes ensues when you talk to people about it.

TCM: Your son makes an adorable cameo in the book and I know you’re proud that so many children love to drink Pressed Juicery. Is there anything especially notable for parents in this book?

Cdc: We realized early on that this product was a hit with kids. My partner Hedi had always wanted healthier options for her son, and that was a big impetus for her to start the company. Soon after we opened, I had my own son, and totally understood where she was coming from.

Personally, I think the smoothies are some of the best recipes in the book for kids – they are fun to make and some of them really taste like dessert. We also have a cookie recipe made from the almond meal that is left over from making almond milk. My son loves them, and parents can feel good about giving their kids a “healthy” cookie that is vegan, packed with healthy fats and protein, and free of refined sugar.

TCM: Your juicing must-haves:

Cdc: A sharp knife to prep your produce, a great juicer (my favorite for at-home use is the Hurom Slow Juicer) and a really cold fridge! The colder your produce, the better it will taste and the more nutritious it will be, especially as at-home juicers tend to at least mildly heat up as the motor starts running, which can oxidize the juice quickly.

TCM: Juicing myth to debunk:

Cdc: That because it is free of fiber, juice is not really good for you to drink, and that we are encouraging people to eliminate fiber from their diets. I hate when people say this. For one, juice does contain some soluble fiber, which has been shown to lower cholesterol levels and benefit gastrointestinal health. In general though, part of the point of drinking juice is to reduce the amount of work that your digestive system does on a regular basis to process all of the fiber-filled food you are eating.

We think of juice as an added way to get nutrients straight into your system, with no distractions. Drinking your fruits and veggies in juice form on a regular basis should be in addition to, not instead of, the raw and cooked veggies you consume in smoothies and meals. We also recommend using the pulp from juices in food recipes in order to make use of the extra fiber that is left over in your juicer.

TCM: Favorite farmer’s market:

Cdc: For fresh produce, I love the Pico farmer’s market on Saturdays in Santa Monica – it’s smaller and more contained than the Wednesday market and the quality of everything always amazes me. I also like the Mar Vista and Palisades markets on Sundays. They have great food vendors – everything from Greek food to tamales, and tons of great samples for our son.

TCM: What is the one thing you wish people knew about juice that most don’t?

Cdc: That green juice gives you an incredible boost of energy. Consuming high-quality, nutrient-dense green juice can produce a kind of clarity and high that you can’t get from a processed energy bar. After you sort of retrain your system to get back to its roots, you feel the effects of clean food more sensitively. One of the first things I noticed is that I was able to use green juice as a substitute for coffee – hold the jitters and the afternoon crash please! It might sound crazy, but it’s true.

TCM: Favorite recipe from the book: 

Cdc: One of my favorites that I’m excited to share is from our Savory And Spicy chapter. We don’t sell any of these in our stores, so it was fun to play around and experiment with a completely new profile of flavors. This Spicy Tomato, Greens, and Fennel reminds me of a fresh, alcohol-free bloody mary, so it’s great to include at brunch. Add vodka at your own risk!

Shop the JUICE Book now!

Head on over to our shopping round-up where you can find all the gorgeous glassware,
Pressed Juicery juices, juicers and more mentioned in
the pages of JUICE – plus, the book itself!